WWE Superstars Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre signed the contract for their upcoming match for the Undisputed Championship at Wrestlepalooza. Interestingly, the words exchanged between the two during this week’s episode of SmackDown are making fans speculate the possibility of The Rock helping McIntyre in defeating Rhodes at the PLE.
During the verbal back and forth between Cody Rhodes and ‘The Scottish Psychopath,’ the latter addressed the Undisputed Champion as a corporate champion. McIntyre also highlighted that this label is typically seen as negative, but ‘QB1’ is doing a good job of being the company man.
Notably, however, ‘The American Nightmare’ had refused The Rock’s offer of becoming his corporate champion and selling his soul to him at the 2025 Elimination Chamber. The subtle steer of the conversation in that direction could mean that McIntyre may be working with ‘The Final Boss.’
Thus, there is a chance that Rock could show up at Wrestlepalooza and help ‘The Scottish Warrior’ end Cody Rhodes’ second run as the Undisputed Champion. Moreover, McIntyre could then align himself with ‘The High Chief’ and become the corporate champ working for him.
The Ending scene of WrestlePalooza? 👀 pic.twitter.com/23KkF3wy0f
Drew McIntyre has several reasons to join hands with The Rock. Despite his consistent effort of putting up big matches, the Scotsman hasn’t been a world champion in a long time. Moreover, when he won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL last year, CM Punk cost him the belt by attacking him.
This allowed Damian Priest to cash in his Money in the Bank contract to steal the title from McIntyre. Punk then went on to target ‘The Scottish Warrior’ several times throughout 2024, costing him a title opportunity every time. Thus, the 40-year-old star has his reasons to join hands with The Rock.
Another Clue That Hints That Drew McIntyre Could Be Working for the Rock
The contract signing for the Undisputed Championship on this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown saw Cody Rhodes firing several shots at Drew McIntyre. One of his verbal jabs saw him calling the Scotsman a “Keyboard Warrior” instead of “The Scottish Warrior.”
This was a dig from Rhodes at the tweets McIntyre posts to mock and belittle his opponents. Interestingly, the Scotsman did take a jab at Rhodes a few days ago and also mentioned The Rock’s name and cited his offer in his tweet.
‘The American Nightmare’ asked the 40-year-old to take out his phone and post an insulting tweet to have his last small win against him ahead of Wrestlepalooza.
While Drew McIntyre did take out his phone and post a tweet, instead of an insult, it said, “Thank you Cody!!!” Interestingly, this is exactly what The Rock did on RAW’s Netflix debut, thanking Rhodes, before becoming an enemy of his once again.
"The Scottish Warrior has just been a keyboard warrior…"@CodyRhodes is fed up with @DMcIntyreWWE 😤 pic.twitter.com/oeN2OqV2kg
‘The Final Boss’ highlighted how ‘The American Nightmare’ was doing a great job of carrying the company on his shoulders. A similar compliment was echoed by McIntyre on SmackDown, when he said that Rhodes is doing a great job of keeping the ratings and the stock prices up for the company.
Thus, this could be a subtle foreshadowing of the possibility of McIntyre and The Rock working together.
Drew McIntyre Sent a Warning to Cody Rhodes Ahead of Wrestlepalooza
After Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre were done berating each other, they got to the task at hand and signed the contract for the Undisputed Championship match. Soon after, however, ‘The Scottish Warrior’ attacked Rhodes, sending him outside the ring and near the commentary desk.
‘The American Nightmare’ found himself in the perfect spot for McIntyre to land a Claymore and cave his head into the announce desk once again. The move had notably put ‘QB1’ on the shelf for five weeks. But ‘The Scottish Psychopath’ grabbed Rhodes’ face instead, saying that he will save the Claymore for Wrestlepalooza and not mess things up just one night before the big match.
Drew McIntyre was walking out, but the Undisputed Champion followed him and both of them entered a brawl, with the security and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis trying to stop them. The final moments saw the Scotsman gaining the upper hand, as he landed a boot to Cody Rhodes’ face, and stomped it before whispering a warning.
Sleep with the title. It’s the last time you’re going to have it. For a long time.
With this, the broadcast of the SmackDown episode ended. Typically, the person who has the upper hand ahead of a big title match goes on to lose at premium live events. However, Drew McIntyre has shown in the past that these rules don’t apply to him, even if he is up against stars like CM Punk and Brock Lesnar.
"I'm taking the one thing that means the most to you…"
This is OUT OF CONTROL! 😱 Who will walk away as the Undisputed WWE Champion at Wrestlepalooza? Stream TOMORROW on the ESPN app!https://t.co/jKAIj8nxxt pic.twitter.com/kyDHltKU6I
Do you think Drew McIntyre will finally be able to secure himself a WWE world title run? Or will Cody Rhodes emerge victorious and put the Scotsman behind in the rearview mirror? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Wrestlepalooza will be live on ESPN on September 20, 2025, at 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT on ESPN. The PLE will be available on Netflix for fans outside the US.
