WWE: WWE 2K26 Announcement Teased for 1/23 WWE SmackDown Show, Drew McIntyre on Backstage Reaction to His Undisputed WWE Title Victory, Bayley on Her Wrestling Career Longevity

Jan 23, 2026

WWE 2K26 Announcement Teased for Jan. 23rd WWE SmackDown Show

2K Games’ official WWEGames account posted a teaser video featuring several WWE Superstars were asked about who they believe should be on the cover for the WWE 2K26 video game.

It was also teased that an official announcement regarding this year’s WWE 2K26 video game will be made during tonight’s WWE SmackDown show.

“Blue brand, bold calls. SmackDown predictions are giving chaos.
Tune in to tonight’s episode of #SmackDown, trust us, you won’t want to miss it! 😏 #WWE2K26″

Blue brand, bold calls.
SmackDown predictions are giving chaos.

Tune in to tonight’s episode of #SmackDown, trust us, you won’t want to miss it! 😏 #WWE2K26 pic.twitter.com/bSjZuOFHkt
— #WWE2K26 (@WWEgames) January 23, 2026

CM Punk has been recently rumored to be the official cover star for this year’s WWE 2K26 video game.

Drew McIntyre Comments on Backstage Reaction to His Undisputed WWE Title Victory

As noted before, the January 9th episode of WWE SmackDown in Berlin, Germany featured Drew McIntyre defeating Cody Rhodes in a Three Stages of Hell match to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion.

A recent episode of TMZ’s Inside The Ring podcast featured McIntyre as the guest. One of the topics discussed included McIntyre’s thoughts about the reaction and support he received backstage after his Undisputed WWE title victory on the show.

“It was pretty cool. Again, just trying to take it in, believing it was real. And everybody’s right there, and a couple of interviews had to be done right away. Nikki Cross and Alba Fyre were right there, a couple of fellow Scots to congratulate me. And there was a lot of congratulations going on, but there was also, ‘Drew, we have to get this interview done right now.’ I believe it was SportsCenter. So we had to just get on the ball right away.
It wasn’t until everything calmed down that I got to really let it sit in. And the coolest moment, this is my cousin’s favorite part, just by chance, my cousin, my uncle, and my friend came to Berlin the night before Glasgow just to see the show and hang out and catch up. And then they saw the title win. Once everything had calmed down, I went to the room, got myself together, called the Mrs. We went to catering, where a lot of the talent are, and everyone kind of like stood up and clapped. That was probably the coolest moment for me. It’s cool how the fans react positively, but when your peers kind of react in that kind of way, that’s the most important thing.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com

Bayley Comments on Her Wrestling Career Longevity

A recent episode of the Toronto Sun’s No Holds Barred podcast featured Bayley as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Bayley’s thoughts about her love of pro wrestling fueling her wrestling career longevity in WWE and how she’s been able to stay successful in WWE during her 15 years with the company.

“A little bit of luck and little bit of craziness, because I’m crazy in love with this. Cody and I call it — I always get it wrong — but I think we call it a ‘sickening.’ We have a sickening for this. Wrestling as a whole is ever-changing, and you never stop growing. Because the eras have changed so quickly throughout my time here and because the talent keeps getting better and better, I feel like I’m constantly evolving and constantly having to keep up. In a way of, you know, I’m just always growing and always learning.
Luckily, there’s always something more that you want to accomplish. We have two brand new titles still: the Women’s Intercontinental title, the Women’s United States Championship. So those are two more things I would love to accomplish. And now I’m in this new tag team with Lyra Valkyria and I feel very rejuvenated being in a team with her, because obviously you guys know how talented she is. She just has a special soul and heart for this that I feel like I need in my career, at this point in my career. So constantly evolving, and I’m just lucky that they still want me around and I’m in a position where I can help people so I feel a little needed — on top of me wanting to still accomplish my own personal goals.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com