The WWE championship changed hands when Drew McIntyre beat Cody Rhodes in a two out of three falls match in Berlin, a result that was spoiled because of the time difference so the company wisely played into it with teasers on social media to imply the title switch. There’s no doubt that Cody Rhodes dropping the WWE title on an episode of Smackdown was unexpected, given that with the way that he was built around for a few years, you’d expect a title change to be booked at a major pay-per-view.
That’s not to say that this was the wrong decision, but rather to point out how unexpected it was since there are rarely world title matches on television and thus it’s even more rare when a belt changes hands at a TV taping. Of course, this shuffles up the deck, as it was designed to do, but at least right now, I’d have to ask, was this a decision that was made simply to surprise the fan base or is there a bigger plan in place with more substance than the short-term hype of a new champion?
Truth be told, I really think that Cody is a made man at this point, he reached a level where he has the credibility of a top guy and the representative of the organization. As long as he doesn’t flounder, which he won’t as WWE often prioritizes the performer in the position as a representative of the promotion, he can maintain that spot simply by continuing to be the top-notch performer that he is. His status in the organization has transcended championship, a place that allows for more depth to be added to the roster as others can move up the ladder as well.
Cody’s success and status aren’t based on if he has the title, which is a good spot for him to be in as he’s cemented as a main event star without needed to be booked in a way specifically designed to ensure that. So, losing the belt doesn’t hinder or affect his star power, but it definitely creates questions ahead of Wrestlemania season.
Obviously, that intrigue is by design and that’s why it’s the smart move. Cody could’ve coasted into Wrestlemania with a paint-by-numbers approach to the booking and it would’ve been status quo. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s also the risk of complacency, which was one of the main reasons that there was so much drek in the few years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic under the direction of Vince McMahon. In short, this gives the WWE viewers a reason to tune into the shows as the road to Wrestlemania unfolds. That “selling point” to tune into the television product consistently, which is difficult enough as it is with the numerous options of competition for viewers across the landscape of media, simply isn’t an option if the audience knows the predictable feud for Wrestlemania. Again, one of the reasons that the product was so stale during the era that Vince tried to force a push of Roman Reigns as the next John Cena was because you could skip literally a month of Raw or Smackdown without missing much of anything. As we know, the complacent programming of 2015-2018 was ultimately one of reasons that there was a demand for an alternative that led to the launch of All Elite Wrestling.
It can’t be understated how important it is to avoid a stagnant or complacent position in the industry. As we saw in the downturn of the early-2000s and again in the late-2010s, if a product is stable, fans will simply stop watch if there isn’t an alternative. Sure, the diehard audience stuck with it since it was more or less the only option at the time, but the causal fans of those eras often just completely stopped following the sport. Despite the WWE’s international success and the surge of big business they did with their core audience the past few years, there’s a reason that the amount of fans watching pro wrestling consistently today is basically lower than almost any other time in history. Granted, the competition for viewers is exponentially increased as every channel, streaming platform, and podcast compete for a portion of viewers, but the bottom line is, in a previous era, it would’ve been unthinkable that Raw or Smackdown would draw under two million viewers, but it eventually became the status quo.
Maybe that’s a moot point because of the record-setting profits that TKO can tout with their massive media rights deals, but it’s important to keep in mind that the WWE was able to cash-in on those contracts based on the climate of the media industry, as networks and streaming services looked to stay ahead of the curve so to speak and secure their piece of the pie, not because of the popularity of pro wrestling. Along with that, you have to wonder if the core demographic that follows pro wrestling will continue to erode in the future? Where is the WWE in the next decade? If it’s sold to the Saudis, maybe the TKO business strategy is to inflate the value of the company as much as possible in the short-term since the ramifications of that won’t be their concern if Saudi Arabia owns the company two 15 or 20 years from now.
With Drew as the WWE champion, the office more or less can start fresh in the main event scene of Smackdown if there choose to do so. I’m honestly not sure how much meat on the bone there would be left for more of Cody/Drew for the belt. The reason being, Cody beat McIntyre on three different occasions prior to this, putting Drew in danger of being typecast as a secondary guy. Based on the previous booking, it looked as though McIntyre was being used as just an opponent to keep Cody busy at the time, but the title victory gives him a renewed spotlight.
Jacob Fatu made his return after a few months away to heal from an injury, and with the way it was done, he inadvertently costs Rhodes the belt without turning heel. He was pummeling Drew, as it was thought that McIntyre was the one that attacked him to be able to write him out of the show, and Cody was caught in the crossfire, allowing Drew to sneak out of the cage. This gives management a few different options with either Cody vs. Fatu, or maybe Fatu could potentially challenge McIntyre for the championship?
I’ve written before that I think Fatu has the raw talent to be a main event guy because he can go in the ring and he has a level of authenticity that very few have on the current roster. That said, his momentum has decreased significantly when he was suddenly taken off of television to deal with the injury so while it’s possible to build him up as a legitimate challenger for the belt, it will still take a specific effort from the office to reestablish him as a threat in the main event scene.
The biggest takeaway from all of this, besides the fact that if Drew would’ve lost again, it would’ve more or less finished his time in the title picture since you can only come up short so many times before the audience loses faith in a performer, is that to puts even more of a spotlight on The Royal Rumble since the result of the match will be key to determine the plans for Wrestlemania 42. If Cody was still the champion prior to the Rumble, there would only be a certain amount of performers that could be viewed as realistic winners, but Drew as champion changes that dynamic. Maybe Sami Zayn makes a run at this year’s WM and gets the sentimental title win? Either way, the Drew McIntyre victory was a wise decision since it adds variety to the product before the build to Wrestlemania this year.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
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