WWE delivered on its promise that Drew McIntyre would speak about his COVID-19 diagnosis on Monday’s episode of Raw.
News that the WWE Champion tested positive for the virus came out on Monday when WWE confirmed it in a statement on its website. At the time, WWE noted that he was in quarantine after finding out. Originally, he was supposed to take on Randy Orton in a non-title match on this show, but that was scrapped.
McIntyre recorded a message via his phone that aired on the show where he talked about how he is one of the fortunate ones to not have any symptoms, but assured that COVID is not something to take lightly.
He said that people shouldn’t think they can’t catch it because they can. He noted that the only way to stop the virus is by working together and pleaded fans to follow social distancing guidelines as well as wearing masks.
McIntyre just defended the WWE Title over Keith Lee in the main event of last week’s episode of Raw, which was billed as Legends Night. After the match, Goldberg came out and confronted McIntyre. Eventually, the WWE Hall of Famer challenged him to a title match at the upcoming Royal Rumble show then shoved McIntyre down to close the show.
There’s no word yet on whether McIntyre’s COVID-19 diagnosis will impact plans for him to wrestle Goldberg at this pay-per-view event on January 31, 2021.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has tested positive for COVID-19. The company announced the news Monday morning. A statement at WWE.com reads:
“Drew McIntyre has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been placed in quarantine.”
SEScoops has learned that Drew McIntyre will address the WWE Universe tonight on Raw. The master of the Claymore Kick was advertised to face Randy Orton in a non-title on the show, that will obviously won’t be happening.
McIntyre retained the WWE Championship against Keith Lee last week on RAW. After the match, Bill Goldberg came out to challenge him to a match at the Royal Rumble.
Drew McIntyre has been the top babyface on the RAW brand for the last year. He won the 2020 men’s Royal Rumble en route to defeating Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36.
He held the title for 213 days before dropping it to Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell last October. He then regained the title from Orton on the November 16th, 2020 edition of RAW.
SEScoops wishes Drew Mcintyre a full and speedy recovery from COVID-19.
Last night’s edition of WWE RAW concluded with Bill Goldberg challenging Drew McIntyre to a title match at the Royal Rumble. Goldberg hasn’t wrestled since losing to Braun Strowman at WrestleMania.
As for why Goldberg was chosen as Drew’s opponent for the show, this was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio. It appears the decision to have Goldberg face McIntyre on the PPV was only made over the weekend.
“Bill Goldberg and Drew McIntyre is going to be the main event at the Royal Rumble,” Dave Meltzer said on the show. “This was decided on Saturday.” He continued to say that the angle seemed to come out of nowhere.
“It wasn’t a swerve, it wasn’t to throw people off, it was because they have nobody ready for anything.”
“The Goldberg decision was made on Saturday,” Meltzer continued. “So if you’re wondering why, you know, it just feels like this came out of nowhere, that is the reason, it came out of nowhere.”
The match against Goldberg will be McIntyre’s 3rd title defence in his current reign. He defeated Keith Lee last night and both AJ Styles and the Miz in a triple threat match at TLC. McIntyre successfully defended the WWE title 8x in his first run with the belt.
WWE didn’t waste any time in booking Drew McIntyre’s first WWE Championship defense of the new year against Keith Lee as well as setting up his next feud.
It happened on Monday’s episode of Raw, which was hyped as Raw Legends Night, on the USA Network. The contest was saved for the main event from St. Petersburg, Florida at Tropicana Field.
It was a lengthy back and forth match. McIntyre did a lot of selling for Lee to make him look like a worthy contender. At one point, McIntyre power bombed Lee through the announce table. Lee managed to hit a Spanish fly off the top rope for a near fall. McIntyre hit the Claymore Kick for the win.
WWE set up this contest last week on Raw as Lee battled Sheamus in the opening contest. Obviously, Lee went over and earned the title shot opportunity.
After the match, Goldberg walked down to the ring and grabbed a microphone. He praised McIntyre for having talent, but not getting the respect he deserves. He said that McIntyre looks at legends as wrestlers out of their prime and being better than them.
