WWE SmackDown Notes: Trick Williams Appears & Says He’s a Free Agent, Carmelo Hayes Wins WWE United States Title, Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes in Three Stages of Hell Match for Undisputed WWE Title Set for 1/9/26 Show, 1/2/26 Show Card

Dec 26, 2025

Trick Williams Makes Surprise Appearance & Says He’s a Free Agent

Friday’s taped WWE SmackDown show featured NXT talent Trick Williams making a surprise appearance.

During the show, Williams was seen in SmackDown GM Nick Aldis’ office and told him that RAW is offering him the bag to sign with them and asked Aldis if SmackDown will offer him something. This led to Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes showing up and asked Trick for a minute of alone time with Aldis. Trick walked away and Rhodes asked Aldis if Drew McIntyre has paid his fine and apologized, which Aldis responded back stating not yet. After some words of warning by Aldis to Rhodes, Trick came back and told Rhodes that he is the hottest free agent in the game. Trick continued stating that if Aldis makes the right decision, Rhodes better hold on to the title. Rhodes gave a brief response back before walking away.

Put some respect on @_trickwilliams's name! 😤@CodyRhodes pic.twitter.com/KXVRm3c9W5
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2025

Carmelo Hayes Wins WWE United States Title

Friday’s taped WWE SmackDown show also featured Carmelo Hayes defeating Ilja Dragunov to become the new WWE United States Champion.

HE DID IT!!!! @Carmelo_WWE beat @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR for the United States Championship!! 👏 pic.twitter.com/n56mC6xVzE
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2025

AND NEW! @Carmelo_WWE is your NEW United States Champion! 🏆🔥 pic.twitter.com/sfpfXPtxUR
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2025

This was Hayes’ first ever WWE United States Championship victory and his first championship victory in his WWE main roster career.

Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes in Three Stages of Hell Match for Undisputed WWE Title Announced for Jan. 9, 2026 WWE SmackDown Show

Friday’s taped WWE SmackDown show also featured one new match announced for the card of the January 9, 2026 show at the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany.

This new match announced was an Undisputed WWE Championship Three Stages of Hell match of Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes (c).

This new match was initially setup over recent months shows over McIntyre and Rhodes’ bad blood issues with each other and McIntyre agreeing to terms for a deal with SmackDown GM Nick Aldis for his suspension to be lifted and return to SmackDown. During tonight’s show, McIntyre, Aldis, and a referee came out to the ring. Aldis talked about the situation with Rhodes has gotten out of hand but he will not put all the blame on McIntyre. Aldis continued stating when things really went off the rails is when McIntyre attacked the referee. After some words between Aldis and McIntyre, McIntyre handed Aldis a check to pay off his fine. McIntyre then apologized to the referee who responded back with a nod. After some more insincere apologetic words by McIntyre, Rhodes’ music played to interrupt and came out to the ring to confront him.

Of course @DMcIntyreWWE couldn't just apologize… @RealNickAldis pic.twitter.com/Fr7ZUXtENB
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2025

This led to more insults by McIntyre directed at Rhodes and his family resulting in Rhodes growing more angry each time while Aldis held him back from hitting McIntyre due to the stipulation of Rhodes being stripped of his title if he touches McIntyre before their match.

Keep his wife's name out of your mouth, @DMcIntyreWWE! 😤@CodyRhodes pic.twitter.com/w8YKkMa6XD
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2025

McIntyre then revealed that the stipulation for his match against Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE title will be a Three States of Hell, which Rhodes agreed. After some more insults by McIntyre including him asking Cody to say hi to his dad Dusty when he sends him to hell, a brawl broke out between the two that quickly ended with McIntyre laying out Rhodes with a Claymore and posed with the title belt as the show went to a close.

THREE STAGES OF HELL?!??

These two are going to absolutely destroy each other 🫣@DMcIntyreWWE @CodyRhodes pic.twitter.com/n8MS0mWkUB
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2025

Current card for January 9, 2026 WWE SmackDown show:

Undisputed WWE Championship Three Stages of Hell match – Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes (c)

Current Card for Next Week’s Show

Friday’s taped WWE SmackDown show also featured three new matches announced for the card of next week’s show on January 2, 2026 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.

This upcoming show will also be SmackDown’s official return as a weekly three-hour show.

Current card for January 2, 2026 WWE SmackDown show:

Eight-Women Tag Team match – Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, & IYO SKY vs. Nia Jax, Lash Legend, & Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane)
Aleister Black vs. Damian Priest
Jade Cargill vs. Michin