Ranking the Most Likely WrestleMania Main Events Following Drew McIntyre’s Shock Undisputed WWE Title Win

Allegiant Stadium, the site of WrestleMania 42 – Source: Unsplash

Drew McIntyre blew the Royal Rumble season and the subsequent Road to WrestleMania wide open on the Friday, 9th January edition of SmackDown when he upset Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship in Berlin, Germany.

He won the WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar in front of no fans at WrestleMania back in 2020, robbing him of a true celebration in front of a full house. He would have to wait four long years for his next moment in the sun, beating Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship on the Grandest Stage of Them All in Philadelphia in 2024. However, that reign would come to an end after just five minutes and forty-six seconds, after being attacked by CM Punk. The Second City Saint would rob McIntyre of championship opportunities on two further occasions throughout 2024.

Drew McIntyre’s Golden Moment

But in January 2026, McIntyre finally climbed to the top of the mountain once again. He met Cody Rhodes in a Three Stages of Hell Match in Berlin, and he would shockingly emerge with the title after interference from Jacob Fatu. The Scotsman would manage to escape the cage in the third of those three stages of hell, securing the victory and the title. But the crucial question now is what happens next.

No one truly had McIntyre penciled in for the main event of WrestleMania 42 in April in Las Vegas. However, with the undisputed WWE Championship around his waist, he now finds himself in pole position for a blockbuster showdown in Sin City. But what are now considered the most likely matchups to headline the Showcase of the Immortals at Allegiant Stadium? Here are our picks, in no particular order.

CM Punk vs Roman Reigns

13 years ago, CM Punk left WWE under a dark cloud filled with years of pent-up frustration. From there, he would transition to the very real combat world of the UFC, a place where online betting sites weren’t truly convinced he would thrive. Outlets that offer MMA and UFC betting, such as the popular Lucky Rebel, made him an underdog in both of his clashes in the Octagon – 3/1 in his debut against Mickey Gall and 7/4 against the 0-1 Mike Jackson – and their pricing was bang on the money.

The Chicago native lost both of those clashes in one-sided fashion before returning to professional wrestling, firstly with AEW. After two years, another acrimonious exit would follow, triggering Punk’s shock return to WWE in 2023. And across the three years since, the veteran has enjoyed a stellar run, culminating with winning the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time of his second run with the company back in November.

Across his two and a half years back in the company, Punk has regularly crossed paths with the face of WWE, Roman Reigns. The two have teamed together in back-to-back WarGames matches, while they also competed against each other in the main event of WrestleMania night one last year, both ultimately losing to Seth Rollins in a triple threat match. Could the two now be poised to face off against each other one-on-one for the first time?

Reigns is the odds-on favorite to win the Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia later this month. A clash against WWE Champion McIntyre seems unlikely, with the two rarely interacting since their title match in 2022. As such, a Punk vs Reigns clash for the World Heavyweight Championship seems much more likely. But of course, it isn’t the only option.

Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns III

All year long, it seemed like WWE was sowing the seeds for a trilogy clash for the ages between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. The two superstars main evented back-to-back WrestleMania events in 2023 and 2024, with Reigns surprisingly defending his Undisputed WWE Universal championship at the first in Los Angeles, before being dethroned in Philadelphia a year later. Since then, the two have teamed up on a couple of occasions, but after their loss in the WarGames match at Survivor Series, it became clear that their alliance had come to an end.

With Reigns positioned as the Royal Rumble favorite, it seemed for all the world that he would win Saudi Arabia’s 30-man over the top rope extravaganza before challenging Rhodes for the gold. Now that the American Nightmare is no longer the champion, those plans seem to have been put on ice. Of course, Rhodes could always reclaim the title before Mania, perhaps even beating McIntyre at the Royal Rumble event, but transitional title reigns are usually favored by Head of WWE Creative Triple H.

Should Rhodes not reclaim the gold, could a triple threat between himself, Reigns, and McIntyre headline in Las Vegas? That too is a distinct possibility, with the Scottish champion still having some unfinished business with the Tribal Chief, albeit stemming back from 2022. While that seems unlikely, one thing that is for certain is that the Road to WrestleMania is arguably the most unpredictable in years.