Is It Too Soon For Cody Rhodes to Be WWE's Undisputed Champion Again?

WWE's panic about WrestleMania 42 might not be any better on display than with the handling of Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre.

Rhodes is back in the driver's seat as WWE's Undisputed Champion after his win over McIntrye on Friday's SmackDown. 

But the road to the outcome and what it means for 'Mania remains messy, to put it nicely. 

To recap, McIntyre beat Rhodes for the title in a Three Stages of Hell match in January during an event in Berlin. He then proceeded to have some house show defenses before the win over Sami Zayn at the rumble and has otherwise been involved in backstage segments with the likes of Nick Aldis, Jacob Fatu and others, to keep it simple. 

As for Rhodes? Peep this: 

• He lost his title.
• Lost the Royal Rumble. 
• Lost the Elimination Chamber. 
• Is champion again anyway. 

Explain that. 

Defenders of the booking, if any remain, will proclaim that this all makes sense. Aldis has warned McIntyre time and again about his repeated inferences and overall actions. Now they've come back to bite him. 

But it's impossible to ignore the real-world stuff here. Late last month, there was supposed panic in WWE after 'Mania ticket sales dipped despite discounts, according to Wrestling Observer (h/t Wrestle Ops).

There's also rumblings about WWE attempting to enforce a blackout of 'Mania around the venue in an effort to boost ticket sales. One can feel the reports about a tense situation with ESPN starting to brew, too. 

Overall, though, one can just feel the desperation. 

The rumor mill can proclaim this Rhodes-McIntyre stuff was all part of the plan. But even that's getting some pushback, with Bodyslam (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats) reporting that both wrestlers didn't find out about these changes until last week. 

So, one has to ask…is Randy Orton that much bigger of a draw than McIntyre? At WrestleMania, where the numbers are already guaranteed to be huge? Does a multi-man match really drive more ticket sales or viewers?

And why does the Night 1 main event need to attempt to keep pace with the Night 2 main event of Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk? Why can't a woman's match be in that role as the show-closer on the first night?

WWE itself probably doesn't even know the answer. 

In fact, between now and 'Mania itself, it won't be a shock to see the plan change a few more times. There's still room for it to become a multi-man match. 

To its credit, maybe WWE attempted a serious character story around McIntyre here. This is the same bad guy who lost a title in seconds because he couldn't help but rub it in Punk's face. He blames everyone but himself. 

But McIntyre's problems right now are blurred-lines material. He's getting hosed at the finish line for the golden boy who, across multiple promotions now, refuses to go heel.

If WWE considered Rhodes that much bigger of a draw for 'Mania, he shouldn't have lost the title in the first place. And frankly, Rhodes vs. Orton has so much history, it should've gotten a much bigger runway than this to tell the story. 

This is the type of stuff that gets fans to turn on someone like Rhodes, and in an indifference sort of way, not heel-heat way. Rather than do something exciting like LA Knight or take a gamble on an Oba Femi, WWE's spoiling the goodwill earned through McIntyre's win. He's still loved by fans, simply for his long-term comeback story and workhorse main-event role during the pandemic era.

In a way, Rhodes is flirting with being a placeholder for the old-school part-timer reliance at WrestleMania here. The sheer suddenness of it reeks of panic. 

Like many of its booking mistakes, this is a self-inflicted issue on WWE's part that continues to layer upon itself. Triple H's creative hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt, either. 

Rhodes doesn't need a top title for WrestleMania. But the scramble that has now regressed the booking and feel might just make things worse, not better.