SmackDown just wrapped up in Berlin, Germany, and we have a new Undisputed WWE Champion: Drew McIntyre. He and Cody Rhodes squared off in a Three Stages of Hell match for the title, and the American Nightmare's second WWE title reign (which began when he defeated John Cena at last year's SummerSlam) ended in front of a red-hot crowd.
The first stage was a regular singles match, which ended with McIntyre low-blowing Rhodes—the referee was distracted, thanks to McIntyre removing one of the turnbuckle pads—before hitting him with a Claymore Kick for the 1-2-3.
Falls Count Anywhere was the second stage, and Rhodes evened the score by hitting the Scottish Warrior with the Cross Rhodes through the announcer's table to win the match.
With that, it was time to decide a definitive winner in a Steel Cage match. It was a hard-fought contest that saw McIntyre attempt to escape through the cage door. However, it was then that a hooded figure showed up, revealing themselves as Jacob Fatu.
You'll recall that McIntyre was the main suspect in the backstage attack on the former United States Champion, but when Rhodes pulled Fatu off his opponent to continue the match, he felt the Samoan's wrath. As the two babyfaces traded punches. McIntyre managed to escape through the door to win the Undisputed WWE Championship!
A furious Rhodes took Fatu out and stared McIntyre down as the show went off the air. If we had to hazard a guess, it's going to be McIntyre vs. Rhodes vs. Fatu for the title at this month's Royal Rumble PLE.
It's been rumoured that Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns is planned for WrestleMania, so taking the title off him now is a good way to potentially build to that without the complication of figuring out what's best for the championship.
Many feel that this is long overdue for McIntyre, especially as his previous WWE Championship win came in an empty WWE Performance Center during the pandemic (he did briefly hold the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40 before Damian Priest cashed in with an assist from CM Punk).