Drew McIntyre shocked fans earlier this year when he walked out of WWE’s overseas SmackDown with the Undisputed World Championship — but now an unexpected name is claiming he had a hand in how it all came together.
While speaking on BodySlam.net’s podcast with Famous Davis, Nick LoPiccolo said he was involved behind the scenes in McIntyre’s title win, pulling back the curtain on the business side of the moment.
Before getting into his role, it’s worth remembering just how chaotic that title change actually was. McIntyre defeated Cody Rhodes in a brutal 3 Stages of Hell match that spiraled out of control. After splitting the first two falls, the final stage moved inside a steel cage. Just when things looked like they could go either way, Jacob Fatu stormed in, took out McIntyre, then turned his attention to Rhodes — creating just enough chaos for McIntyre to escape the cage and steal the win. The finish stunned the crowd and crowned a new champion on the spot. According to LoPiccolo, moments like that don’t just happen randomly.
“Like, people don’t understand how this works. Like, Drew winning the title… yeah, I was involved in that. I’m not gonna sit here and say I wasn’t.”
He explained that the path to a title win is shaped long before the bell rings, with multiple factors coming into play behind the scenes. LoPiccolo pushed back on the idea that a major title change — especially one as wild as McIntyre’s overseas victory — is simply decided in the moment.
“There’s conversations that happen. There’s positioning that happens. There’s leverage that happens. There’s timing that happens. Like, all of that stuff matters.”
“It’s not just like, ‘oh, they just decided one day.’ That’s not how it works. There’s a lot that goes into that behind the scenes.”
He also clarified exactly what he meant by being “involved,” drawing a line between influence and control. For LoPiccolo, this is the part of the industry fans rarely see — the business side that helps shape outcomes like McIntyre’s fourth world title win.
“And yeah, I played a role in that. I’m not saying I booked it… I’m not saying I made the decision… but I was involved in the process.”
“That’s the stuff people don’t see. That’s the business side of it. That’s the leverage side of it.”
Even though McIntyre is no longer champion, the claim adds a new layer to one of the most chaotic title changes of the year, suggesting there was more going on behind the scenes than fans realized when the cage door opened and the match ended.
Do you believe outside influence and business strategy play a bigger role in WWE title changes than fans think, or should moments like Drew McIntyre’s win come down strictly to creative decisions? Let us know your thoughts below.
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