Opinions

Drew McIntyre must be world champion in WWE again

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From being the Scottish Warrior to Scottish Psychopath once again, Drew McIntyre’s current heel turn is better than ever before. The character of Drew McIntyre right now is refreshingly savage as he tends to insult the failures of his enemies, such as injuries, by constantly saying that he even “prayed for it to happen”. This added to the variety of great storytelling as a contingency plan that the WWE is perhaps doing right now especially since one of their key superstar, CM Punk, is out of action.

I want to take you back to (channeling my inner Michael Cole) Drew McIntyre’s past heel run when Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre himself formed an infamous stable in 2018? It was underwhelmingly forgettable by a lot of fans as they were once called as the “Dogs of War” that always protects Constable Corbin being RAW’s General Manager during those times. During his time in NXT? It was better than this circus-like way of booking by Vince McMahon.

Fast forward to 2020 when Drew McIntyre did his job well as a top babyface during those times when the world stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But before the lockdown, McIntyre did not waste his time to establish himself as the “next big thing” as he eliminated Brock Lesnar over the top rope using his signature “Claymore Kick” move at the 2020 Men’s Royal Rumble match. After that, he received a standing ovation from the crowd and eventually won the match.

Unfortunately, he main evented WrestleMania 36 in front of nobody as a safety precaution to the performers and the audience. Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to become a new WWE champion at the closing moments of WrestleMania 36 Night 2. This same persona of McIntyre figuratively carried WWE’s product in some sort, as the audience’s participation to professional wrestling events plays a major role in the overall feel of the show.

Struggles of Drew to be in the main event picture

Even though Drew McIntyre regained the WWE title from Randy Orton on November 16th episode of Raw, this was not as remarkable as the first title reign since Vince probably felt that Drew is a better opponent than Randy Orton, to face the Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Survivor Series 2020. This was still underwhelming on Drew’s part since he won the title in front of a virtual audience inside the WWE ThunderDome. His second title reign ended up short with The Miz cashing-in his Money in the Bank briefcase and successfully pinning Drew McIntyre as the Elimination Chamber 2021 Premium Live Event ended.

After gaining another title shot at WrestleMania 37 against Bobby Lashley, who defeated The Miz weeks prior during the March 1st episode of Raw, Drew failed to win the WWE title from the “All Mighty”, but this time being held in front of live audience which happened for the first time since the pandemic began. McIntyre’s WWE run went downhill as he failed to regain the WWE championship many times.

Until the opportunity came when he had to face the current WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a championship match at Clash at the Castle PLE in Cardiff, Wales. This was a great time for Drew to win a world title in a biggest way possible as he fought Roman Reigns in front of McIntyre’s hometown crowd in United Kingdom, but he unfortunately failed again to bring home the gold due to an interference by Solo Sikoa. As a result of fans’ disappointment, Tyson Fury went inside the ring to “comfort” McIntyre and had a mini sing-along to send fans home happy.

As this storyline continues about Drew McIntyre’s anger towards Roman Reigns and all members of The Bloodline, he found a way to give some payback to The Bloodline through “Main Event” Jey Uso at the Survivor Series: WarGames PLE last November 2023 where he lined up with the dominant Judgment Day faction. Despite Jey being away and disconnected from his cousins as he transferred to the Raw brand, Drew McIntyre insisted on hurting Jey Uso more to deliver a message to The Bloodline.

With these struggles felt by Drew McIntyre, it felt like he’s now ready to become number one contender once again for a world title match. As of now, it is definitely unclear for him to challenge Roman Reigns again as WWE wants to break more records from the title reigns of Hall of Famers such as Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino, but it is now or never for Drew to win the so-called “secondary” world title on Monday nights which is currently held by Seth Rollins – WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Why Drew deserves to be WWE champ again?

Interestingly, Drew McIntyre has a better chance right now to be placed in a world title match since he already has this momentum. His current character of being a great heel is brilliant in some way that offers something new to himself and the entire WWE product. This did not actually hurt Drew’s momentum that much as Cody made his decision during the WrestleMania XL Kickoff media event to challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal championship in two consecutive years. CM Punk’s unprecedented injury on the other hand, also added to the momentum that Drew is currently experiencing being in the world title picture.

With Drew McIntyre’s participation in the Chamber match at Elimination Chamber PLE in Australia this February, the odds are in favor of McIntyre’s victory against 5 other men to challenge Seth Rollins at WrestleMania XL. If this will not bound to happen, then what will be Drew’s future in WWE? Maybe he’ll wait for a long time again to find another opportunity for a world title shot if he stays in WWE, or he might go elsewhere such as All Elite Wrestling or TNA.

Although there is no official announcement yet on what will be the main event of WrestleMania XL Night 1, this should be given to Drew McIntyre for him to grab the World Heavyweight title probably during WrestleMania XL weekend. However, this potential celebration could be either replaced or ruined by anyone who also deserves to have a WrestleMania moment. A great example is Damian Priest, who is the current Señor Money in the Bank, which can be cashed-in anytime and anywhere he wants. WrestleMania will be an ideal time for this cash-in, and I also want this to happen to ignite their feud even more.

For sure, Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes II will be the main event of Night 2, but I am still unsure on what The Rock will do at WrestleMania as of now. Maybe it will potentially result in a triple threat match, or The Rock will turn his back on Roman Reigns. The newly reincarnated heel character of Hollywood or I mean “Tribal” Rock will be talked about in the next installment of The Rock Hinders The Nightmare series exclusively here on NoDQ.com Opinion section. Overall, I want to see Drew McIntyre win a world title in WWE in front of a crowd, whether he’s a babyface or a heel, to give justice in his past world title victories without anyone inside the arena.