Cody Rhodes has denied the rumors that he pitched WWE the idea of losing the Undisputed WWE Championship. He said no wrestler on top of the company would willingly ask to lose the title.
Rhodes was a guest on Friday’s Double Coverage Podcast with Zach Hirsch, where he talked about seeing fans use an old story on the subject as if it were confirmed.
“Here’s how I knew it had gotten crazy,” Rhodes said. “There was a story that I had pitched to lose the title, and now I saw somebody referencing this, like eight months ago, like, ‘Well, don’t forget when he, remember he pitched it.’”
For Rhodes, there’s a difference between a guy planning his last match and a champion who still wants to stay on top of WWE.
“If you ever hear a story of a wrestler pitching to lose the title, you should know right out of the gate they’re lying,” Rhodes said. “No wrestler has ever said, you know what, there’s a difference between an old man figuring out who his last opponent is, but no wrestler has ever said, ‘Yeah, I want to, I need to lose the title.’”
“My gosh, that’s the meal ticket,” Rhodes added. “You want somebody to take it from you. Don’t pitch it.”
Rhodes was frustrated that things reported online can be taken as fact months later, even when the people involved tell a different story.
“And I saw that being talked about as if it was actual evidence,” Rhodes said. “And I thought, ‘Oh man, I wish you knew.’ You know, I wish you guys knew that these conversations are just here. They’re just here.”
Rhodes invited the fans who follow those discussions to come out to a WWE show in person. He said the reaction in the arenas is different from the reaction on social media.
“Come to a show,” Rhodes said. “Come to a show and you will see. Oh, people are having a great time. They love all of it.”
The story about the Undisputed WWE title first came out in January. That’s when BodySlam+ reported that Rhodes and Drew McIntyre pitched a title change backstage. In the report, both of them had been in favor of it since Wrestlepalooza in September 2025.
On January 9, McIntyre did defeat Rhodes in a Three Stages of Hell match on SmackDown in Berlin, Germany. Jacob Fatu interfered in the match. It ended with McIntyre winning the Undisputed WWE title.
WWE then gave the title back to Rhodes, who beat McIntyre on the March 6 edition of SmackDown before going on to face Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42.