Drew McIntyre Breaks the World Title Curse with a Timely Escape to Dethrone Cody Rhodes After Jacob Fatu’s Shocking Return on SmackDown

Drew McIntyre did the unthinkable by walking out of Germany with the Undisputed WWE Championship. It marked his first world title win since WrestleMania 40.

Drew McIntyre Breaks the World Title Curse with a Timely Escape to Dethrone Cody Rhodes After Jacob Fatu’s Shocking Return on SmackDown

Drew McIntyre with the Undisputed WWE title [via- WWE]

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Just hours prior to SmackDown last afternoon, Drew McIntyre put out that “It’s now or never” for him in regard to his WWE Championship aspirations. It would have been sort of tragic had the Scot gone on to lose his ninth world title match on the trot, but fortunately, he didn’t.

The Ayr-born wrestler pipped Cody Rhodes in an enthralling Three Stages of Hell match. McIntyre drew first blood by pinning Cody Rhodes with a Claymore kick after going low on ‘The American Nightmare’ while the referee was engaged in reinforcing the exposed turnbuckle.

These wrestlers fought all over the Uber Arena in Berlin for the Falls Count Anywhere stage of the bout. McIntyre narrowly escaped getting pinned when he kicked out at 2 despite Rhodes hitting a frog splash on him through the table from an elevated platform in the stands.

When the action eventually returned to the ringside, ‘The Prodigal Son’ caught his opponent to land a devastating Cross Rhodes atop the commentary desk, which just couldn’t hold up and tumbled like a house of cards. The former AEW EVP somehow made the cover and got one up on the Scotsman to go one fall apiece.

The steel cage had to be lowered to milk out a result, and that stretch of the match was the longest. In the closing moments, both McIntyre and Rhodes fell to the ring canvas after getting hung midsection-first on the ropes. ‘The Scottish Psychopath’ saw an opening, and he started crawling toward the door to exit the steel cage.

But just when he was about to do it, a masked hooded figure shoved senior referee Charles Robinson to the floor and unmasked himself as Jacob Fatu. McIntyre had seen a ghost, and he ran in the opposite direction, trying to climb the cage to escape it. Fatu, however, nabbed the Scot and started assaulting him.

Rhodes also bore the brunt of an irate ‘Samoan Werewolf’, who started pulverizing ‘The QB1’ in the corner. A battered McIntyre knew it was his opportunity to crawl out while Fatu had Rhodes reeling. ‘The Chosen One’ ultimately made it out on the floor to win the match and become a 4-time world champion in WWE.

The ex-3MB member later made a couple of social media posts celebrating his mammoth win on SmackDown. Taking to X, he posted a black and white picture of himself with the newly won WWE Championship captioned as “No longer bored at work.” In another picture that he posted on Instagram, the 40-year-old could be seen sleeping with the title belt, having a big smile on his face, and rightfully so.

Who will be the first challenger for Drew McIntyre after his world title win on SmackDown?

Before the epic main event on SmackDown crowned a new Undisputed WWE Champion in Drew McIntyre, there was a major announcement being made regarding the immediate future of the said title. General Manager Nick Aldis announced four singles matches for next week’s SmackDown, the winners of which will duke it out in a Fatal-4-Way showdown at Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 24.

Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre [via- WWE]

The set of matchups includes Randy Orton vs. The Miz, Matt Cardona vs. Trick Williams, Damian Priest vs. Solo Sikoa, and Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov. Four of those eight men will make it to SNME, and whoever owns the night in Montreal will earn the right to challenge Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE title at the Royal Rumble.

Some fans believe it could be Priest as McIntyre’s first challenger, given that these two had a backstage segment on this week’s SmackDown. However, a strong argument could also be made for Zayn, who will enjoy a home crowd advantage at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and his immeasurable popularity in Saudi Arabia could line him up against ‘The Scottish Warrior’ on January 31 in Riyadh.

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