Drew McIntyre Trolls Cody Rhodes Dislikes Record, WWE Rumors on Kevin Owens' Injury and Danhausen

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Drew McIntyre Trolls Cody Rhodes

Add Drew McIntyre to the growing list of online people who don't like Cody Rhodes' undisputed WWE title victory from Friday Night SmackDown.

The Scottish Warrior trolled Rhodes by posting a thumbs down emoji on X following his loss in their matchup on SmackDown this past week.

McIntyre's post is a reference to the official WWE YouTube video of the match that has become the promotion's most-disliked video of the year to date.

Rhodes' victory ensured he will go to WrestleMania and defend the title against Randy Orton. The match itself was absurdly booked with the ending having multiple ref bumps, McIntyre attempting to use a chair and Jacob Fatu taking him out with a spear to set up the American Nightmare getting the win with a Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes.

Even though it was an expected outcome, it does raise the question as to why WWE even bothered putting the title on McIntyre in the first place. He held it for 56 days, defended it on television once prior to Friday night when he defeated Sami Zayn at the Royal Rumble, then dropped it to Rhodes.

It also adds to the feeling of chaos within the creative department that this WrestleMania card is largely being put together on the fly with no long-term thought in mind.

One thing that will be interesting to see going forward is if Triple H and the rest of creative has any reaction to this. They have tried to downplay the idea that internet reactions have an impact on the booking, but a similar situation happened two years ago when fans overwhelmingly disliked The Rock's return video assuming he was taking Rhodes' spot at WrestleMania against Roman Reigns.

WWE and The Rock pivoted to the Final Boss heel character, and everything worked out great. It's unlikely there would be a similar happy ending this time around because there's not the long-term story build that Rhodes had of trying to finish the story, but anything seems possible right now. with six weeks remaining before WrestleMania 42.

Kevin Owens Injury Update

Eight months after undergoing neck surgery, Kevin Owens may have a better idea of when he might be able to return to the ring in the not-too-distant future.

Per BodySlam.net (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Owens is expected to have another medical evaluation in the summer to determine how he is progressing.

Owens underwent neck fusion surgery in July. There has been no set timetable for him to potentially return since the procedure, but BodySlam's report does note WWE is "hopeful" it will happen before the end of 2026.

Per the Cleveland Clinic, recovery time from neck fusion surgery can typically range from six months to one year.

The surgery came after Owens was forced off the WrestleMania 41 card due to lingering effects from his neck issues. He had been scheduled to face Orton on the show, but it was announced two weeks before 'Mania that he wouldn't be able to compete.

Whenever Owens is able to come back, it will add a huge burst of energy to the main roster. He has been one of the most reliable characters and in-ring performers in WWE throughout this entire tenure with the promotion.

CM Punk Pushed for Danhausen in WWE

One of the biggest reasons Danhausen has made his unique presence felt in WWE is CM Punk.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Dave Meltzer wrote that Punk "spearheaded" the idea of WWE signing Danhausen.

After a pretty rough debut at the Elimination Chamber, Danhausen has settled in with brief appearances on Raw and SmackDown that have gone much better.

Meltzer did add that WWE exercised caution with how Danhausen was deployed on Raw coming out of the premium live event. He was only used in a backstage segment rather than in front of the live crowd to avoid any potential backlash as the creative team waits to see how the gimmick lands with the WWE audience.

Danhausen's Raw segment saw him place a curse on Dominik Mysterio prior to his match with Penta, who went on defeat Dirty Dom to win the intercontinental title.

That seemed to be setting up a potential Danhausen-Mysterio feud, though we will see if that comes to fruition based on how WWE views him as an onscreen character going forward.

Punk's endorsement can't hurt given how much influence he presumably has backstage. He previously worked with Danhausen in AEW.