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While the match card for WrestleMania 36 is still unclear, the biggest uncertainty surrounds the future of the prestigious WWE Championship, currently held by Brock Lesnar. Owing to the part-time nature of Lesnar's WWE schedule, he has not been involved in a proper feud since his match against Rey Mysterio at Survivor Series 2019.
Despite being the WWE Champion, Lesnar has announced himself as the #1 entrant in this year's Royal Rumble match, which is rather peculiar. Unless WWE is planning to throw a pretty hard curveball at the WWE Universe, it is highly unlikely that Lesnar will end up winning the Rumble. This storyline is likely just a different way to determine Lesnar's opponent at WrestleMania 36 -- the man who eliminates 'The Beast Incarnate' is most likely to be facing him.
Assuming that the WWE creative team maintains the line of demarcation between RAW and SmackDown Superstars, with the WWE Championship being a part of the red brand, one can expect his opponent to be a member of the RAW roster. Lately, the biggest standout on RAW has been Drew McIntyre. Let us look at the reasons why 'The Scottish Psychopath' should be the one to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
#3 WWE is already on course to push McIntyre as a face
One of the most talked-about feuds on Monday Night RAW is between the two former WWE Champions, Randy Orton and AJ Styles, wherein each of these illustrious Superstars have been trying to outwit the other through mind games and promos on a weekly basis.
When the two men were finally set to square off on January 13 episode of RAW, Drew McIntyre was inserted at the last minute to make the bout a Triple Threat match. Not only did he become part of the match, but McIntyre actually took home the win, which is a sign that WWE may be ready to get behind him in a big way.
A noteworthy thing about the promo McIntyre delivered that night was that he portrayed himself as someone who is always up for a fight and doesn't get fettered by the accolades of his opponents, which are generally characteristics of a babyface. Furthermore, he was able to evoke a positive reaction from the WWE Universe.
With Brock Lesnar most likely on the heel side at WrestleMania 36, WWE would want to pitch a strong babyface against him. If the speculation of Drew McIntyre's push as a top babyface is true, then he would be an appropriate contender for the WWE Championship.
#2 A much-deserved reward for McIntyre's hard-work and resilience
Drew McIntyre's return to WWE back in April 2017 has been one of the most inspiring stories in the modern-day WWE. From being initially touted as 'The Chosen One' by none other than Chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon, to being about as low on the card as one could possibly go as a part of '3MB', his initial run with the WWE from 2007 to 2014 could be described as a sheer disappointment. However, instead of giving up on professional wrestling, he honed his in-ring skills in the independent circuit to a point where it became impossible for WWE to ignore him as a top-level performer.
In NXT, he enjoyed a fruitful run from April 2017 to April 2018 wherein he held the NXT Championship once and had memorable feuds against the likes of Andrade and Robert Roode. When he was called up to the main roster in April 2018, it was expected that he would be positioned as a main-event performer from the very start. However, despite being portrayed as a powerhouse he ended up losing most of his feuds which significantly hurt his credibility.
However, now seems like the perfect time to give that much-deserved title push to Drew McIntyre. What better way to build his credibility than to beat Brock Lesnar fair and square at on the biggest stage possible, WrestleMania?
#1 Connecting with the UK audience as part of the new TV deal
Possibly the single most important factor driving Drew McIntyre's recent push is WWE's newly announced broadcasting deal with BT Sport in the United Kingdom. The deal came into effect with the advent of the new decade and the decision to push McIntyre on WWE's flagship show has reportedly been taken to "highlight" the new TV deal.
Since the inception of a separate NXT UK brand and the departure of prominent wrestlers in the United Kingdom wrestling scene from WWE's flagship shows, RAW and SmackDown, to NXT (Finn Balor and Pete Dunne), there has been a dearth of commercially appealing superstars from the United Kingdom on WWE's main roster.
If you take a look at the rosters of RAW and SmackDown, two names most stand out as men who could appeal to the UK audience -- Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. 'The Celtic Warrior', although a dependable performer and viable name, has just made his return on SmackDown and it is difficult to believe that WWE would thrust him directly to the top of the card before reestablishing him.
Hence, Drew McIntyre seems to be the most commercial viable figure from the United Kingdom who could be pushed for the benefit of BT Sport. What better way to please the UK audience than showing its homegrown star with the WWE Championship held high at WrestleMania?
