Will ‘The Scottish Warrior’ Lose the WWE Championship on the March 6th Episode of SmackDown?
Inside the Men’s 2026 Elimination Chamber Match, WWE Champion ‘The Scottish Warrior’ Drew McIntyre interfered, hitting ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes with his belt and with his signature move, the Claymore. Rhodes would hit Cross Rhodes on McIntyre, which allowed ‘The Viper’ Randy Orton a moment to RKO Rhodes and win the match. After the 2026 Elimination Chamber premium live event, Friday Night SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis told ‘The Scottish Warrior’ he will be defending his championship against ‘The American Nightmare’ on the March 6th episode of SmackDown. While McIntyre’s reign as WWE Champion has been refreshing, there’s a very good chance he could lose the title to set up a feud the WWE Universe has been waiting to see in Rhodes vs. Orton.
Since arriving back at WWE during WrestleMania 38, the WWE Universe has been waiting for Rhodes to cross paths with his former Legacy stablemate, Orton. There have been multiple times when ‘The American Nightmare’ was champion and ‘The Viper’ set his sights on the title. We’ve been eagerly waiting for the moment Orton would turn his back on his former mentee after being envious of his success. Yet, even with all the hints and teases, WWE still never pulled it off. On SmackDown, Rhodes was being criticized by Sami Zayn for taking advantage in matches and for stabbing Zayn in the back during their Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match. Now, Rhodes knows how it feels to be taken advantage of after ‘The Viper’ quickly hit his RKO and won the Elimination Chamber.
We’ve seen McIntyre vs. Orton before for the WWE Championship, but when that feud took place, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Igniting this feud again with the crowd in the mix could be interesting. Yet, Rhodes vs. Orton hasn’t taken place in nearly 20 years. This would be a culmination of their side-by-side story growing through the business. The other option, I believe, is still on the table for WrestleMania XLII: a fatal four-way between McIntyre, Orton, Rhodes, and Jacob Fatu. We still have not learned who attacked Fatu months ago, and I believe that storyline is continuing to play out in front of our eyes. There’s certainly a chance that Fatu could interfere in the WWE Championship match on SmackDown, which allows McIntyre to retain, and gives Fatu and Rhodes reasons to be put in the match at WrestleMania.
To me, the best option to get the WWE Universe’s attention is to make the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XLII a fatal four-way. Just Rhodes vs. Orton is certainly the second-best option on the table; however, having McIntyre and Fatu in the match adds two heels alongside Rhodes and Orton, who are both babyfaces. This gives WWE the option not to make Orton turn heel if they do not want him to. Perhaps a fatal four-way between these superstars will also expand on the eventual rivalry between ‘The American Nightmare’ and ‘The Viper’. If the March 6th WWE Championship match has no interferences, I believe Rhodes walks away victorious, setting up a match between him and Orton. If some interference happens with Fatu or anyone else, McIntyre retains, and it sets up a fatal four-way at WrestleMania XLII.
