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For weeks we’ve been watching Drew McIntyre dominate enhancement talent on RAW. This week, Randy Orton kicked off the show and was soon interrupted by his arch-nemesis, AJ Styles. As the two came close to battling it out in the ring, McIntyre’s music hit and The Scottish Psychopath challenged both men to a Triple Threat match to determine who had the best chances of winning the Royal Rumble match.
The O.C.’s Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson tried to interfere in the match and help Styles but they were flattened out by McIntyre and Orton.
All three men shared the spotlight during the clash, and Styles tried to deliver an RKO to Orton. Orton instead went for a Styles Clash on The Phenomenal One.
Finally, Orton delivered an RKO to Styles but a Claymore from McIntyre stopped him from pick the victory as McIntyre got the pin to emerge victorious over two huge Superstars.
In this article, we will look at the 5 reasons why McIntyre defeated Styles and Orton on RAW this week.
#5 To continue a change in character
Drew McIntyre has been showing a slight change in character recently. The man who has no regard for anyone has been a bit softer towards the WWE Universe as of late.
In fact, the WWE Universe has gotten behind him even more now and count down with him before he delivers his lethal Claymore kick to entertain the audience. McIntyre too has started taking ‘audience polls’ to prove that they are really behind him.
This shows that McIntyre is slowly turning face, and is getting the crowd behind him already which is excellent news for the Superstar and the creatives.
AJ Styles, on the other hand, has been playing an excellent heel character which has allowed him to show a completely different side of himself. Randy Orton, who was also teasing a face turn, hasn’t completely turned yet and still goes back to his heelish tactics whenever he gets the chance.
By competing against and defeating two men who play excellent heels, McIntyre has furthered his case of turning babyface by miles. A decisive victory over Styles and Orton helped him get over with the WWE Universe once again who seemed to be pleased with the outcome of the match.
#4 To build on his claims
Drew McIntyre has made some extremely tall claims since walking into RAW a year and a half ago. While most men are unable to live up to their claims, McIntyre has done extremely well to go over whenever he has tried and promised to go over.
Recently, McIntyre has been pushing to show why he is the best man in the locker room and will be the one to win the Royal Rumble as no one can stand in his way.
While this won’t be his first Royal Rumble match, it will be the first match before which he has made huge claims that he will go on to win and headline WrestleMania to win his first major main roster title.
With that in mind, we’ve seen McIntyre rip through his opponents since making his claims regarding the Rumble and prove to the fans that he will fulfill his promise.
While McIntyre ran through Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, and No Way Jose earlier, the enhancement talent did not work well enough to allow him to make a big enough impact.
Bringing two former World Champions into the mix has allowed McIntyre to score his biggest victory to date and prove that he is the most threatening man to look out for in the Rumble match.
#3 To reach the top of the card
Keeping the previous point in mind, one thing Drew McIntyre has tried to do numerous times but failed is to reach the top of the card and remain there. Even though he has rubbed shoulders with many top Superstars on RAW and SmackDown, he has failed to remain one of the top contenders whenever a Championship is involved.
Last year before the Royal Rumble, McIntyre was a part of a multi-man match to crown the #1 Contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship which was ultimately won by Finn Balor who pinned John Cena.
Since then, we have watched McIntyre compete with former World Champions like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, but not remain on top after the rivalries have been over.
One thing that has been biting the Superstar and his fans is the fact that he has still not received even a single top Championship match since returning to the main roster.
By defeating two men like Randy Orton and AJ Styles who have nearly over two dozen top Championships between themselves, McIntyre has managed to get a big boost.
This has allowed him to emerge as a Championship material Superstar who should now be on his way to some top Championship rivalries leading to a long reign as a Champion.
#2 To allow Styles and Orton to continue their rivalry
Monday Night’s activities were supposed to begin with a singles match between AJ Styles and Randy Orton. Orton had cost Styles his United States Championship on RAW against Rey Mysterio not too long ago, while the two men seemed to be getting more and more bitter at each other.
As Orton claimed to win the Royal Rumble this week, Styles made his way out to make claims of his own. The talk regarding the Rumble was what pushed Drew McIntyre to walk out and challenge the two men.
Now that neither Orton nor Styles managed to get the victory in the match, the can use different claims to pus each other down and continue their rivalry.
Fans were of the opinion that the winner in the Styles and Orton rivalry will be the man who will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, but now that’s not the case, it will allow both men to elongate their rivalry.
With both men needing something to do on RAW, it seems like the perfect plan to have them quarrel like two good veterans who are dying to prove which one of them is better.
#1 To emerge as the favorite to win the Royal Rumble
As Randy Orton and AJ Styles tried to make claims regarding who will emerge victorious during the Royal Rumble match, the man who has been long trying to claim that he will be the victor emerged.
Drew McIntyre isn’t afraid of anyone and managed to get in the faces of two men who not only have done very well in the Royal Rumble matches in the past but also won numerous Championships.
While McIntyre was ripping through regular Superstars before, it was good to watch him get over two former multiple-time World Champions.
Now that The Scottish Psychopath also seems to be getting the WWE Universe behind him, it seems like there will be no stopping him once he comes out to compete during the Rumble match.
Currently, it seems like McIntyre is the favorite of the WWE Universe to win the Rumble, especially after his performance last night in which he made a huge statement.
The match and the win have significantly increased the excitement of the fans who want to see what McIntyre will do in the Rumble match this year.
