Cody Rhodes to lose the WWE Title at Clash in Paris after his real-life friend betrays him? Possibility explored

Following the events that concluded last night's SmackDown, it seems clear that Cody Rhodes is set to face Drew McIntyre at WWE Clash in Paris later this month with the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line. A Rhodes-McIntyre feud has been teased on WWE TV in the past and has been the logical road for quite some time, given that it was clear that Cody would be winning back the title from John Cena at SummerSlam and that SmackDown lacks top heels to work with Rhodes as WWE Champion.

So, given this lack of legitimate title contenders for Rhodes, what if Drew shocks Cody at Clash in Paris and ends up being the first and final challenger in this title reign, only for it to lead to something bigger? The biggest feud we can currently get on SmackDown is by far Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton. Orton has been on the most successful run of his career as a babyface, and his popularity, in-ring and promo work have kept him a babyface for the longest time.

However, it is crystal clear: Randy Orton turning heel sometime in the future is inevitable, and so is a Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes feud. And while it seems simple on the face of it, in this case, it could be so much more WHEN The Apex Predator turns on The American Nightmare to kickstart a potential feud of the decade contender. There are two possibilities: Randy Orton turning on Cody Rhodes as champion to initiate a feud for the Undisputed WWE Championship, or The Viper costing his protege the title itself.

While the former may make more sense from The Viper's perspective given his quest for No. 15, if WWE wants to really milk this feud and stretch it over several months and with multiple phases, as they have done with CM Punk and Seth Rollins, then having the title picture held hostage by the two all the way till WrestleMania may not make much sense.

Much like Punk-Rollins, this feud could, at various points, have the title on the line or not. Orton costing Rhodes at Clash in Paris would allow the beginning of Phase One, and either Randy Orton or Cody Rhodes could win the WWE Championship somewhere down the line to perhaps set up a title feud in time for WrestleMania. In the meantime, Drew McIntyre could once again be presented at the level he deserves, as one of the absolute top guys on the company's STACKED roster.

As the Undisputed WWE Champion, there is a lot that can potentially be done with McIntyre besides being involved with Rhodes and Orton, including possible feuds with the likes of LA Knight and Sami Zayn, who, after last night's proceedings, may be traded to SmackDown.

However, the best part about Orton's heel turn and McIntyre's elevation to his rightful spot would be the rounding up of this year's WarGames, the build to which has the potential to somehow eclipse 2023 and 2024 and be one of the most star-studded affairs of all time.

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The build to Survivor Series: WarGames can pack a punch

Over on RAW, it is clear that the Seth Rollins and his group exploiting the massive egos of Roman Reigns, CM Punk and LA Knight, especially with The Architect now as the World Heavyweight Champion, is leading to a slow-burn and unlikely alliance of WWE's biggest anti-heroic lone wolves, and John Cena and Cody Rhodes have been rumored to be a part of that team, given their history with Rollins on the opposite side and Reigns, Punk and even Knight to an extent on the babyface side.

In a very similar vein, Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre allying with Seth Rollins would also make complete sense, given their history with the World Heavyweight Champion on their home team and their history with John Cena, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes, who may stand across from them.

While not evident, the road to WarGames has already begun, and the outline seems clear, but as riveting as ever at the same time, and it all has to do with Triple H's long-term booking and the sheer star power and unmatched storytelling abilities of WWE's main event talent.

There may be a few moving pieces who could insert themselves into WarGames (like Jey Uso, Logan Paul, Sami Zayn, etc.) and allow some of these big stars to busy themselves elsewhere, but the direction could be very intriguing if Orton turns heel and McIntyre holds the gold.

Regardless of whether Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, or Randy Orton is champion heading into Survivor Series, we are likely to see both the Undisputed WWE Champion and the World Heavyweight Champion inside WarGames this year, whether as allies or as enemies.