Drew McIntyre won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL — but his victory was short-lived. Instead of leaving with the title, he stayed behind to taunt an injured CM Punk. That choice cost him everything, as Punk ripped off his arm brace and beat McIntyre senseless.
With McIntyre laid out, Damian Priest stormed in and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, snatching the championship away almost as quickly as McIntyre had won it.
Afterward, a video went viral of a fan screaming at
her TV: “All you had to do was leave! That’s all you had to do!”
Nearly two years later, this time inside a steel cage, history repeated itself.
As McIntyre challenged for the Undisputed WWE Championship this past Friday on SmackDown, he was attacked by Jacob Fatu. Ironically, all champion Cody Rhodes had to do was leave the cage. Instead, he chose to confront Fatu and paid for it.
While those two brawled, McIntyre did something different. He crawled out the door, touched the floor, and won the title.
Somewhere, I like to think that fan who once cursed McIntyre out was cheering this time because he finally listened. Pride didn’t keep him hanging around. He didn’t stay to get one over on Fatu. He got the hell out of dodge and walked away with WWE’s top prize.
In many ways, it felt like the perfect ending — and it almost was. A new champion was crowned. The mystery of who injured Fatu last October remains, with all signs pointing toward McIntyre. With the Royal Rumble and the Road to WrestleMania looming, uncertainty reigns — it’s exactly the kind of excitement most fans would want.
As for Rhodes, he lost without truly being defeated. He was “protected.”
Yeah. About that.
All He Had to Do Was Leave
Remember the story I just told about McIntyre? The same rule applied to Rhodes. All he had to do was leave. When Fatu stormed in, that was Rhodes’ cue to go full Pulp Fiction: “My name’s Paul, this shit’s between y’all,” and bounce.
Instead, he lingered. Now he’s a former Undisputed WWE Champion for the second time. And as much as I’ve waited for this day, I hate that it arrived like this. Rhodes looks as foolish now as McIntyre did then — only worse.
To his credit, Rhodes remains one of the hardest-working stars in the company. He bends over backward for the fans. His persona can be overbearing at times, but he’s a great representative of pro wrestling. Yet the momentum that carried him to his first Undisputed Championship in 2024 never fully returned during his second reign.
It all fell apart last year at WrestleMania 41. Facing John Cena — his mentor, hero, and a man fans didn’t want to boo despite his heel turn — Rhodes had the chance to put Cena away and hesitated.
Cena didn’t. He kicked QB1 right between the uprights, cracked him with the championship belt, and walked out of WrestleMania as a 17-time world champion.
And now this. Rhodes committed the unforgivable sin of looking a gift horse — or in this case, a Samoan Werewolf — in the mouth and got his head chewed off.
If there’s a silver lining, perhaps this forces a serious retooling of Rhodes’ character. Heel turn or not, something has to change. But for now, we wait and wonder: where does Rhodes go next? How does Fatu factor into all of this? What does it mean for WrestleMania 42?
On the bright side, WWE has fans asking the right questions — the kind that can only be answered by tuning in.
But Cody. Poor Cody, man.
All he had to do was leave.
