Drew McIntyre Says WWE Title Win Gave Him Legitimacy, Gave Cody Rhodes An Edge Back, Made SmackDown More Compelling

The road to WrestleMania took a turn on the January 9 episode of WWE SmackDown when Drew McIntyre defeated Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Title.

Drew’s title reign lasted just under two months as Cody won the title back on the March 6 WWE SmackDown.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Drew spoke about his title reign and what it meant to him.

“Awesome. Nobody saw it coming, for one. I think everybody assumed that the Cody Express would keep moving on forward. He’s been in that position for a long time. After he finished the story, he was on fire. I’m not saying he wasn’t doing a great job. He’s a great champion, he’s a great performer, but it was a lot of the same. I think there needed to be a shake-up, and there was a shake-up that no one saw coming when I won in Berlin. I could hear the crowd, I could hear the response, I could see the response, and it put Cody in a position where he had to chase. Gave Cody a bit of that edge back, which he, in my opinion, desperately needed. For me, it gave me some of that legitimacy. ‘Oh yeah, Drew can win the big one,’ and not going to be so sympathetic that we need to start cheering for this guy if you feel so bad for him. Where I could be more of a, like I mentioned, if I got the title and people challenge me to fight, what would I gain? No, I’m Gollum from Lord of the Rings. This is my precious. I’m not letting this go, no matter what.

“So it did a lot of things, but I know it made SmackDown way more compelling at the time, especially so many people hate me for some reason. So now you’ve got the champion right in the middle with the target on him. As Cody mentioned, you know, it’s not just we want the title. It’s because you’re an arsehole, they’re all coming for you, which made SmackDown more interesting for me personally. I win it in Berlin, and the next night was Glasgow, so I got to walk out in Glasgow with the title for the first time as champion, with live fans, with a whole family in attendance. I tell Scotland, I promised you would bring you the championship, and I brought you the championship, and the only ever, not just Scotland person to do it, but British person to do it.”

McIntyre is set to face Jacob Fatu in an unsanctioned match at WrestleMania 42.

Cody will defend the Undisputed WWE Title against Randy Orton at the event.