BIG Undisputed WWE Championship Changes Coming Ahead Of WrestleMania 42 (WWE News)
Cody Rhodes is expected to beat Drew McIntyre for the WWE Title on this week's SmackDown.
SelfMadePro is reporting that Triple H wants to book Cody Rhodes vs, Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 instead of a previously expected Cody vs. Drew McIntyre rematch or some kind of multi-man title defence for the latter. Backing this up, PWInsider Elite claims the plan right now is for Drew to drop the WWE Title to Rhodes on this week's episode of SmackDown.
That'd push the Scot out of the title picture ahead of 'Mania 42 next month.
PWInsider's write up did say that this wouldn't be considered a reflection on McIntyre's work in recent times. WWE like what he's been doing as a heel, and there's a reason why they decided to put the strap on him following a '3 Stages Of Hell' win over Cody on the 9 January SmackDown in Berlin, Germany, but they want to run with Rhodes vs. Orton.
This could be risky, because Cody has been hearing scattered boos for quite some time. He's cooled significantly as a TV babyface - Rhodes still shifts a ton of merchandise, and fans enjoy singing along to his entrance track, but it'll be interesting to hear how the live crowd in Portland responds if he pins Drew to bag a third WWE Title reign.
In theory, McIntyre would wrestle Jacob Fatu at 'Mania 42 instead of being involved in the top title scene.
WWE Has Teased Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton
Of course, WWE has teased the idea of a Cody vs. Randy match endlessly in recent times. Indeed, various episodes of SmackDown featured Orton almost salivating as he stared at the belt draped across his old protege's shoulder throughout Cody's latest title reign. The company didn't end up pulling the trigger on an actual feud between them though.
Rhodes and Orton did clash in the final of the 2025 King Of The Ring tournament at Night Of Champions over in Saudi Arabia last June. There, the booking saw Randy hesitate before finishing Cody off, which left the door open for his old Legacy cohort to ruthlessly beat him and seize the crown.
That's likely to come up during their rivalry in 2026, amongst other things.
It's obviously a shame if McIntyre is shoved out of the top storyline on SmackDown this close to WrestleMania, but plans change. Many fans predicted a multi-man defence for Drew vs. Cody, Orton, Sami Zayn, Fatu and maybe others, but it seems Cody vs. Randy has been WWE's choice for a while now.
Onto SmackDown on Friday to see if the belt does change hands after all.