Goldberg said that this is where he steps in as he challenged McIntyre for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble. McIntyre said that fighting him would be like fighting his own dad. Goldberg pushed him down and the show went off the air.
WWE holds the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on January 31, 2021.
Goldberg made a surprise return on Raw and just challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE title at Royal Rumble ?
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has joined Cameo, the service that allows people to purchase personalized video messages by celebrities. He charges $400 per video. The Undertaker sold 30 Cameo videos for $1,000 a pop last month, so why not?
Both The Undertaker and Drew McIntyre’s Cameo accounts were sanctioned by WWE and promoted by the company’s official channels, so these are separate from WWE forcing talent to shut down their personal accounts with third-party series like Twitch and Cameo.
WWE Icons is a new documentary series coming to the WWE Network next month. The first episode will focus on the life and career of the late WWE legend Yokozuna.
WWE Icons premieres Sunday, January 31st immediately following WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view. You can see a ‘first look’ of the series below:
Speaking of the WWE Network (and Yokozuna), the latest “classic content drop” includes 10 episodes of WWE Superstars. The shows originally aired from August through October of 1993 during the sumo champion’s first WWE Championship reign.
In a match that Drew McIntyre had stated he has been wanting since he was 16-years old, AJ Styles challenged him for the WWE Title.
It happened at the final pay-per-view event of 2020 for WWE, TLC, on Sunday night. This is where McIntyre put the WWE Title on the line, but there was a twist.
The contest opened the show and featured a slow build throughout. McIntyre sold his left leg throughout the match as he was hit with a chair by Styles. There was a spot where McIntyre sent Styles head first into a chair in the corner. McIntyre press slammed him over the top rope through a table on the floor.
The Miz powerbombed McIntyre off the ladder through a table. He cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase. This turned it into a three-way match. However, McIntyre ended up winning the match after sending Miz and Styles flying off a ladder.
Drew McIntyre Victorious at WWE TLC
This originally wasn’t supposed to be the challenge for McIntyre and his WWE Title. Instead, Braun Strowman was slated for this spot. However, he suffered a knee injury that caused him to be put on the sidelines to rehab it. WWE decided to write him off television as a result.
WWE had to come up with another opponent for McIntyre. WWE started a tournament to determine the new #1 contender to the WWE Championship. The finals took place on an episode of RAW in a Sudden Death Triple Threat Match that featured AJ Styles, Riddle and Keith Lee with “The Phoenmal One” going over.
The Survivor Series match between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre ended with Jey Uso getting involved in the bout; leaving fans wanting a rematch between the two stars.
During his recent appearance on WWE’s The Bump, the WWE champion spoke up about a number of things and he also discussed a potential rematch with the Universal champion.
McIntyre first claimed that their match at Survivor Series was all about showing the world what he is about these days, before talking about a potential rematch with Reigns at a ‘WrestleMania-level’ event:
“He kept talking and talking, and [Paul] Heyman kept talking and talking and kept tweeting. I kept my mouth shut because I was going to show through [my] actions what I’m capable of these days, and you saw his emotions change throughout the match.
But he knows what I’m all about now.” said Drew McIntyre, “I guarantee that match is going to come back around again one day, and hopefully, it’ll be WrestleMania-level.”
The ending of the Survivor Series match between the two champions saw Roman hitting a low blow on McIntyre and then putting him in the guillotine choke thanks to interference from Jey Uso.
However, Drew McIntyre chose to pass out instead of tapping to the submission, leaving the possibility for a rematch between the two stars open.
Would you like to see Drew McIntyre having a rematch with Roman Reigns at next year’s edition of WrestleMania? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed the RAW interactions between Drew McIntyre and Sheamus. Ray would compare the two British Superstars to Randy Orton and Edge; saying how their real life history gives the potential upcoming storyline feud ‘real life’ legitimacy.
Bully Ray on Orton vs Edge
“Randy [Orton] and Edge have characters and personalities that are carved out” Bully Ray began on Busted Open. “That’s why you will stay invested in their story. They had a history, that’s why you will stay invested in that story. They talked about real life relationships, but their real life relationship? That’s why you will stay invested in that story.”
Edge and Randy Orton had a run of bouts earlier in the year. These would include the Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania and ‘The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’ at Backlash.
“Sheamus and Drew [McIntyre] are very similar” Bully Ray would continue. “They’re friends in real life. They have story, characters and personalities that are carved out and definitive. That’s why you’ll be invested.”
Drew McIntyre and Sheamus go back an extremely long way. The two men were featured members of the Irish Whip Wrestling promotion, back in
Bully Ray would then use a movie analogy to finish and elaborate on the point. “This is why being into the character or the personality first? Is so important. When you watch a movie, what’s the most important thing a movie can do within the first half hour or so? Build the characters.”
Do you agree with Bully Ray? Do you think that Sheamus vs Drew McIntyre could be a strong feud given their British/Irish links? Let us know in the comments
Drew McIntyre will make his next title defense against AJ Styles at the upcoming WWE TLC pay-per-view event.
Last week, WWE started a tournament to determine the new #1 contender to the WWE Championship. The finals took place in a Sudden Death Triple Threat Match that featured AJ Styles, Riddle and Keith Lee.
This contest was booked in the third hour of Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network. This match saw Styles hit the Phenomenal Forearm to Riddle for the win in just about 14 minutes.
As a result of the win, Styles become the new #1 contender and will now challenge McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the final PPV event for WWE in 2020.
WWE TLC takes place Sunday, December 20th and airs live on the WWE Network.
It was reported last Monday that Strowman was slated to challenge McIntyre for the strap at this show. However, that changed due to Strowman dealing with a knee injury.
WWE got around this injury when he headbutted Adam Pearce and was suspended in storyline as a way to get him off television. Now, it should be noted that it’s possible Strowman can recover in time and WWE does an angle to add him to this title contest and make it a three-way bout.
Bully Ray has shared his thoughts on the Champion vs. Champion matchup between Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns that took place at Survivor Series.
Speaking on his SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray stressed how the bout not only met but exceeded his expectations. He believed the two clashed in Survivor Series “match of the night” and successfully delivered a “big fight feel.”
“We had a big fight feel last night. We had both of the WWE Champions in there,” Bully Ray said. “We had two big men in there, we had two men that look like what a pro wrestler should look like, two men who laid their stuff in. It looked like a fight. It felt like a spirited contest; It felt like something!”
He explained how their matchup wasn’t just two Superstars going “through the motions.” Instead, it was apparent both McIntyre and Reigns “had a will, and a desire, and a passion to win.”
This mentality translated to Bully Ray becoming invested in the match. He then highlighted the psychology implemented throughout. Bully Ray pointed to the ending of the bout and shared how he enjoyed the finish.
“I liked what they did at the end when Roman had that choke on after the nut shot, and the interference from Roman’s cousin. When he had that front choke on and was holding on for dear life and Drew got the one leg, I was like, ‘Wow, is he actually going to make it out of this?'”
That uncertainty is what Bully Ray believes takes a fan on a “great ride” with pro wrestling. He noted that what Reigns and McIntyre delivered at Survivor Series was “drama,” something he claimed is majorly lacking in modern pro wrestling.
Drew McIntyre ultimately lost to Roman Reigns at Survivor Series following interference from Reigns’ cousin, Jey Uso.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre intends to “harass” Vince McMahon until WWE hosts a pay-per-view in the United Kingdom.
“My goal is to make it happen in future and it’s going to happen because I’m gonna harass [WWE chief executive] Vince McMahon until it does,” McIntyre revealed in an interview with The Scotsman. “I talk a lot of crap online with Tyson Fury and Chris Sutton in particular – but whatever it takes to get the UK a significant PPV I’ll do.”
McIntyre went on to divulge he has plans in place that he won’t publicly talk about just yet. However, he stressed that one plan “[…] that WILL happen, is getting a WWE PPV back to the UK.”
Drew McIntyre recently competed in a Champion vs. Champion matchup at WWE’s Survivor Series event. He faced off against SmackDown’s Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Despite his best efforts, however, McIntyre would lose the match following interference from Jey Uso. Reigns would then sink in a guillotine choke on McIntyre, who passed out.
WWE Commentator Corey Graves recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The former Sterling James Keenan discussed a number of topics during his time on the show. These would include Roman Reigns’ run at the top of SmackDown, working commentary during the pandemic and Drew McIntyre’s rise to the main event of RAW.
“Drew entered in an unwinnable situation here” Graves began on the show, saying how McIntyre’s WrestleMania win and subsequent Championship run has panned out due to the pandemic ‘era.’ “Think of the year that guy’s had. Winning the Royal Rumble with 40,000 people in attendance? Then here comes the pinnacle moment of his career, if not his life? You’re going to headline WrestleMania for the WWE Championship, it literally does not get any bigger than that.”
Corey Graves on Drew McIntyre
“And to have that taken away? And just kind of stay the course?” Corey Graves continued. “Drew to his credit realized these are unusual circumstances, these are strange times. But we needed somebody that you can hitch the wagon to. Drew McIntyre has worked his a** off.”
Corey Graves would also give credit to Randy Orton for the feud over the summer between he and the Scottish warrior. “Also hats off to Randy, who for whatever reason, all these years later? Just decided to have maybe the best year of his career in the ring. The two of those guys man have been absolute magic all summer long.”
Graves would finish by saying that he believes McIntyre will get his opportunity to have another major moment in front of a live crowd. “I truly believe that when the world returns to normal? Whenever that may be, that MacIntyre will have his chance.”
“I can’t wait to hear the fans show their appreciation, because I think this is one of those rare instances where, whether you like it or you don’t? Everyone kind of looked at this and goes ‘well, this is 2020, the world is upside down.’ And I think people will actually very much appreciate what Drew was able to do during his tenure as Champion.”
Have you enjoyed Drew McIntyre’s runs as WWE Champion this year? Let us know in the comments
As expected, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns ended up in the main event of this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
In what will be the final WWE PPV event held from Amway Center for the foreseeable future, WWE booked a champion vs. champion match with the top stars on RAW and SmackDown.
McIntyre represented Monday Night RAW while Reigns defended the pride of the blue brand. Neither title was on the line.
The match saw Reigns dominate the early portion of this match until McIntyre rallied back. It was a back and forth lengthy match. They trade their signature moves such as McIntyre’s DDT and Reigns Superman Punch yet reversing finishing moves.
Reigns speared McIntyre through the barricade. They did a referee bump spot with McIntyre hitting Reigns with a Claymore Kick that sent Reigns into the referee. Reigns connected with a low blow to McIntyre only to have Jey Uso superkick McIntyre before Reigns hit a spear and locked in a guillotine choke for the win.
McIntyre has been feuding with Randy Orton for months while Bray Wyatt has recently entered the title picture after “The Fiend” was sent over from SmackDown to RAW in this year’s Draft. Orton won the WWE Title by beating McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell Match at the themed pay-per-view event last month, but McIntyre beat Orton last Monday night.
On the flip side, Reigns had been feuding with his cousin Jey where they worked a handful of PPV matches. In recent weeks, Jey has joined “The Tribal Chief” and turned heel by attacking Daniel Bryan, who is expected to be in the title hunt coming out of Survivor Series.
Drew McIntyre did an interview with Sports Illustrated to promote this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event where he’ll take on Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a champion vs. champion match, which means it’s non-title.
The WWE Champion spoke highly of Reigns and the new character that he’s portrayed since he made his return back in August.
“Roman is fully embracing his character, without restrictions, and he’s gone to another level. He’s got Paul Heyman by his side, and he’s genuinely so compelling. This is the ultimate opportunity, in the ring with him, to prove I am the top guy in WWE.”
The two stars did work a notable program heading into WrestleMania 35 two years ago. However, McIntyre understands that at the time it was Reigns’ moment because he had just returned from his battle with leukemia.
How this matchup differs from their WrestleMania 35 showdown:
“This is way different than 35. He’s done a lot since then, but I have risen up the card, too. I have a lot to prove to him this Sunday.”
When Randy Orton beat Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Universal Title at last month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, some fans were caught off guard for two reasons.
The first being WWE booking Orton to lose to McIntyre twice before on pay-per-view. The other being the company building towards a non-title match between Orton and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
It was reported that the plan as of last Friday was for Orton to face Reigns at Survivor Series but those plans changed by the time they went on the air.
Of course, McIntyre won back the WWE Title by beating Orton on Monday’s episode of RAW.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that all of the key players were under the impression before RAW went live on Monday that Orton was still planning to wrestle Reigns at Survivor Series.
As a result, things changed between that time and when the decision was made to have a title switch.
Meltzer brought up the belief among many people in the company that Orton likely figured out that he was losing the title when McIntyre appeared on last week’s SmackDown.
Paul Heyman has described WWE Champion Drew McIntrye as a “god sent to WWE” during a recent interview with talkSPORT ahead of Sunday’s Survivor Series event.
Despite his high praise, however, Heyman stressed how McIntyre will always be the “biggest Superstar with the secondary championship.”
“The problem here is that Drew McIntyre is a god sent to WWE. A magnificent performer. A tremendous human being. A fantastic representative of the WWE brand,” Heyman explained. “He will end up with a championship reign that will be deserving of the Mount Rushmore of championship reigns.”
Heyman stated how the issue lies in McIntyre being the right guy, at the right place, but at the wrong time.
He explained his thought process, sharing how ” Drew McIntyre is always going to be the biggest superstar with the secondary championship because it’s not the championship that makes the man, it’s the man that makes the championship.”
According to Heyman, the “biggest single Superstar” in WWE right now is Roman Reigns. He believes that come this Sunday at Survivor Series, Reigns will demonstrate why he is the “most important champion” in WWE.
Paul Heyman shared how, as great as Drew McIntyre is, the WWE Champion will have to accept that he is simply secondary to the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
McIntyre recently defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship on Monday Night Raw. This victory means he will face off against Roman Reigns in a Champion vs. Champion matchup this Sunday at Survivor Series. Paul Heyman is set to accompany Reigns to ringside.
After having several matches over the last few months on pay-per-view, WWE decided to book a rare WWE Championship bout on Monday Night Raw.
Randy Orton put the gold on the line against Drew McIntyre during the main event of the show. Midway through, Orton teased leaving ringside until Adam Pearce announced that it was no disqualifications.
They tried to do a table bump, but the table wouldn’t break. They moved onto a normal table instead of the announce table. Orton was pushed off the apron crashing to the floor through the table, which sliced open the back of Orton.
The finish saw McIntyre hit the Claymore Kick for the win to begin his second WWE Championship reign.
McIntyre will move onto his next match, a non-title match against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. This bout, which is being touted as champion vs. champion, is slated to take place at the Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
This feud dates back to August. McIntyre successfully retained the WWE Title over Orton at SummerSlam with a backslide before going to the Payback show where McIntyre beat “The Viper” in an Ambulance match thanks to outside interference from a few legends.
The future WWE Hall of Famer dethroned McIntyre as WWE Champion at last month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
The third match between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton ended up serving as the main event of the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
The contest was held inside of the Hell in a Cell structure. It was a long match with them using various weapons.
Orton used bolt cutters to get out of the cell only for them to climb the cell and brawl on top of it. They crawled down the cell until Orton sent him flying through the air and crashing onto the announce table. Back in the ring, McIntyre missed the claymore kick and Orton hit the RKO to win the title. Orton is now a 14-time world champion.
This feud dates back to August. McIntyre successfully retained the WWE Title over Orton at SummerSlam with a backslide.
