Drew McIntyre has turned up the heat just hours before Wrestlepalooza, launching a sharp verbal attack on Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Speaking in a WWE interview, McIntyre accused Rhodes of being a backstage manipulator on par with John Cena.
“The big difference between both of us is that he learned to kiss a— just as good as Cena,” McIntyre said. “He managed to cut off legs when people got anywhere close to him.”
McIntyre didn’t stop there, labeling Rhodes a “liarbetic” in reference to comments from the champion’s own podcast. He closed by questioning Rhodes’ priorities: “Cody Rhodes doesn’t care about anything else except that WWE Championship and himself, and everything else comes second.” (h/t WrestleTalk)
The attack comes as Rhodes has publicly taken a very different tone toward Cena, showing admiration for the 17-time world champion. Speaking recently with TMZ, Rhodes dismissed any suggestion that Cena’s “Last Real Champ” moniker undermines his reign. “He can call himself the Last Real Champ as long as I’m the actual champ,” Rhodes said, adding he was “so excited” to be part of Cena’s final run.
McIntyre, however, has tied his pursuit of the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cena in another way. He has openly stated his plan to use the title as leverage to secure a final showdown with Cena before the veteran’s planned December retirement.
All of these threads intersect tonight at Wrestlepalooza in Indianapolis. The show will open with Cena facing Brock Lesnar, while the main event sees Cody Rhodes defend his Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre.