Cody Rhodes is back in the chase — and that’s exactly how WWE wants it.
Rhodes dropped the Undisputed WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre on the January 9 episode of SmackDown, ending his second reign after a brutal Three Stages of Hell match. Now, the real reason for the title change has been revealed, and it comes down to one thing: long-term strategy.
According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the decision was spearheaded by Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who saw potential burnout in WWE’s original plan.
“The way it was explained is that Paul Levesque took another look at the Rumble-to-Mania planned direction and decided that doing a Rhodes vs. Reigns match for the third time in four years and spending months building the direction would lead to audience fatigue,” Meltzer wrote.
Instead, Rhodes himself reportedly suggested McIntyre as a potential opponent and floated the idea of flipping roles — becoming the hunter instead of the hunted. Meltzer added:
“Rhodes brought up McIntyre at the same time and asked for advice if it made sense, and if he would be more valuable chasing than defending and eventually decided chasing would be better.”
The move wasn’t just endorsed — it was pushed from within. Both McIntyre and Rhodes lobbied for the switch behind the scenes.
“Both McIntyre and Rhodes had been pushing that McIntyre should get the title,” Meltzer noted. “McIntyre was said to be pretty vocal that he felt it was the best thing for all concerned, and Rhodes agreed, feeling it would be fresher to go into this year’s Mania chasing the title rather than defending it.”
Looking ahead, McIntyre will defend his newly won championship at Royal Rumble on January 31. His challenger will be determined through a four-way match, with qualifying bouts kicking off on the January 16 SmackDown and the finals taking place at Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 24.
Do you think WWE made the right call flipping the script on Cody Rhodes? Was Drew McIntyre the right choice to carry the gold into WrestleMania? Sound off in the comments — let us know what you would’ve booked.