Cody Rhodes won his third WWE Championship with a win over Drew McIntyre within the foremost event of “WWE SmackDown.”
McIntyre had dethroned Rhodes in a Three Stages of Hell match back in January, winning two falls to at least one after Jacob Fatu interfered within the deciding Steel Cage match, allowing him to flee it while Rhodes and Fatu went at it within the ring.
After that, he was confident that unless he won the Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber, Cody Rhodes wouldn’t be getting one other opportunity on the title either on the road to or at WrestleMania, repeatedly getting involved in his matches and testing the patience of General Manager Nick Aldis. Resulting in Aldis announcing after Elimination Chamber that he was booking Rhodes and McIntyre in one other title match this week.
Similarly, McIntyre seemed to be on his approach to retaining the title after a referee bump prevented Rhodes from putting him away. Rhodes called for an additional referee, but after they arrived he got clocked with Claymore, someway managing to kick out before the count of three.
McIntyre then Glasgow kissed the second referee out of frustration, opting to make use of a steel chair to try to finish things off. Jacob Fatu popped up on the apron, pulling the chair from McIntyre’s hands and allowing Rhodes to re-assume control. Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter followed by Cross Rhodes to secure the winning pinfall, ensuring that – barring some other TV title matches – he will likely be defending the title against his friend Randy Orton at WrestleMania.