Jacob Fatu got his teeth kicked down his throat on the October 17, 2025, episode of SmackDown. He was originally scheduled to battle Drew McIntyre at SNME XLII in November to determine who would be next for Cody Rhodes and the WWE Title. However, he was taken out of commission and had to commit to tooth surgery for two months before returning on the first SmackDown of 2026.
On that SmackDown, he unsurprisingly attacked Drew McIntyre in his three stages of hell match with Cody Rhodes. Fatu suspected that McIntyre was the one who attacked him backstage to get a shortcut to the WWE Title. However, just like the masked man tormenting the Vision and the WWE Box, the mystery of who attacked Fatu still remains unresolved. Here are 3 potential culprits for said attack.
Drew McIntyre
The clue word here is that Fatu got his teeth “kicked” down his throat. That means someone with a lethal kick as a signature move would be a more likely suspect for this mystery attack. Drew McIntyre’s Claymore fits the bill for that description. As said earlier, it makes sense for him to be the one to do it, as it would be a shortcut to the WWE Title. However, McIntyre may be a red herring.
When Fatu called out Drew for attacking him and chickening out of facing him in their scheduled number one contender’s match, Drew said that he did not attack Fatu and would not have admitted to doing anything that dastardly. McIntyre could be lying, but he is also not a cowardly heel. He loves gloating about screwing his rivals over. But what if he vicariously did this through someone else?
Aleister Black
Hopefully, there is no blackmail going on in this mystery, but Aleister Black’s Black Mass also fits the bill for a lethal kick as a signature move. In his dark room, he speaks in mysterious riddles that are hard to decode. However, it was quite easy to decipher Black’s intentions ever since he challenged Cody Rhodes for the WWE Title on the November 7, 2025, episode of SmackDown.
During his feud with Damian Priest, Black always had his eyes on the WWE Title. He even attacked Damian Priest backstage in the same location where Fatu was attacked. It is also suspicious that McIntyre has interfered on Black’s behalf in his matches with Cody that night and even with Randy Orton last week. What if Black is working for Drew? Or, what if Drew McIntyre is being framed?
Randy Orton
CM Punk is not the only one with those “What If?” questions. What if Randy Orton kicked Jacob Fatu’s teeth down his throat with the signature Punt Kick? Maybe Orton did it to protect Cody because he saw Fatu as a threat to his star pupil’s title. Maybe Orton did it as a sadistic way to frame Drew and get a step closer to the WWE title that he has been eyeing ever since Cody held it around his waist.
Randy Orton was taken out of commission by The Vision on the October 3, 2025, episode of SmackDown after a tag match with Cody Rhodes. It can be argued that Orton would not have been there on the October 17 episode two weeks later to attack Fatu since he was selling the attack. However, Paul Heyman did spoil that Orton would turn heel and betray Cody Rhodes’ trust before WrestleMania.
Cody went through hell and back with Fatu. If Cody finds out that Orton did this all along and put him through all this trouble, he will be flabbergasted. Orton could have attacked Fatu as revenge for what Bloodline did to them, but Cody, the noble hero who does not back away from challenges, would be disappointed in Orton’s actions since he sees him as his role model from their days in Legacy.
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