SmackDown championship moment becomes the most disliked WWE video of 2026
Summary
– Cody Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre to win the Undisputed WWE Championship on SmackDown
– The clip of the victory became WWE’s most disliked YouTube video of 2026
– Fan backlash centers on booking decisions and the rapid title change
Cody Rhodes captured the Undisputed WWE Championship during the March 6 episode of SmackDown, but the reaction online has been far from celebratory.
The championship change took place at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, where Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre in the main event. The match was designed to be a major step toward WrestleMania 42, yet the fallout quickly turned into a wave of criticism from a vocal portion of the audience.
After the show aired, WWE uploaded the title victory to its official YouTube channel. The video quickly became the most disliked WWE upload of 2026. At the time of writing, the clip has collected more than 58,000 dislikes while sitting at roughly 17,000 likes.
The match itself ended in chaos. Multiple referee bumps created confusion during the closing moments while McIntyre attempted to use a steel chair to maintain control of the championship.
The situation changed when Jacob Fatu appeared and removed the weapon from McIntyre. That distraction allowed Rhodes to regain momentum and deliver the Cody Cutter, followed by Cross Rhodes, to secure the pinfall victory.
Much of the backlash appears tied to frustration over Rhodes’ continued push as a top babyface. Some viewers compared the booking to the Super Cena era, arguing the storyline feels predictable.
Other fans had hoped McIntyre would enter WrestleMania 42 as champion after winning the title earlier this year in a brutal Three Stages of Hell match.
Criticism also focused on the timing of the title switch. McIntyre had recently defeated Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLI to end his 159-day championship run. The championship returning to Rhodes less than two months later did not sit well with many viewers.
Despite the online reaction, the direction of WrestleMania is now clear. Rhodes is scheduled to defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton in Las Vegas after Orton won the 2026 Men’s Elimination Chamber match and attacked Rhodes with an RKO.
