One Moment WWE Wants You To Forget From Every Year (1985 to 2026)
1. 2026 - Much A-Drew About Nothing
New information might eventually come to light about every single specific around the decision to crown Drew McIntyre WWE Champion heading into Royal Rumble season if the plan had been to get the gold back on Cody Rhodes before WrestleMania anyway. Until then, the whole chapter for SmackDown's top players - and some of the damage left behind - will remain one of 2026's strangest stories even by year's end.
McIntyre won the belt right before a Glasgow homecoming and a UK SmackDown taping, which was at very least a perfect way to finally give his character vindication for all the years he'd spent pining for something more than an empty, pandemic-based celebration. He also defended it in a stadium at the Royal Rumble - another in-gimmick wish-list moment for the 'Scottish Psychopath'. But he didn't - and couldn't - recover from the almighty burial laid on him by CM Punk and Roman Reigns during the promotion of their own title match, and became a source of great frustration amongst many fans when they tried to fantasy book logical and enjoyable WrestleMania cards around the Champion, not featuring him.
All's well that ended...fine, with the Cody Rhodes/Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre/Jacob Fatu singles payoffs, but from whispers of Cody pitching the change to further hushed chats about exactly how McIntyre felt about the move, there may yet be more WWE tries to keep a lid on until a Netflix documentary series gives them the chance to turn the shoot into a work.