WWE SmackDown results, review, grades: Cody Rhodes gets DQ'd against Drew McIntyre; new U.S. champ crowned

McIntyre challenged Rhodes for the undisputed WWE title after Jacob Fatu was assaulted backstage

The hunter is the hunted on WWE SmackDown, and the champ is angry. "The Samoan Werewolf" Jacob Fatu's hopes to challenge undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes were crushed after Fatu was discovered bloodied, beaten and missing teeth backstage.

Drew McIntyre, who was set to wrestle Fatu in a No. 1 contender's match, is suspected of assaulting Fatu. He denied being the culprit, but relished in crowning himself the default next challenger for Rhodes' title. McIntyre expected to challenge Rhodes next, but he probably didn't expect it so soon. Rhodes, angered by Fatu's attack, staked his title the very same night.

SmackDown featured two additional title matches in the WWE women's tag team and United States champions, plus a surprise return after a year away.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from SAP Center in San Jose, California

Fatu gets attacked backstage, Rhodes defends title in impromptu match

SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis opened the show, announcing that the match between Fatu and McIntyre would be a No. 1 contender's match for the undisputed WWE championship. Rhodes made a brief appearance, hyping up the main event.

Fast forward to the main event. Fatu's music hit, but he was missing. The cameras walked into a ton of commotion backstage. WWE personnel were seen attending to Fatu, who was lying on the floor, bloodied and with teeth missing. McIntyre mosied on over to the ring and demanded he be crowned the rightful No. 1 contender. 

Aldis interrogated McIntyre about Fatu's assault, but the Scotsman insisted he had nothing to do with it. Queue Rhodes. The irate champ refused to believe that McIntyre wasn't responsible for the attack. Rhodes, still wearing a dress shirt and slacks, stormed to the ring and challenged McIntyre to an impromptu title match. The two brawled into the crowd before making their way back ringside.

Undisputed WWE Championship -- Drew McIntyre def. Cody Rhodes (c) via disqualification after Rhodes hit McIntyre with the title belt. The referee rang the bell once the superstars returned to the ring, officially signaling the start of the match. Each man hit their signature moves in the brief match. McIntyre laid Rhodes out with a Future Shock DDT. Rhodes clocked McIntyre with a Cody Cutter. The action spilled back outside. McIntyre went to grab Rhodes from the timekeeper's area and was greeted with gold to the grill. Rhodes was disqualified for using a weapon, but titles cannot change hands by DQ or countout.

Post-match, the bitter rivals continued brawling around the ring, ending with Rhodes diving off the corner post onto McIntyre and countless security guards.

Last week's SmackDown sparked a lot of hope about the creative upturn. This week cooled expectations. Fatu being written off television so soon after returning suggests there's an issue. That can't be avoided, and I hope he recovers quickly. But for WWE to retread Rhodes vs. McIntyre less than a month after Wrestlepalooza is sheer laziness. The company has done nothing to suggest that they'll ever pull the trigger on McIntyre, and that makes this feud uninteresting.

The impromptu match was the perfect moment for a title change. Rhodes would've let his emotions get the better of him, allowing McIntyre to pick up a brief title reign and give the story purpose. WWE has a bad habit right now of building to a new direction but getting cold feet when it's time to pull the trigger. Aleister Black was relegated to a vignette after last week's huge win over Damian Priest. The Wyatt Sicks and MFTs rehashed last week's face-off. And don't get me started on poor Sami Zayn. Grade: C-

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• Solo Sikoa and the MFTs attacked Rey Fenix backstage.
• WWE Women's Tag Team Championships -- Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair (c) def. Sol Ruca & Zaria via submission after Flair locked up a Figure Eight on Ruca.
• United States Championship -- Ilja Dragunov def. Sami Zayn (c) via pinfall with an H-Bomb to win the U.S. title in an open challenge. This was Dragunov's first match in 13 months since getting injured. The MFTs attacked both men post-match. Fenix tried to rescue them but failed. Afterward, the lights turned off and the Wyatt Sicks appeared to face off with Sikoa's squad.
• Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) def. Los Garza (Angel & Berto) via pinfall after hitting Skull and Bones.