Why Drew McIntyre Won WWE Title Before Dropping It Back To Cody Rhodes

TLDR

Drew McIntyre's brief Undisputed WWE Championship reign was reportedly part of WWE's attempt to freshen up what they felt had become a predictable and stale title picture around Cody Rhodes, according to sources cited by Billi Bhatti on The Dirty Sheets podcast. The decision to put the title on McIntyre allegedly came from SmackDown head writer Road Dogg as a creative shift heading toward WrestleMania, with WWE's original plans calling for Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns and Bron Breakker vs. CM Punk at the event. Those plans reportedly changed due to negative fan reaction to another potential Rhodes vs. Reigns match and Bron Breakker's injury being more serious than initially thought.