Orton would then drop a loss to Keith Lee at Clash of Champions. So, WWE decided to have three separate singles matches with the winners of those bouts advancing to a Triple Threat Match later in an August 31st episode of RAW.
Orton beat Kevin Owens to advance to the finals where he would defeat Lee and Seth Rollins to earn a second title match. However, at Payback, McIntyre retained the WWE Title in an Ambulance Match.
The third match was set up with McIntyre wanting to get revenge on Orton, who attacked Big Show, Ric Flair, Christian, and Shawn Michaels on an episode of RAW. These legends got involved in their Payback match with Orton blaming them for costing him the title.
“That was very, very personal, and it’s one of my favorite feuds in my career. For me, the pandemic has really given me a chance to be who I really am. I’ve never been afraid of cutting to the bone and saying things that put people in an uproar. The match with Jeff at the end, the barroom, that brought out this new shady side of Sheamus.”
Now a member of WWE’s red brand, Sheamus turned his attention to Raw’s roster. In particular, he pointed to the WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre. Regarding a potential match with the champion, Sheamus promised how, if it does happen, McIntyre will quickly remember “how hard I hit.”
Sheamus confessed he isn’t aware of Raw’s landscape since being drafted. However, he has heard rumblings about a feud between himself and McIntyre.
“If it does happen, I feel sorry for Drew. He’s going to remember very, very quickly how hard I hit. I’m worried I’ll hit him so hard that he’ll just turn to dust. He’s my friend, I don’t want to do that to him,” Sheamus said. “He’s been messing around with these American wrestlers for so long, tippy-tappying around the ring, but one shot from me will make him realize how easy he’s had it before I got there.”
Sheamus was recently drafted to Raw as part of the 2020 WWE Draft.
NXT announcer Wade Barrett continues to talk trash about WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
Barrett told Digital Spy last week that he could be lured out of retirement by the prospect of challenging McIntyre for the WWE Championship.
“The only thing I didn’t achieve in WWE that I always wanted to achieve was to become the WWE Champion, and that title is now held by an old friend of mine, Drew McIntyre,” said Barrett. “So taking him on for that title is something that certainly might tempt me back for a match or two.”
Barrett is now antagonizing McIntyre and playing mind games with the champ. The two have a long history together. They were tag team champions in former WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. They they lived together earlier in their careers, where Barrett recalls mercilessly bullying the reigning champ.
He told BT Sport, “The truth is, he knows I can batter and humiliate him. Whenever I feel like I’m ready, it isn’t a question of Drew McIntyre calling me out. Whenever I’m ready, I can just step in the ring and take whatever i want from him. He knows that. He’s aware of it. And one day, perhaps, the world might see it.”
You can see footage of Barrett’s comments in the tweet embedded below.
Drew McIntyre has since replied to the tweet, telling Barrett, “Stay behind your desk grandpa, your stand-in has a better chance than you do”
Stay behind your desk grandpa, your stand-in has a better chance than you do https://t.co/lt6JSscFK0
Drew McIntyre was the #1 pick in the 2020 WWE Draft. He will remain on the Raw brand. He’s been WWE Champion since dethroning Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
WWE.com is teasing this trash talk could lead to a showdown between the two competitors.
Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre has been announced for the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell PPV.
WWE did so during Monday’s episode of RAW. Just last week, Orton attacked Big Show, Ric Flair, Christian, and Shawn Michaels to close the show.
This week’s show saw Orton open with a promo in the backstage area where he talked about the attack and issued a match challenge to the WWE champion.
This led to McIntyre attacking him to get some revenge. In the second hour of the show, McIntyre cut a promo and accepted the challenge issued by Orton. WWE also confirmed that this will, in fact, be a Hell in a Cell Match.
So far, this is the second Hell in a Cell Match to be confirmed on the card. McIntyre retained the WWE Title over Orton at SummerSlam and Clash of Champions.
"I'm not locked inside the cell with you. YOU'RE locked inside the cell with @DMcIntyreWWE."
The rematch between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton was a memorable Ambulance Match.
