Cody Rhodes uses "illegal" means to retain WWE Championship

WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes was in action against Drew McIntyre at tonight's Saturday Night's Main Event. The American Nightmare was called out after using illegal means to retain his title.

Ahead of Saturday Night's Main Event, Cody Rhodes locked horns with Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Championship on the October 17, 2025, edition of SmackDown as well. This match ended in a DQ after Rhodes hit McIntyre with the title.

Tonight at SNME, their bout had an interesting stipulation. If Cody tried to get himself disqualified this time, he wasn't going to walk away with the title, and Drew would become champion. Both stars put on an incredible display of action inside the ring, and for the most part, it was a back-and-forth affair. At one point in the match, Drew McIntyre brought the WWE title inside the ring in an attempt to hit his opponent. However, Cody Rhodes stopped that from happening.

Later in the match, The Scottish Warrior tried to hit The American Nightmare with the title again while the referee was knocked out, but before he could pick up the title, Rhodes quickly grabbed McIntyre by the neck to hit a vicious DDT on the championship.

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Commentator Wade Barrett immediately called out The American Nightmare for hitting The Scottish Warrior with a DDT on the title, calling it "illegal."

"That's illegal. Hold on a second. And the referee didn't see any of that?" Wade Barrett said.

Check out the finish of the match below:

After hitting McIntyre with a DDT on the title, Cody Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes and won the match via pinfall to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Many wanted Drew McIntyre to win the bout, as he has been doing an amazing job with his current gimmick. It remains to be seen what the Triple H-led creative team has planned for The Scottish Warrior's future after tonight's loss.

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Edited by Aashrit Satija