Backstage Update On Drew McIntyre's WWE Championship Win Over Cody Rhodes

With WrestleMania season on the horizon, WWE made the bold decision to take the Undisputed WWE Championship off of Cody Rhodes Friday night on SmackDown.

After having numerous opportunities to capture the gold over the past five years, Drew McIntyre finally won back the company's top prize when he defeated The American Nightmare in a Three Stages of Hell Match.

The Scottish Warrior claimed victory in the third and decisive stage of the match after Jacob Fatu made his highly anticipated return to television. The Samoan Werewolf interrupted the steel cage portion of the SmackDown main event to attack McIntyre, presumably in retaliation for the backstage assault he suffered last year, but he ended up brawling with Rhodes as well.

UNBELIEVABLE... 🤯

Don't miss SmackDown TONIGHT at 8e/7c on @usanetwork! pic.twitter.com/ANlKoubwTV
— WWE (@WWE) January 9, 2026

McIntyre took advantage of the situation by crawling out of the cage door and claiming his first WWE Championship since Elimination Chamber 2021. It was a truly shocking outcome as Cody Rhodes appeared to have a straight path to his fifth WrestleMania main event in four years.

Reports had surfaced earlier this winter that the WWE creative team was considering another rematch between Rhodes and Roman Reigns at The 'Showcase of the Immortals', and that match may still end up on the card this April, but the WWE Championship being involved is no longer a guarantee.

WrestleMania season just became very unpredictable

As for why the decision was made to throw such a massive curveball this close to the Royal Rumble, the folks over at BodySlam are reporting that the push to do so came directly from both Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre themselves.

"Sources indicate to Bodyslam that both Rhodes and McIntyre pitched for the title change once again just like they did back around WrestlePalooza. WWE decided the time was right and pulled the trigger to crown Drew in front of a red hot crowd in Berlin."

While the immediate creative future of Cody Rhodes is now up in the air, Drew McIntyre already knows that his first title defense is coming up at the Royal Rumble on January 31.

WWE announced on Friday that a No. 1 Contenders Tournament, featuring Randy Orton, The Miz, Damian Priest, Solo Sikoa, Matt Cardona, Trick Williams, Sami Zayn and Ilja Dragunov, will begin next week. The winner of which will move on to face McIntyre for the title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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