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Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 to become the new WWE Champion. He did not get much time to rest, as he took on Big Show on the same night just a few minutes after his victory and defeated the largest athlete in the company to retain his title.
Soon after, Seth Rollins entered the picture for the WWE Championship and attacked McIntyre to earn a challenge from the Champion himself. The two men took on each other at Money in the Bank, with the WWE Championship on the line as Rollins tried to add another top title reign to his impressive portfolio.
Instead, he suffered a loss after a great match at the hands of The Scottish Psychopath but earned his respect as he offered a handshake to the Monday Night Messiah after the match.
This was a big victory for the new WWE Champion who has now had two great pay-per-view events on the trot where he has defeated two of the best men in the business.
In this article, we will look at the five reasons why McIntyre defeated Rollins to retain the WWE title.
#5 This was McIntyre's second major defense after winning the title
Drew McIntyre was a crowd favorite even as a heel when he returned to RAW after a successful stint in NXT. After he turned face just before the Royal Rumble, he started to gain even more following from the WWE Universe.
After eliminating Brock Lesnar from the Royal Rumble match, there wasn't much else that The Scottish Psychopath needed to do to demand a WWE Championship opportunity. However, he went one step further and won the Rumble to earn his chance for WrestleMania.
After he defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania 36, the company immediately threw him in another title match on the same night against The Big Show.
That was McIntyre's first major title defense against a former World Champion, and he managed to overcome the giant, following which he defended his title successfully against Andrade too.
This was McIntyre's second major title defense against a former World Champion in Seth Rollins, and after his big moment at WrestleMania, the company needed to further build him as a force rather than allow him to take a loss so soon.
Therefore, another successful defense against a former World Champion only helps McIntyre come across a threatening force.
#4 Drew McIntyre has worked too hard to give up so soon
Drew McIntyre did not have the best time during his initial run with the company. Even though he was dubbed 'The Chosen One' by the Chairman of the Board, Vince McMahon, he only won a secondary title and got lost in some mixed bookings.
His return to the company saw him become much more dominant, and his time in NXT helped him do much more than he could have asked for.
The former NXT Champion had a good run with the title, and his time with the brand helped him become a much more complete Superstar leading to a successful return to RAW. McIntyre did not look back from thereon but had to wait for over one and a half years for his first major opportunity to win a big title in the company.
After doing all of this, there is no doubt that The Scottish Psychopath put in a lot of hard work and had to wait in line for his turn to become a Champion in the company. Therefore, losing the title so soon would have hurt his value, and allowed a heel like Seth Rollins to completely tear away at his character.
Scoring a victory over a huge Superstar like Rollins after successful matches against Big Show and Andrade only helps him in coming across as a fighting Champion, and an extended reign will ensure that all his hard work pays off.
#3 A loss for McIntyre would have disappointed the fans
Drew McIntyre returned to RAW as a top heel and allied with Dolph Ziggler. While McIntyre’s character was built to be hated by the fans, those who weren’t following him on NXT before his move to RAW were surprised to see how much he’d transformed since his first run.
McIntyre’s impressive gimmick and physique gave way to his single’s push, and even though he was a villain throughout last year, fans wanted to see him succeed. It took longer than it should have, but Mcintyre finally got his chance at the 2020 Royal Rumble followed by WrestleMania 36.
Now that McIntyre is finally at the top of the Red brand, there are several matches fans want to see him in to defend the WWE Championship. With that in mind, had McIntyre lost the belt to The Monday Night Messiah at Money in the Bank, it would have hurt his rise and disappointed a lot of fans.
Allowing McIntyre to Claymore Kick and pin Seth Rollins was the correct move as it allows him to go over another big Superstar after Brock Lesnar and Big Show and establish himself as a top man the fans can count on.
#2 WWE is building McIntyre as the next face of the company
For the past several years, we’ve seen Superstars such as Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, Seth Rollins, and Becky Lynch act as the faces of the company. This has remained more or less constant, as one of these four Superstars have either held one of the top titles or remained in the chase for it.
WWE has realized that they cannot just rely on a handful of Superstars at all times, and they have taken it upon themselves to build some new crowd favorites who can help the company grow more and appeal to a larger audience. This has allowed Superstars like Asuka, Bray Wyatt, and Shayna Baszler to take huge leaps and aim for much more than they did before.
Similarly, McIntyre is one man who has the looks, talent and following to become the face of the company in the long run. He is among the fittest Superstars in WWE today and can help the company enter new territories with its products.
With the WWE Championship in his possession, McIntyre can do that job much more easily, and that is another reason why the company may have decided to keep the title on him and have him defeat Rollins.
The full impact of McIntyre’s rise as the face of the company has still not been felt due to the current pandemic, but we are sure that he will make waves once he gets a chance to perform in front of a live crowd as the WWE Champion.
#1 Paul Heyman is giving new faces a push
One major reason why Drew McIntyre has been dominating on RAW recently, along with several other relatively newer faces, is because Paul Heyman is in charge.
Since taking over RAW, we've seen Heyman give some underutilized talent some more opportunities and other newer talent a chance to shine. Apollo Crews, Liv Morgan, and Austin Theory have been the few of many Superstars who've benefited from his reign.
Similarly, Heyman allowed McIntyre to have a great buildup towards the WWE Championship match before he the formers client Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
The Scottish Psychopath is the new crowd-favorite who deserved a push long ago, but Heyman’s creativity made the wait to his rise worthwhile for the fans. With that in mind, it seems like the creatives are ready to give McIntyre a good run with the title as the fans seem to be behind the WWE Champion.
This could further help Heyman prepare a new villainous character on RAW who could have a rise similar to McIntyre and can then ultimately defeat the big man for the title down the line, giving RAW more top Superstars to play with.
Can someone like Bobby Lashley be built in the right way to become the monster who can take down The Scottish Psychopath?
