‘WWE Smackdown’ (01/16/26) Results: Quest To Decide Drew McIntyre’s First Challenger Is On

Another week, another episode of WWE SmackDown. This week, WWE heads to London, England. Things open up with new Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. The former Women’s Tag Team Champions are also in action, and we’ll hear a special announcement from Cody Rhodes.

Keep reading for the results of this week’s WWE SmackDown…

Drew McIntyre Says Feud with Cody is over

The selling point of this match was that it would be the last time they faced each other for the championship, and it appears that’s really true. McIntyre enters to “Scotland The Great” on the bagpipes and a chorus of cheers despite him being a heel. He says there was a clause he put into the contract that Nick Aldis signed off on: Rhodes cannot challenge for the title again. So who will McIntyre’s first challenger be? Well, that’s to be decided in a series of qualifying matches.

There are four total and the four men who come out on top will face each other in a fatal four-way at SNME. The winner of that match faces McIntyre at the Royal Rumble.

Randy Orton Advances in Qualifier

Orton is the first man to advance after beating The Miz. After McIntyre’s segment — which left Orton alone in the ring — Miz snuck up on him and gave him a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz had early control of the match but Orton didn’t stay down for long. The action made it to the outside and once back inside, Miz attempts a roll-up pin. Orton escapes and hits the RKO for the win.

Cody Rhodes’ Announcement

Rhodes is looking at ways to get another title shot. The most obvious? To enter the Royal Rumble, duh. He notes he’s a back-to-back Rumble winner, but the likelihood of him winning a third Rumble is slim (but never zero). So, he declares himself the first man to enter the 2026 men’s Royal Rumble.

After that’s out of the way he calls out Jacob Fatu for his interference last week. He says he’s got a receipt so either he can come collect or Rhodes will come get it himself. That leads to Fatu coming out later in the show, demanding Rhodes meet him face-to-face. The former champion does, and they brawl. Security and Aldis eventually take control of the situation and hold them back. They will face each other at SNME next weekend.

Trick Williams Goes Over Matt Cardona

Trick Williams and Matt Cardona face off in the second qualifying match of the evening. While Cardona recently re-signed with the WWE, Williams has been on a tear since his main roster arrival. He’s confronted CM Punk and Orton, two of the biggest legends in wrestling.

Cardona had the momentum in the early goings but once the show came back from commercial Williams took control. He won the match after pulling down his knee pad and hitting Cardona with a running knee.

His stock is very high, so I’m not at all surprised to see him win. WWE desperately needs to build up their younger talent, and I think they’ve done a decent job so far.

The Wyatt Sicks Interfere in Solo’s Qualifying Match

Solo Sikoa met Damian Priest in the next qualifying match, and he brought along his MFTs. Whenever they’re around causing chaos it doesn’t look well for Sikoa’s opponent. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out well for him this time. They aided him throughout most of the match, providing distractions to give Sikoa time to recover. But The Wyatt Sicks suddenly appearing on the commentary desk changed things. They began brawling and Uncle Howdy went to retrieve his lantern which Sikoa prevents him from doing. When Sikoa rolled back inside he was hit with the South of Heaven by Priest. Priest advances while Uncle Howdy grabs the lantern. He’s hit with a big boot though, and the MFTs take it back.

Jordynne Grace vs. Chelsea Green

This was a swift match. Grace let Green show off momentarily, but she squashed her in a little over two minutes. Afterward, Grace confronted Jade Cargill who was on commentary for the match. She makes it clear she’s coming for the championship.

Final Man in #1 contender’s match decided

The main event saw Sami Zayn up against Ilja Dragunov. Ilja made it clear to McIntyre earlier in the night he wouldn’t mind a shot at the belt, but McIntyre was caught up with Fatu and didn’t care much. After a hard fought match, Zayn won with an Exploder Suplex followed by a Helluva Kick. Post-match, Williams blindsided Zayn with a Trickshot, standing tall over him to close the show.

Considering SNME is in Montreal, I’m not surprised to see the hometown native advance in this tournament.

Stay tuned to VICE for news on WWE.

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