McIntyre put the WWE Title on the line against the longtime WWE star in the co-main event of the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event.
The match featured the return of The Big Show, but it was at the beginning of the contest. Big Show came out while wearing a mask and hit a chokeslam to Orton through the announce table before leaving. A notable spot was when McIntyre went for the Claymore Kick, but Orton moved and kicked the door off.
While backstage, Christain attacked Orton and then left. Moving along, Shawn Michaels appeared to hit Sweet Chin Music to Orton off the top of the ambulance. As a result, it sent him through a crash pad. Orton had previously attacked all three guys and it wrote them off TV at the time.
The finish saw McIntyre connected with a Claymore Kick and the Punt Kick. Ric Flair drove the ambulance out of the arena.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has opened up about WWE’s ThunderDome, believing the state-of-the-art production setup to be a “difference maker” for the company.
Speaking with PWInsider, McIntyre explained how the ThunderDome provides the kind of “big feel” fans and Superstars expect of WWE:
“When I first came out, on the first Raw in the ThunderDome and I raised the Title and freaking fire started going off around me and pyro going off around me, you know I’m still a wrestling fan at heart, I’m just standing there trying to keep a straight face, but in my head I am marking the hell out, man this is really freaking cool.”
McIntyre then pointed to how the atmosphere for matches has improved as he’s been able to “see faces react” to what’s happening.
“When Randy and I were in that match it was such a difference maker for the emotion and that’s kind of what Randy and I are about, is telling the story, and you really need that feedback from the crowd to kinda dictate where you’re going and feel that emotion.”
He highlighted how the virtual crowd’s input had a significant impact on their bout. McIntyre also acknowledged how his time performing to fans at home has been a learning experience.
“[…] it’s a figuring out process every step we go, you know we progress and our team are so unbelievable and they’re making us look like stars, it feels closer to what you would expect with WWE with the pyro and the lights and those drones flying overhead, so we feel good.”
Although the card for this year’s WWE Clash of Champions isn’t finalized yet, the top matches for it have been revealed.
That includes WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending the title in an ambulance match. As of this writing, McIntyre is scheduled to defend the title against Randy Orton, who has been off television for a week with a storyline injury.
There is a chance that WWE adds Keith Lee to the match and replaces Orton as there is an open-ended booking. Up to this point, there have been some signs in place of Orton potentially winning the title here although that isn’t confirmed.
Not only did he drop a loss to McIntyre in their first encounter at SummerSlam, but did get beat by Lee at Payback and there has been talk of Orton being the champion heading into the third match with Edge at WrestleMania 37.
Dave Meltzer noted in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that “the one thing the ambulance match does is it allows them to protect McIntyre from taking a pin while getting the title off him.”
Tyson Fury recently issued a challenge to Drew McIntyre. Fury, who defeated Braun Strowman via Count Out last year at Crown Jewel last year, took to Twitter to post a video challenge to the WWE champion, who has since responded.
“Drew, where are you, Drew? You big sh**house. Don’t make excuses, cracked jaws or not. Let’s fight. Let’s get it on, chump. You got kicked in the jaw in a broken jaw, imagine what this big fist will do to your jaw? Shatter it in a million pieces.”
“You have before the Wilder fight, after the Wilder fight, or before the AJ fight but don’t be a sh**house Drew, let’s get it on, chump.”
McIntyre has since issued a response to the boxing champion. He noted that before he gets to Fury, he has some unfinished business to attend to on RAW.
Unlike you Tyson, I don't duck a challenge. I'm a fighting Champion. Before I get to you I have some very personal business to handle on #WWERAW
This week on RAW, Randy Orton won a triple threat match to earn a championship rematch at Clash of Champions against Drew. At SummerSlam, McIntyre defeated Orton with a backslide pinning combination.
McIntyre originally called out Fury shortly after he defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
“I know Tyson Fury is on the show today, as well. I need to bring up Fury because he was talking trash about me, so I know he’s coming on the show,” McIntyre said.
