WWE SmackDown live results: Three Stages of Hell
Tonight, from Berlin, Germany, the Undisputed WWE Championship will be on the line in a Three Stages of Hell match as Cody Rhodes defends his title against Drew McIntyre.
The first fall will be a standard match, with the second fall being Falls Count Anywhere. If the match reaches the third stage, it will be contested inside a steel cage.
After weeks of being unable to reciprocate McIntyre’s antagonizing due to a “no-touch” stipulation, Rhodes finally gets his chance to put his hands on hated rival. Meanwhile, McIntyre hopes to finally win the Undisputed WWE Title after repeated attempts ended in failure.
Trick Williams makes his SmackDown debut tonight as he faces Rey Fenix one-on-one. Last week, Williams confronted Sami Zayn and made it clear that he was gunning for the best.
The Wyatt Sicks and Solo Sikoa’s M.F.T.s take their war to an eight-man tag match tonight after weeks of hostile words and brawls.
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– The show began with shots of the two men entering Three Stages of Hell, Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre entering the arena, with the latter getting cheered and the former being booed. Also seen arriving were Carmelo Hayes, Giulia, and Alexa Bliss as Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett greeted us to tonight’s show from Berlin. They noted that the final hour of SmackDown, which will feature the Three Stages of Hell match, will be presented commercial-free.
Randy Orton kicks off SmackDown
“The Viper” Randy Orton opened the show to a massive ovation from the Berlin crowd, who serenaded him with a singalong of his theme song. Orton took in the cheers from the crowd as he got to the ring before he took a mic, ready to speak his mind.
Orton said that it was good to be back in the ring as he welcomed everyone to SmackDown. Before he could continue, he was interrupted by the music of the newest addition to the blue show’s roster, Trick Williams.
Williams started by talking about how another comes out every week and says it’s going to be “their year”. He said that he didn’t do that because that a new star has arrived, and his name is Trick Williams. He noted how every country loved themselves some “Trick Willy” as he boasted about his physical traits. “This ain’t 2006, this is 2026, let’s talk ’bout it,” said Williams.
Orton responded by talking about how he’s 6″5′, 270 pounds, has five kids and a “smokin’ hot wife” but that the only number that matters is 14, which is the number of World Titles he’s won. Orton expressed confusion on why Williams came out to interrupt him, of all people, questioning if he has the brains.
Williams said that he was the only one to seize the opportunity to brush up against greatness, and that he was here to put Orton on notice, as he was the Viper no longer. Williams posed as Orton warned him not to turn his back on him again because if it happened again, he wasn’t going to whoop that Trick, he was going to kick that ass. Williams belligerently slapped Orton’s microphone away as he got punched by the Viper.
Orton hit Williams with his signature draping DDT and looked like he was going to hit him with the RKO until the Miz snuck up from behind to attack him. As Miz tried to plant Orton with a Skull-Crushing Finale, that got reversed into an RKO instead to the delight of the crowd. Orton looked down on Williams, who was left stunned outside the ring and had some harsh words for him.
As Orton left the ring, Rey Fenix’s music hit with our first match set to take place in mere moments. Orton showed respect to Fenix with a fistbump before he walked to the back and encouraged Fenix to kick Williams’ ass (while also emulating Fenix’s entrance taunt).
A fun opening segment and I have to say, I like how Trick Williams has been presented so far in his main roster as a cocky such-and-such who’s willing to talk a big game and can back that up. It makes for a nice dynamic, especially when he’s brushing up against veterans such as Orton, like we saw here tonight. With the reports that SmackDown is overseen by someone new creatively (more on that in the wrap-up), it’s a good start.
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Trick Williams vs. Rey Fenix
Our opening bout tonight got underway with Williams shoving Fenix to the rope and talking some smack to his face. Williams slammed Fenix’s head to the mat but couldn’t keep up with Fenix’s athletic display early on. Fenix avoided the spin kick from Williams, but got shoulder blocked to the mat afterwards.
