WWE SmackDown 3/20 Results: Priest & Truth win tag titles, Orton attacks Cardona

March 20, 2026 John Kleinchester NEWS, RECOMMENDED, Show Reports
Photo Courtesy: WWE

March 20, 2026
Lenovo Center – Raleigh, NC

By: John Kleinchester

WWE SmackDown Results

  • Tag Team Championship: Damian Priest & R-Truth over JC Mateo & Tama Tonga via AA in 8:42
  • Motor City Machine Guns over Fraxiom via Roll-Up in 8:01
  • Aleister Black over Sami Zayn via Black Mass in 9:31
  • United States Championship: Carmelo Hayes over Ilja Dragunov via Sunset Flip in 16:06
  • Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Irresistible Forces over The Bellas via DQ in 7:59

 

Vehicular Incident

Friday Night SmackDown from Raleigh kicked off with Jelly Roll arriving at the arena and seeing WWE officials running by him. It was revealed that Drew McIntyre had T-boned Jacob Fatu’s car with his own. McIntyre pulled Fatu out of the car through the windshield and left him bloodied.

McIntyre then appeared in the arena, quickly followed by Nick Aldis. McIntyre said that Nick Aldis’ son, Donovan, should be ashamed of having such a corporate stooge as a father. Fatu then emerged, and the two brawled at ringside. Fatu put Drew on the announce table and hit a diving splash on him off the barricade before heading to the back. 

Tag Team Championship

The first match of the night saw Damian Priest teaming with (newly bald) R-Truth to take on Tag Team Champions Tama Tonga and JC Mateo. It was noted that “an element of the Freebird rule” was being used as Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga, who had actually won the titles. Early in the match, Talla Tonga got involved behind the referee’s back, giving the Champions the advantage as the match went to commercial. Upon return, things built to a hot tag to R-Truth, who promptly utilized most of John Cena’s moveset. Truth applied the STF to JC Mateo, but the MFTs got involved again, nearly pinning Truth. The Wyatts then appeared, and a brawl ensued. Truth hit the AA on Mateo and got the pinfall. Truth and Priest are the new WWE Tag Team Champions. 

The Bella Twins were interviewed backstage, saying they were going to beat Nia Jax and Lash Legend for the Tag titles later tonight. They were interrupted by Charlotte and Alexa Bliss, who were annoyed that the Bellas “jumped the line” and wanted the winners. 

Johnny Gargano was planking on a crate backstage when Candice asked Danhausen to help. Danhausen asked for $20 and then disappeared. The Motor City Machine Guns walked by on their way to their match with Fraxiom. 

Sami Zayn was asked about Randy Orton’s attack on Cody Rhodes last week, and said that the more he tries to do the right thing, the more things go wrong. Trick Williams interrupted and insulted Sami, who challenged Trick to a match. Trick said he would watch Sami’s match against Aleister Black and give him some pointers. 

Fraxiom vs. MCMG

The next match featured Nathan Frazer and Axiom taking on Motor City Machine Guns. The momentum swung back and forth between the two face teams, with each team hitting high-speed moves on the other. Candice LeRae appeared in the entranceway midway through the match. LeRae then nailed Frazer behind both the referee’s and Chris Sabin’s back, allowing them to get the roll-up pinfall victory. 

The Orton Explanation

Randy Orton was out next in a still-bloody shirt from last week to explain his actions against Cody Rhodes. Orton said that Cody changed everything by saying he needed Orton to “listen to the voices” and he needed the killer instinct to achieve his fifteenth World Championship. Orton said the voices in his head talk to him and tell him he’s going to beat Cody for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. 

Afterward, Orton was backstage and walked by Los Garza and Fenix before finding Apollo Crews and Matt Cardona. Crews walked off. Cardona asked what Orton was thinking, and Orton freaked out, calling Matt a “mark-ass stooge” and “indy nerd”. Orton cold-cocked Cardona and told him to stay out of his business. 

Aleister Black vs. Sami Zayn

Next on the night was Aleister Black taking on Sami Zayn. Trick Williams came down to watch the match before the bell rang. Zayn was continually distracted by Williams throughout the match, allowing Black to maintain control. Zayn finally got some momentum but was booed by the crowd. Sami then pushed Williams’ Lemon Peppa Steppas off the announce table and Williams responded by throwing a drink at Sami. Zayn attacked Williams and got caught with the Black Mass (which really caught Sami hard) upon returning to the ring, allowing Black to get the pinfall victory. 

Matt Cardona was begging Nick Aldis for a match with Randy Orton, but Aldis said no. Carmelo Hayes appeared and asked why the “Open Challenge” was closed. Aldis said that someone had a compelling reason to be next in line. Ilja Dragunov appeared and revealed himself as his opponent. Hayes said, “Tonight, for one of us, it’ll be Champagne. For the other, it’ll be just pain”. Groan. 

