What WWE Is Planning For Cody Rhodes-Drew McIntyre SmackDown Match
There are more details about the WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre on SmackDown in Berlin.
The Undisputed WWE Championship will be on the line on the 3-hour edition of WWE SmackDown from the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany. Since the show is taking place live in Germany, it will be available for international WWE fans at 2 p.m. ET. In the US, it will air in its usual 8 p.m. ET timeslot on USA Network.
It won’t just be any WWE Championship defense for Cody Rhodes when he faces Drew McIntyre. As part of the deal to lift McIntyre’s suspension, the Scottish Warrior was given the opportunity to choose the stipulation of the WWE Title match.
It’s a 3 Stages of Hell Match, where the winner must win at least 2 falls. McIntyre’s chosen stipulations are:
- Stage 1: Regular match. Some might say that is not much of a “stage of hell,” but it’s what McIntyre wants.
- Stage 2: Falls Count Anywhere
- Stage 3: Steel Cage Match
Regarding the Cody Rhodes-Drew McIntyre match length, the BodySlam + Patreon is reporting that the match is “expected to receive upward of 30 minutes to close the show.” That’s not much of a surprise on a 3-hour show.
There was a report earlier in the week claiming that WWE was considering a McIntyre victory over Rhodes, but until it happens, you just never know.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque promoted the Rhodes-McIntyre match on social media by mentioning it was the first 3 Stages of Hell match in WWE history. It is the 7th 3 Stages of Hell match in WWE history, and Triple H was in the first three.
WWE SmackDown To Feature Another Grudge Match
Here’s the advertised lineup for the January 9th WWE SmackDown in Berlin.
- Cody Rhodes defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre in a Three Stages of Hell Match
- The Wyatt Sicks battle The MFTs in an Eight-Man Tag Team Match
- Trick Williams makes SmackDown debut against Rey Fenix
The Wyatt Sicks duo of Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy are the WWE Tag Team Champions, and The MFTs have been trying to take the titles off them. That feud has been going on for a few months.
Trick Williams officially joined SmackDown last week and had a backstage altercation with Rey Fenix to set up their match.
As always, we’ll have full WWE SmackDown coverage on TJRWrestling later today.