A new champion was crowned on the January 9 SmackDown episode, with Drew McIntyre defeating Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Title.
With such an impactful title change, the next star to win the WWE Championship will have to do so under even more memorable circumstances.
With a number of potential challengers teased, there are several stars who could be set for a future WWE Championship reign.
Here are seven stars who could win the WWE Championship after Drew McIntyre.
7. Cody Rhodes
While Cody Rhodes did lose the WWE Championship, there are many asterisks surrounding his championship loss.
Not only did Drew McIntyre only win the singles match stage of Three Stages of Hell following an illegal low blow, McIntyre’s Steel Cage stage victory came as a result of Jacob Fatu attacking Rhodes, allowing the new champion to escape the cage.
While this was intended to be a definitive end to the duo’s feud, the nature of the title change could see Rhodes given one last title match against McIntyre.
The duo’s rivalry has a different dynamic now, with Cody Rhodes now doing the chasing.
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6. Jacob Fatu
Regardless of what happened prior to his interference, Jacob Fatu ultimately played a major role in the Undisputed WWE Championship changing hands.
While it seemed his original intention was only to prevent Drew McIntyre from leaving the steel cage, Fatu fighting with Cody Rhodes allowed McIntyre to escape and win the prestigious championship.
With this result, Fatu will still be looking for retribution, with all signs indicating that Drew McIntyre was the mystery assailant who attacked him backstage in October 2025.
Following Jacob Fatu’s run as US Champion last year, we might see the Samoan Werewolf with gold around his waist again soon.
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5. Roman Reigns
Ahead of the Three Stages of Hell match, many fans had predicted that a third Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes WWE Title match would take place at WrestleMania 42.
While Rhodes may no longer be the champion, we could still see Reigns in a big WWE Championship match following his return.
Roman Reigns has teased challenging for the WWE Championship pretty much since he lost the gold at WrestleMania 40, with the Tribal Chief hinting at a future title bout as recently as Survivor Series 2025.
Reigns notably defeated Drew McIntyre with WWE’s top title on the line at Clash in the Castle 2023, and will likely be looking for a repeat performance in 2026.
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4. Matt Cardona
Following his official WWE return on the January 2 SmackDown episode, Matt Cardona was presented as a potential WWE Championship challenger several times on the January 9 show.
After telling Cody Rhodes that he’s back to win the top title, Cardona was announced for the mini-tournament to determine the next WWE Championship challenger.
If Matt Cardona defeats Trick Williams on the January 15 SmackDown episode, he will qualify for the #1 contender’s four-way which will take place at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Cardona is one WWE Championship win away from being a Grand Slam Champion, and there’s a clear path for him to finish his story.
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3. Damian Priest
Another star who stated their intention to win the WWE Championship during the January 9 SmackDown episode was notably a recent rival of Drew McIntyre’s.
Early on during the episode, Damian Priest confronted Drew McIntyre and told him that if he was to win the WWE Title, they could run back their rivalry, but this time with the Undisputed Championship on the line.
Priest and McIntyre have been rivals for several years now, with Priest cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to end McIntyre’s five-minute reign with the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 40.
Damian Priest was victorious in the duo’s most recent match – a Steel Cage match at the May 24 Saturday Night’s Main Event show – so would also be looking for history to repeat itself.
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2. Randy Orton
Randy Orton challenging for Drew McIntyre’s Undisputed WWE Championship just makes sense on so many levels.
The Viper’s most recent WWE Championship reign only lasted 22 days, with Orton defeating McIntyre for the gold at Hell in a Cell 2020, before losing the title back to McIntyre on the November 16 Raw episode.
With Orton ending McIntyre’s first WWE Title reign, we could see Orton end McIntyre’s third run with the gold, over five years later.
With Orton previously being caught staring at the WWE Championship during Cody Rhodes reign, the Viper’s gaze could follow McIntyre, on the road to a 15th world title reign.
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1. Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn has been very vocal about his goal to win a world championship in WWE, and now he has the chance to exorcise one of his biggest demons while doing so.
The former Intercontinental Champion pointed out on the January 9 SmackDown episode that he has never been able to defeat Drew McIntyre in singles action, with McIntyre picking up wins over Sami Zayn on Raw, SmackDown, Saturday Night’s Main Event, and at house shows.
With Zayn’s biggest goals in WWE being to win a world title, and to defeat Drew McIntyre, circumstances have presented themselves for Sami Zayn to do both at the same time.
With Zayn also set for a qualifying match for the Saturday Night’s Main Event #1 contender’s bout, and with Royal Rumble 2026 right around the corner, we could see Drew McIntyre vs Sami Zayn happen sooner rather than later.
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