Is WWE Struggling to Build A Strong Storyline For The Universal Champion Drew McIntyre

Things are taking a turn at WWE as Dolph Ziggler is set to face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. Fans were puzzled about the sudden change as the Lashley v McIntyre feud was going strong. 

Drew McIntyre won the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar back at WrestleMania 36. Since then, the Scottish Psychopath has been on red hot form being the Champion. 

The background

Drew McIntyre defended his WWE title against Bobby Lashley at Backlash earlier this month. McIntyre retained the title thanks to distraction caused by Lana and MVP ringside. The WWE Champion took advantage and pinned Lashley. 

The following night on RAW, Lashley ended his on-screen relationship with Lana and blamed her for the loss. Everyone guessed that Lashley would continue with Feud with McIntyre. However, he reinstated the heat with Apollo Crews and it looks like he’ll challenge the United States Champion now. 

Why the sudden shift?

WWE changed tracks with the feud all of a sudden. The exact reasons are unknown, but it looks like WWE wants to fully cash in on McIntyre. The WWE Champion is a fan favorite and the company would want to make good use of it. 

Given the current pandemic situation, there is no live audience in the arena. WWE could be saving up some big matches for McIntyre once things settle down. They always aim at higher viewership and lack of audience isn’t encouraging. WWE would want McIntyre in a huge storyline when there are more viewers available. 

Another reason why Lashly was dropped from the feud could have something to do with Paul Heyman. Vince McMahon recently removed Heyman from his position as the Executive Director of RAW. There are chances that Lashley’s push ended with Heyman’s removal. That could be a long shot. 

Ziggler was part of SmackDown. To have him drafted to RAW just for a title shot seemed like a sudden move from the company. It begs the question as to why.

Drew McIntyre vs Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules

Dolph Ziggler surprisingly came out and challenged McIntyre for the WWE Championship last week on RAW. Now the match has been set up for Extreme Rules PPV next month. 

McIntyre left WWE for a brief period and finally made his way back to the company in 2018. On his return, he entered into an alliance with Ziggler. The duo would then go on to become tag-team Champions and entered a major feud with a returning SHIELD. 

McIntyre put an end to their alliance after he stated that Ziggler was just a ‘mean’ to get him into a prominent position. They both had back to back matches for a while which ended with McIntyre on top. 

Ziggler is no doubt a worthy contender. He has been massively underutilized by WWE. The chances of him coming on top seems highly unlikely. WWE seems to look for ways to make McIntyre seem much stronger. Things don’t look good for Ziggler, but that’s how it’s always been.