Williams chopped at Fenix’s chest and Irish whipped him. Fenix dodged between the ropes and used his speed to capitalize with a springboard missile dropkick, which sent Williams out of the ring. Fenix faked out Williams with a diving feint, but got shellacked with a leg lariat from the former NXT Champion. Williams planted Fenix with a MIchinoku Driver for a near-fall as he then threw his foe out of the ring. At ringside, Williams sent Fenix into both steel steps as we took a break in the action.
Our match continued as Williams hit Fenix with a popup uppercut for another near-fall. Williams tried to maintain the aggression as he used his raw power to hoist Fenix on his shoulders. Fenix got out of that predicament as he put Williams on the top rope, looking for a high-risk maneuver. After a struggle, Fenix connected with a top rope hurricanrana on Williams, who managed to kick out at two afterwards. With Williams laid out in the ring, Fenix launched himself from the top rope. Williams put his knees up to block the attack as he then hit a spinning pump kick on Fenix. The former TNA World Champion then hit an impressive modified Book-End for yet another near-fall.
Williams missed on the running splash as Fenix fought back and connected with a reverse spinning DDT from the top rope, but that wasn’t enough to put this one away. Fenix kicked Williams in the back of the head as he then hit the Adios Amigo kick from the ropes. Williams caught Fenix on the dive and the subsequent pinning exchanged ended with the upstart picking up the win thanks to a handful of tights on his pin.
Trick Williams def. Rey Fenix via pinfall
Fantastic SmackDown debut match for Williams that was a good show of his strength and Fenix was the perfect foe to match him up with here.
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– Intrepid reporter Byron Saxton was with Giulia and Kiana James and asked them about the Women’s U.S. Title victory. Giulia said that the title was back where it belongs and that tonight, Alexa Bliss will be made an example of when they face off.
– We got a recap of last week’s Ambulance Match between Damian Priest and Aleister Black. After that recap, Priest was interviewed about that match. Priest said that he was hurting because Black put a beating on him, but he ultimately won the war. As for what’s next for him? He said he was going to call his shot for the WWE Title, as it might lead him to the path of a man he respects, Cody Rhodes. At that moment, Drew McIntyre interrupted. Priest reminded McIntyre of the last time when they faced off when his brains got scrambled.
After Priest left, McIntyre was asked about Three Stages of Hell as he reveals that he had Cody Rhodes’ coveted Rolex watch. He reiterated his vow to win the WWE Title by taking advantage of Rhodes’ anger towards him.
– Elsewhere, Alexa Bliss was chatting with Charlotte Flair on the phone before Nia Jax and Lash Legend, who tried to antagonize her. Bliss said that Jax was maybe projecting her own insecurities about her own trust towards her and Charlotte. Bliss then warned Legend that Jax might not be as she seems, speaking as someone who was once in that position.
Women’s U.S. Championship: Giulia (c) (w/ Kiana James) vs. Alexa Bliss
Giulia and Bliss got into a shoving battle to start as neither woman could get the upper hand. That was until Giulia grabbed Bliss’s hair and pulled her into a suplex. With Bliss in the corner, Giulia ran into her with a charging attack before she capitalized with a missile dropkick. The women’s U.S. Champion seemed to have things in control until Bliss dodged an attack from Giulia, which caused her to fly out of the ring. Bliss then connected with a dive from the apron as we took a break.
The match continued as Giulia kicked out of a pin attempt from Bliss. The champ got the advantage once more as Kiana James got involved thanks to Giulia’s distraction of the ref providing an opening for her to attack Bliss. An elbow from Bliss allowed her to start a bit of a comeback, as she then followed up with strikes and a dropkicking to a kneeling Giulia. Bliss then hit her modified version of Natural Selection, but Giulia kicked out at two.
Giulia hit Bliss with the Arrivederci Knee, but she couldn’t capitalize on the Northern Lights Driver as Bliss countered it. Bliss had Giulia in position for the Sister Abigail, but Kiana James got on the apron to cause a distraction. Bliss gave James a punch for her troubles. With the referee distracted by James, Bliss headed up top and looked like she had one in the chamber with Twisted Bliss, but Lash Legend pushed her down from her perch. This allowed Giulia to connect with the Northern Lights Bomb for the three and a successful Women’s U.S. Title defense.
Post-match, Nia Jax and Lash Legend attacked Bliss without interruption as Charlotte Flair was not around to make the save.
Giulia def. Alexa Bliss via pinfall to retain the Women’s U.S. Championship
Not sure what can be done with regards to the lack of reactions for Giulia, but having her win matches due to outside interference — especially in the service of others getting heat like the Jax/Legend duo — isn’t gonna help her at all.
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– Nick Aldis was meeting with Jordynne Grace, who was officially welcomed to the SmackDown roster when Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre barged in. Green complained about not getting her re-re-rematch for the Women’s U.S. Championship, as Grace talked about how she wasn’t going to be another diva like Green. Aldis booked Fyre against Grace for later tonight. Before he could enter, Kit Wilson interrupted and talked about how Matt Cardona was an embodiment of toxic masculinity. Aldis told Wilson to “hold that thought” as he just entered his office and slammed the door shut. Wilson then declared Aldis to be toxic in response.
– And speaking of Cardona, he was interviewed about how he felt being back in WWE. Cardona talked about how he had three options: 1. be negative and bitter, 2. coast off the Zack Ryder name for the rest of his career, 3. reinvent himself and bust his ass. Before Cardona could continue, he chatted with his old friend Cody Rhodes. Cardona reminded Rhodes that he wasn’t just back for no reason, he was staking his claim for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Rhodes said that once he was done with Drew McIntyre, he’d consider giving Cardona a shot.
Eight-Man Tag: The M.F.T.s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Talla Tonga, Tanga Loa) vs. The Wyatt Sicks (Uncle Howdy, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, Erick Rowan)
Lumis and Tanga started off, and the Wyatts had the upper hand early with double team sentons that left Tanga isolated. Outside the ring, Tama and Tanga were shelled by dual suicide dives from Lumis and Gacy. On the outside, the two factions faced off as we took a break in the action early.
We continued from commercial with Sikoa stomping on Gacy in the corner, as he then blasted him with a running hip attack. Tama was tagged in as he continued the attacked on Gacy, who tried to tag in Rowan. Meanwhile, Tama struggled to get to his corner in a tug of war. Gacy escaped and hit his handspring clothesline on Tama, which allowed Rowan to enter the match and clean house on the M.F.T.s. After this chaos, Talla tagged in as we got big meaty men slapping meat here. Talla knocked Rowan to his knees, but he got nailed by a clothesline from the Wyatts’ big man instead. Talla managed to escape an attempted slam from Rowan and knock him down instead. He then chokeslammed Lumis when he tried to intervene as Talla and Rowan got each other with a double-down on the clothesline.
As both big men struggled to their corners, Uncle Howdy and Solo Sikoa begged their respective giants to tag them into the match. With both family leaders now the legal men, Sikoa and Howdy duked it out in the middle of the ring. Howdy and Sikoa gave each other their best shots, but it was the former who avoided a Samoan Spike from Sikoa and responded with a fiendish uranage on his foe. Howdy targeted Sikoa for Sister Abigail, but he couldn’t connect. Tama entered the match and got hit with the uranage by Howdy, as J.C. Mateo then found himself thrown into the fire by the Wyatt Sicks leader.
Howdy locked the Mandible Claw on Mateo while Sikoa absconded the Bray Wyatt lantern and held it in his hands. This got Howdy’s attention and allowed him to be taken out by a Talla big boot, followed by a not-so-elevated and not-so-hidden bladed Cutthroat from Tama for the three.
The M.F.T.s def. The Wyatt Sicks via pinfall
This wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t really good either. It was honestly inoffensive, which is probably the best I can say about this match, and indeed this M.F.T.s/Wyatt Sicks feud as a whole.
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– The Miz confronted Carmelo Hayes and bragged about how he’d be the Grand Slam Champion once more after he wins a new WWE Title opportunity given to him. Hayes was about to be on his way for the U.S. Title open challenge, as he told him to watch out for Randy Orton. After Miz left, Ilya Dragunov met with Hayes, as he talked about how there’d be a time and place for them to meet again, but he was on his way to talk to Nick Aldis about something different.
– We got another tease for Oba Femi, who is coming to either Raw or SmackDown, especially after he vacated the NXT Championship this past Tuesday.
Alba Fyre (w/ Chelsea Green) vs. Jordynne Grace
Grace went on the attack right away on Fyre with some hard strikes, particularly a set of fierce lariats that left Fyre stunned. A powerslam by Grace maintained the SmackDown newcomer’s early advantage until Fyre fought back with her signature DDT. Fyre tried to hit a suplex, but Grace used her strength to block it. Grace dodged Fyre in the corner and hit a spinebuster, followed by a package powerbomb. Chelsea Green got on the apron to yell at Grace, but got knocked down as Fyre was thrown into her on the apron. Grace then ended things with a torture rack bomb, called “Beast Mode”, to pick up the easy victory.
As Grace left the ring, Jade Cargill came out with mic in hand and began to trash talk her. Cargill said that Grace wasn’t anything special, because she was “that bitch”.
Jordynne Grace def. Alba Fyre via pinfall
The match was essentially a showcase for Grace, and her addition to the roster does somewhat help with the nagging problem of the SmackDown women’s division feeling a bit light, especially with talents like Michin and B-Fab having been recently injured.
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– Sami Zayn was interviewed backstage about who he thought would win tonight between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. Zayn said that part of him wanted McIntyre to win because he’s the one guy he hasn’t beat yet, but he also believes in his friend Rhodes. At the end of the day, however, Zayn said that he was waiting for whoever won tonight.
– Backstage, Nathan Frazer was confronted by Axiom, who suddenly attacked him. It turns out, “Axiom” was Johnny Gargano in disguise, who fled when the real Axiom ran after him.
U.S. Title Open Challenge: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Hayes and Nakamura engaged in a chain wrestling battle to start this title match off as the challenger tried to get ahead with striking attacks. Hayes was more than ready for it with a dropkick that caused Nakamura to roll out of the ring. As he got ready to dive to the outside, Nakamura intercepted with a kick. Hayes responded with his signature springboard clothesline, which was our cue to head to a break in the action.
We returned from the break with Nakamura battering Hayes in the corner with clubbing blows and knees to the ribs. Hayes got out of it and missed with the clothesline, and was instead hit in the upper quad by a kick from the challenger. Hayes’ quad remained a target for Nakamura, who exploited it with a dragon screw against the top of the rope. In the ring, Nakamura hit an axe kick on Hayes while the champ was draped over the top rope. Near-fall as Hayes kicked out at two after the kick from Nakamura.
Nakamura again used the dragon screw across the top rope as he then remained serious for a moment and locked in the single-leg crab on Hayes’ hurt leg. Nakamura kept the match to his pace as he went after the chest of Hayes. However, the champ started to fight back as he blocked Nakamura’s kick and went after him with a DDT for the near-fall. Nakamura responded as he put Hayes on the top rope, but he couldn’t find the opportunity to capitalize as Hayes instead got him with the elbow drop. With both men down, we took another break in the action.
We returned from break as Nakamura again attacked Hayes in the corner. He hoisted Hayes up on the top rope, as another kick on the leg put Hayes in a tree-of-woe position. Hayes managed to pull himself up at the last moment to avoid a sliding dropkick from Nakamura. With Nakamura writhing outside, Hayes capitalized with a diving forearm from the top. Back in the ring, Hayes missed the frog splash and found himself trapped in the kneebar submission by his ever-on-his-game challenger. Hayes reached the rope to break the hold, and managed to reverse a slam attempt into a modified Stundog MIllionaire. Nakamura answered with a nice kick to the jaw of Hayes, followed by the Michinoku Driver.
Hayes avoided a Kinshasa attempt as he hit Nakamura with a springboard elbow to the back of the head. The U.S. Champion powered through the pain and got himself to the top rope. Nakamura intercepted and stunned Hayes, which opened the champ up for a knee to the gut. He then hit an amazing avalanche Kinshasa on Hayes and looked like he was going to hit one more. Hayes intercepted with First 48, as he then headed up the top rope and made no mistake with Nothin’ But Net. Eins, zwei, drei. Hayes retains.
