Roman Reigns and The Undertaker were victorious against Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre in The Undertaker’s return at WWE Extreme Rules.
The win is a much-needed step forward for Reigns after inexplicably horrid booking Monday night on Raw, and a welcomed pallet cleanser for The Undertaker after his debacle against Bill Goldberg at WWE Super ShowDown. One individual who was not helped in these developments was Drew McIntyre, who continues to linger in purgatory despite his alliance with Shane McMahon.
As a tall, big-bodied Caucasian, it’s almost baffling that WWE hasn’t already gifted Drew McIntyre at least three world title reigns by now. But as talking heads continue to monotonously insist he is a future world champion—as they have been conditioned to do so under WWE’s formulaic approach to pro wrestling—McIntyre’s journey on the main roster has been one defined by two steps forward and one step back.
McIntyre has been handled with far more care than fellow former NXT champions such as Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn, but the Scottish Psychopath seems to have been in a holding pattern for months now, one that is beginning to turn detrimental to his character.
Most full-time heels would waste no time signing up to be Shane McMahon’s running buddy during a long-term feud. As McMahon’s muscle, McIntyre has mostly played his part to perfection. But the longer McIntyre acts as Shane’s muscle, with no commensurate growth in his own career, the more he comes off as a faceless henchman rather than a breakout star, especially with Shane’s cabinet growing to include the likes of Elias and The Revival.
Rumored plans for a McIntyre-Undertaker are reportedly not in the cards, and if McIntyre’s only in-ring interaction with The Undertaker is on the losing end of a special attraction tag team match, he will only continue to distance himself from the world title picture.
McIntyre seems to have gone as far as he can go in his current role. If he continues to pal around with Shane McMahon, WWE would be wise to change the dynamic to have McMahon second McIntyre en route to an obligatory world title reign. And for those who feel Drew McIntyre as a world champion is inevitable, never forget that he was similarly coveted by WWE officials in 2009 before a violent collapse that bottomed out when he joined comedy stable 3MB.
