Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: Wrestlepalooza, wwe

WWE Wrestlepalooza: Champ Cody Rhodes Retains Over Drew McIntyre

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes retained the title over Drew McIntyre during WWE Wrestlepalooza - without The Rock or a heel turn.

Before we jump into looking at tonight's Undisputed WWE Championship match between champion Cody Rhodes and challenger Drew McIntyre, which is set for WWE Wrestlepalooza, here's a quick side note. The WWE and Rhodes have no one to blame but themselves for not turning Rhodes "heel" in time to take advantage of the "Homelander" (from Prime Video's The Boys) look that Rhodes has rocked in the past. That's because AEW's MJF beat him to it during his match against Mistico during the CMLL 92nd anniversary show, with Mistico going on to win the CMLL World Championship from MJF.

Anyway, here's the thing about tonight's match. After being out for a while due to a vicious Claymore Kick from McIntyre, which saw his head attempting to become one with the announce table, Rhodes returned during last week's SmackDown to make a very big save. After locking down a questionable "W" against Randy Orton, McIntyre had Orton in his sights for a post-match Claymore – a flashback to what went down with Rhodes. Making the save, Rhodes had a message for McIntyre: McIntyre gets a shot at getting his hands on the title, and Rhodes gets a shot at getting his hands on McIntyre. The two would meet up again during this past Friday's edition of SmackDown, as the contract signing gets physical (shocking, right?) and Rhodes ends up on the losing end of it all.

That brings us to tonight's match, which also has the distinct "honor" of being the latest match to have Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's name attached to it. For some reason, quite a few folks have the idea that The Rock is going to show up tonight to either cost Rhodes the title and show that McIntyre had "sold his soul to him," or signal that Rhodes has decided to take a walk on the "heel" side. So, what ended up going down? Did The Rock play a role, or was it all hype? Was Orton a surprise factor?

Here's a look at McIntyre's and Rhodes's respective entrances, as well as their in-ring introductions. Seriously, Rhodes needs to turn heel and go "Homelander-ish." It's just begging to happen…

McIntyre still doesn't get nearly the respect he deserves when it comes to his strength and speed – for example:

An exposed turnbuckle nearly brings Rhodes's story to an end (at least for tonight), but things take a turn – and we have no idea why the ref was outside of the ring, either, Wade Barrett):

If you live by the announce table, you can die by the announce table. Not long after that brutal move to his leg, McIntyre finds himself in another Cross Rhodes – and on the losing end of tonight's title match:

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