Drew McIntyre kicked off 2026 by winning the WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes, defeating The American Nightmare in a 3 Stages of Hell Match following interference from Jacob Fatu.
All he did with that title was defeat Sami Zayn in Saudi Arabia at the Royal Rumble, then proceed to interfere in all of Rhodes’ matches, making his life a living hell and do whatever it took to ensure he would not have to face him for the gold again.
Except, he did and when that happened, he lost to Rhodes. Thanks, again, to interference from Fatu.
McIntyre’s title reign was a joke, a brief pit stop of Rhodes’ road back to WrestleMania and the main event. That is not an indictment on the biggest babyface on the show but, rather, the creative team’s understanding of what makes McIntyre effective and how to best utilize his star on the show.
He has been beaten down, made to look like a fool, gifted a “here, take it, damn” title reign, and now enters WrestleMania 42 in a lame duck rivalry with Fatu. It is a tremendous step down for the Scottish Warrior when it appeared, at least for a considerable period of time, like he might enter the biggest show of the year with the top prize in the company.
