‘WWE SmackDown’ (02/06/26): 4 Things We Loved & 1 We Didn’t

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown continues the fallout of the Royal Rumble last weekend. Women’s Royal Rumble winner Liv Morgan gets on the mic, with WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill and Jordynne Grace interrupting her. Not only that, Cody Rhodes cuts a fired up promo about losing his opportunity in the Rumble thanks to Drew McIntyre.

Keep reading to find out what we loved and hated from this week’s WWE SmackDown…

Loved: Carmelo Hayes vs. The Miz

Miz wants a title shot, but Ilja Dragunov already called his shot. Carmelo Hayes makes it easy: Miz gets a non-title match tonight on SmackDown. I can’t say enough great things about Hayes’ reign as U.S. Champion. He took the ball and ran and he hasn’t stopped running. The weekly challenges are a great way to keep eyes on him so as not to get lost in the shuffle with all the other WWE Champions. And as much as people hate on Miz, he made a damn good opponent for Hayes.

Loved: Elimination Chamber Triple Threat

It’s great to see some of the standouts from the women’s Royal Rumble immediately get thrust into a program for Elimination Chamber. Tiffany Stratton made her long-awaited return at No. 30, and Lash Legend had an impressive showing as well, picking up eliminations and staying in for most of the match. Chelsea Green is one of the most fantastic personalities WWE has available, so I’ll never complain about her in any match. After Nia Jax and Lash neutralized Green, Stratton set up for the Unprettier, but countered with the PME for the win.

Disliked: Cody Rhodes’ promo

While I can appreciate Rhodes being upset for losing his opportunity in this year’s Royal Rumble, what I certainly can’t get behind is his joke about his nickname “Raheem.” If you live under a rock, years ago, Black wrestling fans created an inside joke about Rhodes to mock him. Now he’s acknowledging it on live television. And of course the audience laughed.

Loved: Women’s Title Chaos

Morgan headed to the ring to make her big decision: Will she face Cargill or Stephanie Vaquer at WrestleMania 42? She opts to address the “elephant in the room” first, Raquel Rodriguez. Cargill interrupts, stating that if Morgan picks her, she‘ll beat her ass at Mania. Morgan says she might just take her title and Rodriguez can take Vaquer’s so the Judgment Day holds all the gold. Grace appears demanding a title shot from Cargill, so they settle it with a tag match tonight. It goes about how one would expect, with both teams accidentally knocking down their partners. Grace pinned Rodriguez for the win. Next week, she gets her title shot.

The most exciting stories in WWE right now are undoubtedly the women. Especially Morgan, she’s more than earned her spot as a top star in the company.

Loved: Randy Orton makes history

The main event of the evening saw a second Elimination Chamber qualifier. Randy Orton took on Solo Sikoa and Aleister Black. Orton hit several RKOs, including a no-look one on Sikoa for the win. This win marks his tenth appearance in the Elimination Chamber, the most of anybody in WWE history. He should definitely be involved in the title picture come WrestleMania.

The post ‘WWE SmackDown’ (02/06/26): 4 Things We Loved & 1 We Didn’t appeared first on VICE.