After the match, Hayes offered a respectful handshake to Nakamura, who accepted in a nice show of sportsmanship.
Carmelo Hayes def. Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall to retain the Men’s U.S. Championship
This was again another fantastic Open Challenge match, continuing the incredible streak of greatness we’ve had in terms of matches featuring the U.S. Title. Hayes having to overcome the hard-hitting strong style offense of Nakamura was a good story and these two made for a great match.
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– Cody Rhodes was interviewed about his final thoughts before Three Stages of Hell. He said that as far as Drew McIntyre is concerned, he saw that his dad’s watch was stolen. And now, he says that McIntyre’s tactics are cheap and that it’s him that makes the comeback. Tonight, it’ll be McIntyre who’ll be left looking at the lights, and after that it’s Royal Rumble time. Rhodes said we knew what that meant.
– We learned from SmackDown GM Nick Aldis that next week in London, we’ll have four qualifying matches, with the winners set to face off in a fatal four-way match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Montreal, with the winner of that match set to face the Undisputed WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble.
Next Week on SmackDown
- #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match: Randy Orton vs. The Miz
- #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match: Matt Cardona vs. Trick Williams
- #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match: Damian Priest vs. Solo Sikoa
- #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match: Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov
Three Stages of Hell for Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
Stage One: Standard Wrestling Match
Rhodes went after McIntyre right away and battered him with strikes before he clotheslined him out of the ring. Rhodes took the challenger out with a suicide dive to the outside of the ring, as McIntyre grabbed a chair and begged Rhodes to use it to cause a DQ. Rhodes didn’t take the bait and hit him with a boot to the face. Back in the ring, Rhodes hit McIntyre with the Disaster Kick, followed by the Dusty elbows, which were punctuated by a double-bird to McIntyre.
Out of the ring again, McIntyre finally managed to stop the barrage from Rhodes by throwing him into the steel steps. As the action returned to the ring, McIntyre failed to connect with a back suplex, as Rhodes flipped out of it and hit a super-springboard Cody Cutter for a near-fall. McIntyre was stomped on by Rhodes, who was backed off by the referee. The Scotsman soon found himself thrown across the ring by a German suplex from Rhodes. McIntyre ripped off the top turnbuckle, which caused the referee to check on the exposed turnbuckle. This allowed McIntyre to hit Rhodes right in the groin, followed by the Claymore to win the first stage.
Drew McIntyre wins Stage 1 (1-0)
Stage Two: Falls Count Anywhere
McIntyre pulled out the Slim Jim-branded table and powerbombed Rhodes through it. One, two… not quite! The battle spilled onto the narrow entryway as Rhodes slammed McIntyre’s head against the steel steps. He then threw him over the barricade and hit an axe handle off of it. The two continued to fight in the crowd for a bit. Rhodes bit at McIntyre’s head and took a selfie with a member of the audience with this fight heading into the edge of the backstage area. McIntyre threw Rhodes into the wall, but got thrown into the metal doors. Rhodes trhen took a banana from the catering table and stuffed it in McIntyre’s mouth as he then punched him in the face repeatedly.
McIntyre regained momentum by smashing the back of his head against the railings just by the bleachers. He then took a table and looked like he was about to powerbomb Rhodes through it. The WWE Champion escaped by climbing the guard rails to break free. Rhodes then threw McIntyre into the railing repeatedly and placed him onto the table. Rhodes looked upwards and climbed up the stairs as he then got on the railing to hit a splash through the table. Somehow, that was not enough to pick up the victory as McIntyre managed to kick out at two.
The two eventually made their way to the ringside area as McIntyre hit Rhodes in the ribs with a chair, followed by a shot to the back. Rhodes avoided the Claymore Kick against the table with a kick to the face as he then rearranged the furniture on the commentary table. Rhodes hit a Cross Rhodes through the commentary table and got the pin to win this stage.
Cody Rhodes wins Stage 2 (1-1)
Stage 3: Steel Cage Match
Rhodes rolled McIntyre back into the ring as the cage descended from above. Once the cage was lowered, Rhodes stalked McIntyre and repeatedly tossed him into the sides of the cage with great relish. McIntyre reversed and gave Rhodes a taste of his own medicine before he tried to scurry through the door. Rhodes intercepted and hit a suplex to bring him back into the ring.
