Bobby Lashley beat Drew McIntyre yet again at WWE Hell in a Cell 2021 via rollup following outside interference from MVP. MVP was let into the cage by Drew McIntyre himself after McIntyre requested a second referee, thereby adding insult to injury for the character’s credibility.
McIntyre’s loss signals something of a status quo change given the “last chance” stipulation, and WWE appears to be emphatically moving forward with Lashley as WWE champion ahead of its return to touring. With Brock Lesnar reportedly in talks to return to WWE, perhaps WWE is finally inching closer to Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship.
“The Almighty Era is going to last a long, long time!” exclaimed Raw announcer Jimmy Smith as McIntyre sat forlorn on the ring apron.
Drew McIntyre suffered a similarly surprising loss to Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania when the heel forced the top babyface to pass out via Hurt Lock.
Lashley has enjoyed over 100 days as WWE champion, with McIntyre chasing him throughout the entire run. As McIntyre continued to receive opportunities with little-to-no wins over Lashley to justify them, McIntyre was presented with a last-chance opportunity to defeat Lashley. Such a stipulation sets up the top babyface for either a do-or-die win, or what would be a catastrophic loss in a match he had to have.
That loss for McIntyre has effectively changed the status quo for the character moving forward. Regardless of how WWE may try to spin it, top babyfaces simply don’t lose last-chance matches unless their stock has fallen and has no plans to rebound. Suddenly, the conversation about McIntyre has shifted to when he would get his so-called moment in front of fans to whether or not that moment already came and went.
With WWE resting on its laurels with one rematch after another since WrestleMania, the promotion is moving away from its pre-pandemic world title picture on Raw with Drew McIntyre as champion.
With no more rematches possible for Drew McIntyre, one has to wonder not only when his next world title shot will come, but rather if he will ever return to his 2020 form as WWE champion where he was sabotaged by the silence of pandemic-era wrestling.
