Real Reason Behind Drew McIntyre’s Undisputed WWE Title Win

Drew McIntyre’s Undisputed WWE Championship win wasn’t just about rewarding a top star—it was a calculated piece of a long game centered around Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.

According to Self Made Pro during a recent Self Made Sessions, the current WrestleMania 42 direction—including the Cody Rhodes loss and Jacob Fatu’s return—is all part of a larger creative strategy being pushed behind the scenes to reshape the main event scene without relying on a part-time babyface champion.

“I’ll tell you guys what I know and what I was told about the entire situation — about the title scene, about what’s going on at Mania, about what’s happening in between, and why it’s happening the way it’s happening,” he began. “Because, folks, what I’m going to describe to you guys later is called the Roman Reigns game.”

Despite reports from Wrestling Observer that WWE may have scrapped Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns for WrestleMania, Self Made noted that Cody is still very much in the mix. “I still expect Cody to face Roman,” he said. “Now, it’s still a very, very complicated situation. It’s a very political situation.” He explained that Triple H is personally invested in making sure Cody eventually beats Roman.

“What I’ll give you guys as a retention hook right now is this: Paul Levesque personally wants Cody Rhodes to beat Roman Reigns in this proposed matchup, should it happen, and he will take whatever creative avenue is needed to get to that point.”

Originally, plans were far more straightforward. Cody was expected to hold the title until WrestleMania 42, where Roman would return to defeat him. But WWE began to reconsider the optics of a part-time babyface holding the world title going into their biggest show of the year.

“The original direction was literally very simple: Cody was going to hold the title to Mania, and then Roman was going to go to Mania and beat him. That’s just what they were going to do. People in WWE are very aware of Roman’s current status. He’s a living legend and incredibly important to WWE, but he’s not a full-time guy. And there are real complications that come with him holding the championship as a part-time babyface. That’s insane.”

This opened the door for Drew McIntyre, who reportedly pitched a title change that would benefit him and the bigger storyline. Rather than pushing for his own limelight, Drew positioned himself as a bridge between Cody and Roman.

“One of the things he devised came from Drew McIntyre, and Drew is smart because he realized he could pitch ideas that benefit him while also benefiting the overall promotion and the main event picture. It wasn’t about Drew just getting the belt to be the guy. It was, ‘If I do this, it helps your main event build. I can enhance Cody versus Roman.’”

The current plan was to use Drew’s reign to deepen Cody’s character, tease ambiguity in his feud with Jacob Fatu, and set the stage for Roman’s return. Cody, while remaining a babyface, would begin to show more edge.

“So the plan, at least as of last week, was for Drew McIntyre to be the middleman in the Cody–Roman story. Drew would hold the championship. That would lead to Cody Rhodes subtly shifting his character. They were going to play with the idea of whether Cody attacked Jacob Fatu or not. Is Cody turning heel? Is he not? They’d tease it without actually doing it.”

Jacob Fatu’s chaotic presence, Roman’s carefully timed absences, and Cody’s subtle character evolution are all reportedly part of a slow-burn payoff designed to make Cody vs. Roman feel earned—not handed out.

“Jacob Fatu was going to be a tweener. If you’re noticing Roman Reigns hasn’t been around much, it’s because he wasn’t going to be on TV a lot. He’s a part-timer.”

According to the report, Roman is still expected to return before WrestleMania—possibly to beat Drew McIntyre and reclaim the title—before ultimately facing Cody on WWE’s biggest stage.

“The bottom line is this: Roman was most likely going to challenge Drew McIntyre and beat him at some point and then go on to face a more conflicted, challenged Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. That’s what Paul was trying to pull off here. And that’s how you play the Roman Reigns game.”

The title change wasn’t random—and it wasn’t just about Drew. It was about reengineering the road to WrestleMania to make the final payoff between Cody and Roman that much more meaningful.

Do you think WWE’s long-term storytelling is working—or is the company risking confusion by overcomplicating the road to Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns? Let us know your thoughts below.

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