McIntyre tried to climb up with Rhodes struggling to get to his feet. As the Scotsman got to the top, Rhodes sprang to life and intercepted him to prevent an escape. McIntyre got ahead of it and hit a superplex from the top of the cage. One, two… no! Rhodes recovered and punched away at McIntyre in the corner, but he was hit with a hard elbow from the challenger afterwards.
Rhodes again tried for a rally, but got sent into the corner by McIntyre, who then dropped him with the Future Shock DDT for a close near-fall. The side of Rhodes’ head was bleeding, likely from making contact with the ringpost as McIntyre pounced on the attack with strikes. Rhodes responded with a nice tilt-a-whirl roll-through reversal into Cross Rhodes, but somehow McIntyre kicked out at two. Both men struggled to get to their feet as they then put up their dukes and hit each other with hard-hitting strikes to the face.
Rhodes hit McIntyre with a snap powerslam for the near fall as he had McIntyre in his sights for a Cody Cutter. Again, McIntyre kicked out at two, so Rhodes went to the well with an attempt at the triple Cross Rhodes. The Undisputed WWE Champion managed to hit two, but a rake of the eye allowed McIntyre to escape. Rhodes ran into the exposed turnbuckle after a missed clothesline, as he then fell victim to a Claymore Kick. One… two…. 2.999999999!!!!!!
Both men got to their feet as McIntyre again tried to climb out to escape. Rhodes met him at the pass as the two fought it out sat at the very top of the cage. Rhodes smashed McIntyre’s face across the cage, as he then hit a super Cody Cutter from the cage. McIntyre miraculously kicked out of this at the last possible second. Again, McIntyre and Rhodes tried to get to a vertical base, but it was the champion who got to his feet first. He thought about climbing up the cage as McIntyre eventually made it and stopped Rhodes from ascending the cage. In the ensuing duel, both men fell groin-first into the top rope, as nobody got the better of one another.
McIntyre rolled towards the door and crawled his way through it. However, he was stopped by, of course, a hooded man. That hooded man revealed himself as Jacob Fatu. McIntyre looked like he saw a ghost as he was stomped on by Fatu. Rhodes tried to stop him, but he got slugged by Fatu. As Fatu was attacking Rhodes, McIntyre took advantage and crawled out the door of the cage to win the match and the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Rhodes looked despondent at losing the title in this manner, while McIntyre clutched his newly-won title like it was the most important thing in his world as the Levesque & Fitting credits saw us off this week.
Drew McIntyre wins Stage 3 (2-1) and is new Undisputed WWE Champion
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I’m not afraid to admit I was wrong, and in the case of whether or not Drew McIntyre losing this match was a foregone conclusion, I am willing to admit I was wrong here. This was a fantastic Three Stages of Hell and the finish fit with McIntyre’s opportunist character taking advantage of an opportunity in front of him and capitalizing on it. Granted, said finish coming off another black hoodie reveal (a Paul Levesque Special if there ever was one) was about the only thing I had an issue with. Other than that, I’m glad we got a shakeup in terms of the world title. Whether or not McIntyre is keeping the belt for long is anyone’s guess, but at least the trigger was pulled.
As I alluded to earlier, SmackDown is now being looked over on the creative side by Ryan Ward, with Brian “Road Dogg” James now answering to him. I mention this because so far, SmackDown is 2-for-2 in the three-hour era of being at least entertaining. The quality of the shows has shot up, and things have been mostly enjoyable to recap. Ward was responsible for the peak of the “Black and Gold” era of NXT, so his track record is an encouraging sign.
This week’s show was a step in the right direction. The shock world title change, another excellent U.S. Open Challenge match, and additions like Trick Williams and Jordynne Grace are adding some life to SmackDown. It’s not the perfect show just yet, but it hasn’t been a drag to watch since the move to three hours. We’ll see if they can keep it up in coming weeks.
WWE SmackDown recapper. Former NXT PLE/WWE Saturday Night's Main Event/fill-in recapper.