Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre have been feuding with each other since August and their rivalry has become heated over the last few months. Drew has challenged Cody for the Undisputed WWE Championship several times, but was unable to capture the title. Rhodes and McIntyre stepped into the ring one more time during Friday’s episode of SmackDown as Cody defended his belt against Drew in a Three Stages of Hell match.
The bout kicked off with a straight wrestling match and Drew McIntyre grabbed a steel chair then dared Cody to hit him with it. Drew scored the first pinfall when he hit Cody with a low blow while the referee wasn’t looking then connected with a Claymore for the three count.
The Falls Count Anywhere match started immediately after and Drew powerbombed Cody through a table. They battled into the crowd and Cody used someone’s phone to take a selfie as he bit Drew’s head. Cody set Drew up on a table then climbed up the stairs and jumped off a railing as he came crashing down on Drew for a two count. The American Nightmare put Drew through the announce table with a Crossrhodes then pinned him to tie up the match.
The steel cage came down and shortly after Drew tried escape through the door, but Cody stopped him. They both climbed up to the top of the cage and battled back and forth. Cody tried to climb over and Drew grabbed his head and drove him down to the mat with a superplex.
After a few minutes Cody connected with the Crossrhodes twice and went for a third and Drew got out of it. Drew hit a Claymore and Cody kicked out at two.
They climbed to the top of the cage again and Cody knocked Drew down to the mat. Cody hit the Cody Cutter off the top of the cage and Drew kicked out.
Cody and Drew started climbing once again and they both fell down onto the top rope after battling back and forth. Drew tried to get out the door when a hooded figure appeared before he could escape.
The man took off his hood and revealed himself to be Jacob Fatu. Jacob entered the cage and started beating Drew down. Cody tried to stop him and Jacob started fighting Cody.
As Jacob and Cody were distracted Drew escaped through the door to win the match and become the new WWE Champion. As Drew was making his way to the back Cody attacked Jacob again then stared at Drew as the show went off the air.