Reason WWE Has Rushed Drew McIntyre Vs Cody Rhodes Revealed

WWE switched up a big Cody Rhodes match.

Jacob Fatu had seemingly been heading for a showdown with Drew McIntyre, but those plans recently came to a shuddering halt.

It was initially reported that Fatu was dealing with a “non-wrestling” issue that would keep him out until 2026.

Despite this, he continued to be advertised for the October 17 episode of SmackDown, and was only removed from his scheduled match with Drew McIntyre seconds before the main event. Meanwhile, reports emerged from Fightful Select and PWInsider suggesting that Fatu was dealing with a dental issue and would be back in the ring much quicker than earlier claimed.

With Fatu out of action, he was replaced at the last second by Cody Rhodes. However, the match between McIntyre and Rhodes ended in a disqualification after the latter smashed the Scottish star with the Undisputed WWE Title belt.

It was subsequently announced that Cody Rhodes will defend the Undisputed WWE Title against McIntyre at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

WWE Fast Tracked Cody Rhodes Title Defence

Reporting in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer revealed that the match between Rhodes and McIntyre was originally scheduled for Survivor Series. However, with Fatu out of action, the decision was made to put McIntyre right into the match with Rhodes on November 1.

“Rhodes vs. McIntyre, originally scheduled for Survivor Series, was moved up here because Jacob Fatu, who was originally to face McIntyre on this show, is out of action.

That also speaks of the depth issue, as when Fatu went down, instead of plugging another babyface in a feud with McIntyre to set up Survivor Series, they went right to Rhodes vs. McIntyre.”

Also at Saturday Night’s Main Event, CM Punk will battle Jey Uso for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Punk had been due to challenge Seth Rollins for the title, but Rollins was stripped after undergoing surgery on a major shoulder injury.

However, it’s been reported that the next champion could prove to be nothing but a stepping stone for one of the company’s rising stars.

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