A pre-tape promo aired with The Irresistible Forces talking about how it had been years since The Bellas had wrestled as a team, and they had never won the tag titles. They then addressed all the other tag teams on both shows, saying they would demolish them all. 

 

Jade Cargill & Rhea Ripley

WWE Champion Jade Cargill was out to the ring next and immediately called out Rhea Ripley. Ripley said that Jade’s title needs her, not the other way around. Rhea begged Jade to hit her, but Jade said no and left the ring. B-Fab and Michin appeared and suddenly stood behind Jade, revealing that they were with her. The three attacked Ripley and left her lying.

Kit Wilson was talking to The Miz backstage, who started complaining about everything that’s happened to him lately. Danhausen appeared, and Miz said he still didn’t want to mentor him. Danhausen left, saying, “Fine, stay cursed!” and a ladder fell behind them. Miz told Wilson to go it alone tonight, but to be like him when he does it. Suddenly, another ladder fell, nailing Miz.

Solo Sikoa was yelling at the MFTs backstage after their loss of the tag titles. Tama Tonga told Solo to give the lantern back to The Wyatts, and Solo was starting to sound like Roman. Suddenly, Fatu and McIntyre appeared, continuing their brawl from earlier. 

United States Championship

Next was the United States Championship rematch between Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov. Early on, Dragunov hit the Constantine Special and screamed, “This is my ring,” as the show went to ad break. Once back, Hayes hit a dive over the top rope, glancing the top of Ilja’s head and slamming ribs-first into the announce table. Hayes caught Dragunov with a First 48 out of mid-air as Dragunov was diving off the top rope. Dragunov fell into an H-Bomb, landing on top of Hayes, but Hayes got his foot on the rope as the show went to commercial again. Once back, Hayes reversed a Superplex Attempt into a mid-air Cutter for a near fall. The pace picked up from here with both men hitting harder and faster, with Hayes reversing a Torpedo Moscow into another First 48 for a two count. Dragunov hit the Torpedo Moscow, but Hayes hit a Sunset Flip to pick up the win. This was a very good match. 

Damian Priest and R-Truth were speaking with Jelly Roll backstage and said they were going to celebrate. Jelly ran into Randy Orton, who apologized for last week. He said not to worry about it, but didn’t understand why Orton would go backwards to a version of himself that he’s already beaten. Orton said he didn’t know how to fix things, and Jelly Roll suggested starting with Matt Cardona. The two hugged, and the segment ended. 

Kit Wilson & Jelly Roll

The next match featured Kit Wilson facing off with Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll came out and challenged Wilson to a match, but Wilson said he doesn’t fight with his fists; he fights with his words. Jelly Roll thought Wilson meant a rap battle, but Wilson said it was slam poetry. Wilson rattled off insults in poem form, and Jelly responded with some of his own. Wilson finally lost it and attacked him, leaving him lying after a flying corkscrew elbow. 

Later backstage, Aldis granted Jelly Roll a match against Wilson next week in Pittsburgh.

Kiana James and Giulia were backstage, with Giulia complaining that Kiana couldn’t get the job done. Chelsea Green interrupted and suggested they all work together to take out Tiffany Stratton. The Irresistible Forces then shoved Chelsea’s wheelchair offscreen, knocking Alba Fyre down in the process.

Women’s Tag Team Championship

The next match was the second of two Tag title matches on the evening, with The Bella Twins taking on The Irresistible Forces. Ninety seconds into the match, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss made their entrance, distracting The Bellas and allowing the Champions to gain an advantage. After a commercial, the Bellas began to mount a comeback until Jax hit a second rope Samoan Drop on Nikki. Nikki had the Fearless Lock on Lash when Nia grabbed one of the titles and went to hit Brie. Charlotte intervened and hit Jax in the process, causing the DQ. This upset the Bellas, and all three teams started brawling. 

Backstage, Randy Orton was on the phone, saying he was glad he picked up, and he was going to the ring to “fix it” right now. 

Next Week

  • Jelly Roll vs. Kit Wilson
  • Women’s United States Championship: Giulia vs. Tiffany Stratton
  • Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. The Bella Twins

Mister Fix It

Randy Orton came back down to the ring (extremely slowly – so slow it felt like they were stalling for a commercial, but they weren’t) for the final segment and called out Matt Cardona. Orton apologized to Cardona and said he has to apologize to Cody next week. The two hugged, and Orton hit him with a low blow and an RKO.

 

Orton set up the steps the same way he did for Cody last week, and WWE Officials ran down to stop him. Cardona was bleeding, and the crowd chanted “Randy”. Orton threw Cardona back into the ring and beat Cardona down, Pillmanizing his arm in a chair. The crowd then chanted “one more time”. They then cut to Fatu and McIntyre still brawling outside of the building, with the two on some kind of metal structure. A fence prevented the officials from reaching them, and both men fell as the show ended. 

About John Kleinchester 308 Articles
John Kleinchester is a New Jersey–based wrestling reporter, primarily covering WWE and AEW. He can be reached at [email protected].
Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn