5 Best Feuds for Drew McIntyre at WWE SummerSlam 2021

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Will SummerSlam be where Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar rekindle their rivalry from last year?Credit: WWE.com

Although Drew McIntyre is set to compete in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match Sunday, it’s quite clear that WWE has already decided on who his opponent at SummerSlam is going to be.

Based on what’s gone down on Raw in recent weeks, all signs seem to point to McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal in Las Vegas on August 21. However, their storyline has hardly been interesting and feels a poor use of The Scottish Warrior at one of the company’s first major pay-per-views back on the road.

McIntyre largely carried Raw as WWE champion throughout the pandemic and was a staple at the top of the card. While keeping him out of the title picture on Monday nights for the foreseeable future is the right call, putting him in a program with Mahal is a definite step down for him compared to where he was before.

Star power is certainly limited at the moment on Raw, but there are a handful of better options for McIntyre than Mahal. He deserves to have a high-profile match at SummerSlam, and what we’ve seen so far from the former 3MB stablemates simply isn’t going to cut it.

WWE wrapping up the rivalry between McIntyre and Mahal as soon as possible on Raw can pave the way for these five Superstars to step up and face the two-time WWE champ on the grand stage of SummerSlam instead.

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While not exactly a first-time encounter, Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar needs to happen in front of a capacity crowd at some point. SummerSlam at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas would be as good of a time as any for that blockbuster rematch to happen.

Of course, the best possible opponent for Lesnar at SummerSlam would be Bobby Lashley. Per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Andrew Ravens of WrestlingNews.co), WWE isn’t interested in bringing back Lesnar to lose before he can face Roman Reigns, and having him end Lashley’s reign as WWE champion would be the wrong call.

Lesnar beating McIntyre isn’t ideal, either, but it would allow Lesnar to avenge his loss to The Scottish Warrior from ‘Mania last year and set the stage for a possible rubber match. They’d also be able to have the match they should have had at that event: a hard-hitting, highly physical barn burner of a bout that exceeds the five-minute mark.

Lesnar is still an undeniable attraction for WWE and should be at SummerSlam. If Lashley is out of the question, McIntyre would make as much sense as anyone given their history—not to mention that Lesnar hasn’t been seen since falling short against him.

There wouldn’t be anything on the line and there doesn’t need to be. This battle of behemoths was robbed of an electric atmosphere at WrestleMania 36, and now WWE has a chance to make up for it with a rematch in front of fans at SummerSlam.

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Within a year, Drew McIntyre scored huge wins over Brock Lesnar and Goldberg in singles competition, beating them both in clean fashion. With The Undertaker retired and Triple H having not wrestled in more than two years, the only active legend left for McIntyre to wage war with is John Cena.

It’s hard to even apply the term “active” to Cena, who hasn’t tasted in-ring action since January 2019. In fact, his last formal televised match was a Fatal 4-Way featuring McIntyre that was ultimately won by Finn Balor.

His most recent appearance on WWE TV came at WrestleMania 36 when he lost a Firefly Fun House match to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt. The biggest difference from Cena and any of the other aforementioned icons, however, is that it’s all but confirmed, per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio and Alex Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), that he’s on his way back to WWE soon.

Of course, Cena is expected to face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, but it’s possible he has another match on the card instead if the Reigns vs. Edge story continues past Money in the Bank. McIntyre would make the most sense out of everyone given how he’s been Raw’s franchise player in Cena’s absence and needs another career-making win to compensate for his recent losses.

It’s a fresh match that’s never been done before. Cena losing to McIntyre would only further cement The Scottish Warrior as a main event-caliber competitor and ensure he stays at that level.

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The Fiend was last seen inexplicably losing to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37 when Alexa Bliss cost him the win. Bray Wyatt revealed during an episode of The Firefly Fun House on Raw the next night that “he” shall return stronger than before, but he hasn’t appeared since.

There have been minimal updates on Wyatt’s status and when he might resurface. A recent report from PWInsider (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc) indicated that he was advertised locally for the August 9 edition of Raw and that WWE was purposefully keeping him off television for an unknown reason.

SummerSlam was where The Fiend debuted two years ago, as well as where he won the Universal Championship for a second time last year. It’s only fitting he returns for WWE’s biggest party of the summer this year as well, and if Drew McIntyre needs someone new to work with, Wyatt may fit the bill.

The two have never faced off one-on-one, though they crossed paths briefly in the fall of 2020. The Fiend could be an interesting opponent for McIntyre, but it would probably be more interesting if he gave The Fiend a break for a while and instead brought back his beloved Eater of Worlds persona.

If SummerSlam is indeed going to be an all-hands-on-deck type of show, WWE should be looking to use all the star power it has available. Despite how he’s been booked in recent years, Wyatt is still a star, and leaving him off the SummerSlam card would be a mistake.

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Kofi Kingston may not be the perennial main event player that the other four men on this list are, but based on how prominently he’s been featured lately, it’s plausible that his push could continue through SummerSlam and culminate in another match with Drew McIntyre.

The two former WWE champions are no strangers to one another. They first feuded over the Intercontinental Championship in the spring of 2010 and rekindled their rivalry recently heading into Hell in a Cell to determine the No. 1 contender to Bobby Lashley’s WWE Championship.

Although Kingston fell short against McIntyre on the May 31 edition of Raw, he looked excellent in defeat. He also owned a non-title win over Lashley from earlier in the month, setting him up to challenge The All Mighty for the gold this Sunday at Money in the Bank.

Unfortunately for Kingston, the odds aren’t exactly in his favor, as Lashley is expected to retain the title. Regardless of whether Kingston wins or loses Sunday, he can still be involved in the main event mix come SummerSlam if McIntyre goes the heel route and takes exception to Kingston’s unsuccessful efforts.

Kingston and McIntyre have always worked well together, and another bout between them at SummerSlam would guarantee to be great. The fans would also rally behind the New Day member if WWE were to shine a light on the fact that fans aren’t enthralled with McIntyre’s creative direction, making him the ultimate foil for Kingston.

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Of everyone Drew McIntyre has done battle with throughout the ThunderDome era, Roman Reigns is the one Superstar he has unfinished business with.

Raw’s WWE champion and SmackDown’s Universal champion were always scheduled to meet in a battle of the brand’s biggest champions at Survivor Series. Reigns vs. Randy Orton was penciled in to be the main event until McIntyre regained the gold from Orton days ahead of the event, causing the complexion of the contest to change dramatically.

Reigns and McIntyre were already familiar with each other from the year prior when they went one-on-one at WrestleMania 35. The roles were reversed this time around, and it made for a much stronger, more exciting affair.

The Tribal Chief emerged victorious, albeit with help from Jey Uso. If McIntyre wins the men’s Money in the Bank briefcase but can’t compete for the WWE Championship because of the stipulation put in place at Hell in a Cell, Reigns’ Universal Championship would be the perfect prize for him to target.

Again, Reigns vs. Cena is considered a lock by many for SummerSlam, so Reigns vs. McIntyre is more than likely out of the question. That said, a rematch has to happen at some point, and if the opportunity were to present itself, SummerSlam would be a great place for them to run it back.

                       

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.