7 New Directions For WWE After Royal Rumble 2026
3. A WWE Title Triple Threat
Drew McIntyre set the scene for this by interfering in Cody Rhodes vs. Jacob Fatu back at Saturday Night's Main Event on 24 January, then he eliminated Rhodes at the Royal Rumble despite the fact he wasn't in the match. The trolling Scot always had unfinished business with Fatu, and Cody wants to reclaim the WWE Title himself. Let's be honest about something else: Sami Zayn was a speed bump challenger in Riyadh.
Look, that doesn’t necessarily mean his World Title dream is over for good, but right now was never the time. Giving Sami the belt could’ve actually backfired on WWE - there’s a lot of sentimentality towards Drew due to his own hardships over the years. People are genuinely delighted that McIntyre finally got his flowers by becoming WWE Champ, and folks are chuffed that he's living the dream by wrestling with that strap in front of audiences rather than ThunderDome TV screens.
All going well, Drew vs. Cody vs. Fatu will be on the menu at Elimination Chamber in late-February. That'd be a more fitting place for it than WrestleMania 42. Thus, the follow up question becomes exactly who goes over in one of the Chamber bouts and will be number one contender to McIntyre's throne come Las Vegas.
Triple H will be feverishly thrashing that out at time of writing. Maybe he's already decided.
The Triple Threat teased on episodes of SmackDown and at SNME will buy creative some time to ponder. They've known about this match for a good while now, and everyone and their granny knows it'll deliver. What an excellent spot for Jacob to be in so soon after his return as well.