It might not feel like it, but WrestleMania 36 was more than half a year ago. That means it’s over six months since Scotland’s Drew McIntyre blitzed Brock Lesnar, potentially sending him packing from WWE forever, and became the first-ever British WWE World Heavyweight Champion. That moment feels like it was only yesterday – although that might be because it’s been almost impossible to keep track of time in this strange year. The victory marked the end of a long, slow, difficult rise to the top for the man who was once Vince McMahon’s personal ‘Chosen One,’ but how does his reign stack up? Has he been a worthy champion, or has he been a disappointment?
Before we get into the meat of this article, let’s take a moment to appreciate what a remarkable comeback this has been for McIntyre. After failing to get over during his first run with the company and being released after a lamentable spell in the comedy relief stable “Three Man Band,” McIntyre was re-hired to the company’s NXT developmental brand in 2017. During his time away, he’d changed his look, put on a lot of muscle mass, and improved his in-ring game dramatically. He was a different kind of animal when he re-emerged in NXT, and it was no surprise to see him win the brand’s championship shortly afterward. Things didn’t immediately look promising when he was lumped in a tag team with Dolph Ziggler upon his arrival on the main roster, but he’s excelled himself to reach his current position. Even if this turns out to be the only championship reign he ever has, he’s done very well for himself and has every reason to be proud.
A champion is generally defined by his title defenses. On that front, things didn’t start out very well for Drew. Destroying Brock Lesnar in a matter of minutes was a statement win for the champ and made the mainstream press in the Brit’s home country, but it was immediately followed up on the next night’s RAW with an impromptu title match against the Big Show, seemingly out of nowhere. It made no sense as a match and wasn’t the most auspicious start for the new champion. Things didn’t immediately get much better afterward either. He had a feud with Seth Rollins that was so forgettable that even now, it’s hard to picture the match – and that doesn’t usually happen with Seth Rollins. Then he was paired off with Bobby Lashley in what became a comedy feud involving R-Truth.
Through all of that, McIntyre wore the belt well and gave us some great promos, coupled with fantastic in-ring work. His reward for that was an extended program with Dolph Ziggler – a man that’s probably lost more WWE Championship matches than anybody else in history. The audience wasn’t invested in seeing McIntyre against Ziggler because they knew there was no chance whatsoever of Ziggler picking up the strap, and putting Ziggler in the title picture made the title itself feel like a midcard attraction. At this point, just three months in, it looked as if McIntyre’s title reign was in trouble. The fact that there were no fans at any of the PPVs or RAW tapings was probably a good thing. If there had been, there might have been boos or, worse than that, silence. Fortunately, better things were around the corner for Drew. Randy Orton was about to appear on the horizon.
Randy Orton can be hit or miss as a top guy. When he’s clearly not invested in his storylines, his promos become soporific, and his in-ring work becomes tedious. Whether it’s Orton turning over a new leaf or just enjoying the fact that he’s working with Drew, he’s been at his best these past few months. McIntyre has got the best out of Orton, and the matches they’ve had against each other have been stellar. The promo work might have been even better. We’re still not totally convinced that it helps the champion’s case to require the assistance of Christian, Big Show, and Shawn Michaels to defeat Orton in the recent match at Clash of Champions, but the presentation of the feud has been deadly serious, and fans online appear to be invested in it.
As much as we’re enjoying the Orton feud, which appears to be continuing, there are increasing signs that it’s going to mark the end of McIntyre’s reign. Orton has lost two straight title matches to Drew, and he’s unlikely to lose a third. The internet rumor mill says that WWE wants to shift the title to Orton so that when Edge returns from injury, they can make Edge vs. Orton for the WWE Championship as one of the main events for next year’s WrestleMania. Losing the title isn’t necessarily a bad thing – everyone loses the title in the end – but the idea that McIntyre might immediately be removed from the title picture to make room for Edge is less promising. It implies that his time at the top might be done.
There are other small barometers you can use to measure someone’s standing in WWE’s eyes, and they aren’t looking good for Drew either. He’s not a cover star of the WWE Battleground video game, which was released recently. He’s not got his own WWE online slots game coming out, and that’s not a good sign either. WWE has teamed up with a company called Bluberi to create a range of WWE-themed online slots, and McIntyre’s name isn’t linked to the project. Roman Reigns, the reigning champion over on SmackDown, is getting his own featured online slots game. Becky Lynch, who is off on maternity leave, is also getting her own online slots game on the most famous websites such as Dove Casino. McIntyre isn’t considered a big enough deal to be featured that way, and unfortunately, that might be very telling when it comes to WWE’s plans for the Scotsman’s future.
We think that McIntyre has been an excellent, believable champion. Not everyone can get the best out of Orton, but he’s done it. He has the right look and the right attitude, and it’s a huge shame that his reign has come during a time when fans haven’t been able to attend and give him the appreciation he deserves. If he really is dropping the belt to Orton, we hope that somewhere down the line, he gets the chance to have a second run.
