Cody Rhodes punts Baron Corbin on Friday Night SmackDown

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WWE SmackDown promised a face-to-face between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton as the night’s key event, and we nearly got swerved by Baron Freakin’ Corbin. Fortunately, the show ended with a satisfactory conclusion that introduced a whole new direction. The first image we saw of Rhodes was The American Nightmare entering the arena in Sacramento while wearing eyeglasses, so you know he was in a serious mood. While he looked pensive, he must’ve been happy later in the show after spotting a few people in the crowd wearing Street Fighter merchandise in the form of plastic wigs to look like his character Guile’s exaggerated flattop. Since Rhodes was in workout clothes instead of a robber baron suit, viewers were understandably expecting a fight with Orton. What we got instead was Baron Corbin. Yes, Baron Corbin, whose entrance music hit instead of The Viper’s, and who quickly got physical with Rhodes. Somehow, they thought they could fool us into thinking there was time for an actual match between these two and Randy would just hang backstage putting his junk in someone’s boot doing needlepoint. The two men went at it pretty hard for a few minutes, but we all knew Orton would soon make his presence felt. Well, Randy didn’t disappoint, and the match ended in a DQ as Orton roughed up Cody on the outside of the ring. RANDY ORTON IS HERE AND HE'S LIKE A MAN POSSESSED! 🫢 pic.twitter.com/FlhaHPa0II — WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2026 Rhodes managed to avoid a Punt from Orton, and he seemed on the way to dishing out the move himself before Baron resurfaced to end the fun. Orton retreated to the aisle, but at least we got to see Rhodes Punt Baron. The crowd chanted “one more time,” as Orton looked perturbed and retreated to the back. CODY RHODES JUST HIT BARON CORBIN WITH THE PUNT RIGHT IN FRONT OF RANDY ORTON!!! That was almost you, Randy. 👀 pic.twitter.com/OchqPW9SaV — WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2026 While it still didn’t feel like a complete sea change, Cody moved closer tonight to embracing some buried, darker instincts. I wouldn’t expect an actual heel turn yet, but this edge could certainly inject a new energy in this feud. Before delving deeper into the show, I recommend checking out a full rundown of all the action on SmackDown from the always-excellent Claire Elizabeth’s live blog. Also on SmackDown… Before we got the Cody and Randy Show, Sami Zayn kicked off the night with Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae to remind us he’s The Last Real Good Guy. He was quickly interrupted by Trick Williams, and the audience really wanted to see these two go at it, but we got Gargano cutting off the tense standoff. Of course, WWE is not going to give away Trick versus Sami on a SmackDown, so Johnny Wrestling will instead get whooped. Trick controlled most the action early until LaRae (naturally) provided a little distraction for her hubby to get the upper hand. Things stalled a bit while they fought outside the ring — the split screen commercial break didn’t help — but the tempo picked up when Trick got back on the offensive. Williams (mostly) landed a Trick Shot knee on a slingshotting Gargano but oddly opted to execute a manhandle slam before pinning his opponent clean. Sami Zayn may have just realized that Trick Williams does in fact have "IT." 👏 pic.twitter.com/TRCEr6zos8 — WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2026 The ending was exactly what should have happened, but I found myself slightly relieved given WWE’s pension for having messy interferences leading to non-finishes. Zayn getting back-up from Gargano/LaRae still feels a little random, but I feel like it works, mostly because the trio are veterans/pros. And getting Trick on the card is always a bonus…so,pretty decent opener. Nikki Bella and Paige are still feuding, apparently… Considering how half-hearted WWE has dealt with this rivalry, I was somewhat surprised Paige and Bella faced off tonight after Nikki cheated to beat the English star last month. I kind of assumed the feud was being sidelined until Brie returns from her injury, but maybe WWE wanted Nikki to clear her plate to challenge Chelsea Green for the Women’s Championship (more on that later). Despite my own lack of enthusiasm about this match — and that’s no disrespect toward either woman — the bout had some notable moments. Nikki slung Paige from the apron onto the outside floor in what looked like a brutal bump. Paige acted as if her already-compromised neck was hurt soon afterwards, and the crowd got into it as the fight went on. Paige pulled out a Five Knuckle Shuffle to taunt Bella about her former fiancé, John Cena, but Nikki quickly responded with her own STF submission. YOU CAN'T SEE ME! 