Though the run is truly historic, Drew McIntyre was upset and frustrated over WWE’s booking of Roman Reigns, at least as far as he was involved.
McIntyre, you may recall, had a golden opportunity to end the reign of the Tribal Chief back at the end of summer 2022. Clash at the Castle was a massive and special premium live event set in Cardiff, Wales. Basically, it was a homecoming show for McIntyre, and he had earned himself the match of all matches. Drew McIntyre versus Roman Reigns for all the gold, back when Reigns held both title belts.
Wrong time, wrong place?
Plenty of fans saw that as an opportune time to pull the trigger on things. Defeating Reigns, on his home turf? That could catapult McIntyre into a whole new level. If ever you were going to put a big belt back on Drew, what better time than then and there, right? As we know now, it did not happen. Solo Sikoa made his WWE main roster debut and helped ensure that the Bloodline remained in firm control of things.
18 months after that match, it is easy to see why McIntyre was not successful. Reigns remains champion, and there’s a very real chance he continues his run past WrestleMania 40. This is not a case of Reigns dropping it to a lesser opponent weeks after the fact. It is very clear that WWE has a very deliberate plan in place for when and to whom Roman Reigns drops the gold…and it was not to the Scottish Psychopath in Cardiff.
McIntyre recently joined the Gorilla Position podcast and reflected on his opportunity. On his appearance, he admitted that he was both upset and frustrated with how things turned out. It’s understandable, really. He had a title run during the worst time in wrestling history-a time without live crowds. But he had a chance to reclaim gold in front of his home country fans, which would be a dream for most Superstars. Hindsight is 20/20. McIntyre understands the bigger picture and recognizes that WWE has other plans, for both he and Reigns. He even gives some credit to that loss for helping to set him up for the current evolution of his persona.
McIntyre faces Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40, once more having a chance to claim gold.
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