Former WWE star criticizes Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre: “I did not like the finish at all”
While speaking on Busted Open Radio, former WWE star Tommy Dreamer gave his thoughts on the Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre “Three Stages of Hell” match from the January 9th 2026 edition of SmackDown. Here is what Dreamer had to say…
“I did not like the finish. I did not like the finish at all. I kept asking myself, what does this actually do for Jacob [Fatu]? He reveals himself, it’s Drew McIntyre who attacks him, and Drew gets a reaction. Then, the moment Jacob turns on Cody, the crowd starts booing.
I’m sitting there thinking, all right, you didn’t like Cody throughout the match, but now this guy Jacob—who the crowd clearly likes—starts beating up Cody, who you supposedly don’t like, and suddenly you’re booing Jacob and cheering for the guy he’s attacking. That just didn’t make sense to me.
The finish came off really weird. I kept wondering, where does this actually lead for Jacob if this is supposed to be his big return? Who is he supposed to be? If he’s meant to face Drew, he just screwed over Cody. He’s not a likable guy in this situation.
If this is an era where we’re supposed to cheer bad guys, okay—but your worst-case scenario as a wrestling fan is a bad Cody Rhodes. I’m telling you, if Cody has to be a heel, the version of him you think is a ‘good heel’ is not something you’re going to like.”
Tommy Dreamer on the ramifications following Drew McIntyre defeating Cody Rhodes on #Smackdown:
"I know what [Cody] has to be a heel… you ain't gonna like it." pic.twitter.com/Cp1IV1cQYW
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) January 10, 2026