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Cody Rhodes Appears For First Time Since Brutal WWE Title Loss

By Lyle Kilbane • Published Jan 14, 2026 09:50 EST
Cody Rhodes WWE

For the first time since losing his WWE Championship, Cody Rhodes has been spotted in public.

It’s been a great start to 2026 for Drew McIntyre, despite him coming face-to-face with an old enemy. The 9th of January edition of SmackDown saw McIntyre challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship in a 3 Stages of Hell match.

McIntyre picked up the first fall in a regular singles match before Rhodes evened the score in a falls count anywhere bout. The third fall took place in a steel cage, a match designed to keep people away from the action. With McIntyre on the verge of escaping the door and claiming the win, he was stopped by the returning Jacob Fatu.

Fatu took the fight to McIntyre inside the ring. Cody Rhodes tried to stop Fatu so he could win the match, but Fatu then turned his attack on him. That allowed McIntyre to escape the cage after all, to escape with the WWE Championship.

Cody Rhodes Leans On Friends After WWE Title Loss

Following that tough loss, Cody Rhodes has now been spotted in friendlier company with two WWE stars who have their own history with both Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu.

Taking to social media, Jey Uso shared a photo of himself with his brother Jimmy, as well as Rhodes from the Fanatics studio. Uso captioned the photo “Dawgs.”