Cody Rhodes may have inadvertently removed himself from the WWE Championship picture.
Drew McIntyre kicked off WWE SmackDown in London with an in-ring promo. The new Undisputed WWE Champion tore into the fans before revealing a secret clause he had inserted into his Three Stages of Hell match contract several weeks ago.
The Scottish Warrior was emphatic that Cody Rhodes could not immediately challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship after losing the title inside a steel cage last week on SmackDown in Germany.
“The vanilla QB1 era is over, and the dangerous, unpredictable Drew McIntyre era begins tonight,” McIntyre said.
Before Drew McIntyre could finish his promo, he was interrupted by Randy Orton. The Viper made it crystal clear that he would not hesitate to punt kick the champion if given the opportunity, unlike McIntyre, who hesitated to take out Orton a couple of months ago.
Jacob Fatu then appeared and took out the Undisputed WWE Champion. As Fatu chased McIntyre away, The Miz attacked Randy Orton from behind with a Skull Crushing Finale. Orton later defeated The Miz in their first-round match to earn a shot at the top title.
Fans may recall AEW running a similar angle several years ago when Cody Rhodes stated he would never challenge for the promotion’s top title again if he lost to Chris Jericho. The American Nightmare ultimately lost the match after MJF threw in the towel on his behalf.
Rhodes was heavily criticized online for the angle and later offered an explanation. However, this time is different, as Rhodes can’t challenge McIntyre in a contractual rematch. He can, however, earn it another way.
Despite not having a guaranteed title shot, Rhodes says he’s doing things the “old-fashioned way.” Rhodes came to the ring and declared he was entering the 2026 Royal Rumble to get a title shot, then promised a receipt was coming for Jacob Fatu, who screwed him out of the title.
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