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WWE Backstage Reaction To Drew McIntyre’s Championship Win

By John Canton • Published Jan 10, 2026 08:20 EST
Drew McIntyre WWE Champion

Drew McIntyre is the WWE Champion again, and now there are details about how people in the company feel about it.

The WWE SmackDown episode from Berlin was a memorable one because Drew McIntyre beat Cody Rhodes to become the Undisputed WWE Champion, and it was as controversial as it gets.

It was a 3 Stages of Hell match with McIntyre choosing the falls. McIntyre got the first fall in a regular match when he hit a low blow and Claymore Kick after the referee was dealing with an exposed turnbuckle.

In the second fall, Cody Rhodes dominated most of it and hit a Cross Rhodes on the commentary table. Rhodes pinned McIntyre on the floor to win the second fall because it was a Falls Count Anywhere Match.

The third Stage of Hell was a Steel Cage Match. Each man came close to winning numerous times, including when Rhodes hit an incredible Cody Cutter off the cage for a two count. After the two men were crotched on the top rope at the same time, McIntyre tried to crawl out the door. However, a wrestler in a mask and hoodie appeared to stop him. It was Jacob Fatu, who was out of action for a few months due to a backstage attack, which may have been by McIntyre.

Jacob Fatu went into the cage, beat up McIntyre with punches, stomps, and headbutts. That’s when Cody Rhodes turned Fatu around because he didn’t like Fatu interfering in the match. An enraged Jacob punched Cody a few times, they exchanged strikes on the far side of the ring, and all of that chaos allowed Drew to crawl toward the door and fall out of the ring to escape the cage.

After 32 minutes of chaos, Drew McIntyre became the Undisputed WWE Champion again. McIntyre is now a 4-time WWE World Champion since he’s won the WWE Title three times and the World Heavyweight Title once.

WWE Felt Like Drew McIntyre Needed This Title Win

Over the last four years, Drew McIntyre went from being a popular WWE babyface who the fans loved to a bitter man who made excuses about not being able to win the WWE Title again. This time, he finally got it done thanks to some help he didn’t ask for.

While speaking on Fightful’s post-SmackDown show, Sean Ross Sapp revealed that there were people in WWE who wanted McIntyre to get this win.

“One of the things that I was hearing within the company about this Drew McIntyre title win was that a lot of people felt like he needed to win this title match. They felt that, in order to take him seriously as a top guy moving forward, he needed to win it.” (H/T Ringsidenews)

It was also reported that Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre pitched for the title change, just like they did at Wrestlepalooza last September.

As for McIntyre, he is enjoying himself as the new WWE Champion and even posted a photo of himself in bed with the WWE Championship, while writing, “I prayed for this, and it happened.” It is something he said during his memorable feud with CM Punk as well.