👋 pic.twitter.com/Xgu0OSFcqg — WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2026 Two more things I didn’t expect: Paige picked up the win, though she needed to cheat with a foot on the ropes, and the fact that I ended up enjoying the match. Maybe there’s a little life in this feud after all, at least until what Nikki is now being built up for (still coming). The build for CM Punk and Kevin Owens continues Although it was brief, CM Punk and Kevin Owens exchanged words backstage. Smackdown GM Nick Aldis promised a rematch between the two once both are healthy. Has Sami already moved on from this whole situation? Anyway, these two tell a good story in the ring, as well as in promos. R-Truth and Damien Priest resolved nothing At 54 years old, R-Truth continues to defy time. He began this match with an aerial assault before Damien Priest took control. The former tag team partners have decent chemistry against each other, and Priest is better in aggressive, heel “El Malo” mode. Yet, their issues don’t seem to be over as the referee stopped the match after Truth suffered a bad landing following a missile dropkick. Fraxiom quickly hit the ring to protect Truth, which could allow Triple H to continue his favorite pastime of building warring factions. At the very least, it seems like we’ll see Priest and Truth squaring off again down the line. Jacy Jayne is still a heat magnet Fatal Influence interrupted Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley celebrating their recent WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship win. This particular faction’s leader, Women’s United States Champion Jacy Jayne, was serenaded with boos. Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid wasted no time in attacking, but the champs beat them off. This felt like a squandered opportunity for more of a showdown, but WWE at least managed to give some screen time to Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab when they teased tension backstage with Fatal Influence. Fatal Influence really thought… THE WOMEN'S TAG CHAMPS STAY ON TOP! 😤 pic.twitter.com/H51n1uEgfv — WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2026 Finally, a way forward for Ricky Saints? Simply put, Rey Fenix is a show stealer. His innovative offense never fails to impress, and he sells his ass off, as he showed tonight against Ricky Saints. Saints, meanwhile, remains underappreciated. Despite his undeniable talent, Saints hasn’t found his footing on the main roster, though that has a lot to do with his booking. But perhaps this match could be a turning point. Saints’ bump into referee Charles Robinson caused him to be disqualified and thus coming up short in his challenge for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship. Given that he already quickly passed through NXT, could this be a sign that Saints will have a run in AAA? I hope so. THEY COULD NEVER MAKE US HATE YOU CHARLES ROBINSON! 🫡 Ricky Saints just got DQ'd for trying to cheat his way to a victory against Rey Fenix pic.twitter.com/WWHnEC7MSL — WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2026 Stray observations •Blake Monroe chatted backstage with Aldis, because she can’t be bothered to actually wrestle, and she was interrupted by Chelsea Green. Monroe said Chelsea’s championship reign has lasted longer than she expected, leading Green to respond, “How long did you hold it for?” Maybe it was how unscripted the line felt, but it got a genuine laugh out of me. •Chelsea was actually backstage to continue building to Nikki Bella challenging her for the title in a match that I don’t think many people really want to see. No shade to Nikki, but I’d rather see Chelsea versus Blake at this point. Can you please book that one, Nick? •R-Truth’s pre-fight promo began with him in serious mode only for him to then quote the theme from Golden Girls. Please don’t ever retire, Mr. Killings. •I still don’t know how to feel about Michael Hayes being in Agent of Shadows. We’re not supposed to take his role seriously, right? •We also got a very brief segment with GUNTHER and Danhausen, but instead of setting up a rematch, the moment seemed mostly to exist in order to push The Ring General feuding with a MIA Finn Bálor. I’m withholding judgment on this feud for now. Final Thoughts Overall, SmackDown was decent tonight. There wasn’t anything that really blew me away, but there also wasn’t anything that was terrible. A frequent downfall of the show is too many pointless backstage segments, but those were kept at a minimum tonight and mostly felt like they had a purpose. Grade: B+ What do you think, Cagesiders? How would you grade tonight’s SmackDown? Let us know in the comments.

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Remember just one month ago when Cody Rhodes was caught by cameras telling Michael Cole he’s going to kick Randy Orton in his (expletive deleted) head when he gets the chance? It was a decidedly dark turn for a wrestler many believe will be turning heel at some point in the near future. If nothing else, it made him a lot more interesting. Well, he’s been trying to make good on that promise in the weeks since then but something is always getting in the way of his doing so. This week on Friday Night SmackDown, it was Baron Corbin of all people: IS RANDY ORTON GONNA PUNT CODY?!?! 😳 pic.twitter.com/f4P6bRP3qW — WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2026 WWE tried to pretend like Orton wasn’t going to be there, instead sending Corbin out to have an impromptu match with Rhodes. In reality, they were simply working with what they had to get to the big angle as the show was going off the air. Cody punting Baron in front of Randy: CODY RHODES JUST HIT BARON CORBIN WITH THE PUNT RIGHT IN FRONT OF RANDY ORTON!!! That was almost you, Randy. 👀 pic.twitter.com/OchqPW9SaV — WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2026 It’s a significant step. You’ll notice the muted reaction to it. No one in the arena seemed on board with Rhodes doing it, and they didn’t react the way you would have thought after it was done. We’re obviously still headed for Rhodes vs. Orton, so I’m not entirely certain WWE should have given away Cody’s willingness to do this before he actually went ahead with doing it to Randy. If nothing else, it should alter how his old friend treats him moving forward, knowing he’s legitimately capable and willing to do it even to (not entirely, but still) relatively innocent bystanders. Did you like the decision?