Cody Rhodes’ second WWE championship reign didn’t prove to be a transitional one. After defeating John Cena for the title at Summerslam in August, Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre in the main event of WWE’s debut show on ESPN, Wrestlepalooza.
USA Today’s Jordan Mendoza believes the win over McIntyre likely means Rhodes will be champion heading into the build for WrestleMania 42.
“The champion isn’t dropping the gold just yet. All the signs pointed to this being the event Rhodes would drop the title or something stunning would happen, but instead it ended with ‘The American Nightmare’ on top. Now it feels like Rhodes will keep the championship for the remainder of the year and into WrestleMania season,” Mendoza wrote.
Rhodes has plenty of untapped potential rivalries that can headline WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas next April.
CM Punk comes to mind as a potential Royal Rumble winner with unfinished business with Rhodes. The two went back and forth on the mic earlier this year before The Rock organized an attack on Rhodes with John Cena and Travis Scott.
Speaking of, where is The Rock? Will he and Rhodes ever have that match for the People’s Championship? The Rock is the biggest potential matchup for “The American Nightmare” at the Show of Shows, particularly after wrestling in Cena’s last WrestleMania main event title match this past April. It’s unclear if Dwayne Johnson will ever step into a wrestling ring again, though.
USA Today shares mixed outlook on Drew McIntyre
Mendoza doesn’t have the same high hopes for McIntyre that he has for Rhodes. The USA Today writer predicts that McIntyre will fall back into the midcard shuffle if he doesn’t win the belt soon.
Mendoza held out hope that the “Scottish Psychopath” regaining his title could still happen if McIntyre and Rhodes continue their feud.
“It feels like the clock is ticking on McIntyre to get his hands back on gold, so it will have to happen soon or he’ll get lost back in the shuffle,” Mendoza wrote.
“This could be a rivalry that has a few more matches coming up, and that could be when the title change happens.”
After signing a multi-year deal with the WWE in 2024, McIntyre isn’t going anywhere. He may be staying stationary creatively for a while if the trigger isn’t pulled on a sustained title run soon.
