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At WWE SummerSlam 2020, Drew McIntyre will arguably have the toughest task ahead of him as WWE Champion, as 'The Scottish Psychopath' prepares himself for a dream clash against Randy Orton.
Having won his first major World Championship at this year's WrestleMania by slaying 'The Beast' Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre has pretty much put away every other challenger who has stepped in his path so far including the likes of Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley.
However, when it comes to multi-time WWE World Champion Randy Orton, it's a completely different ball game. 'The Viper' is no stranger to holding the prestigious WWE World Championship and given Orton's incredible track record at SummerSlam, he definitely is the favorite heading into this year's pay-per-view.
Throughout the years, Randy Orton has won either the WWE Championship or the now-defunct WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. He has recorded title wins over the likes of Daniel Bryan, Christian, and Chris Benoit among other notable names. come SummerSlam 2020, Randy Orton will aim to add Drew McIntyre to that list as well.
'The Viper' is no stranger to winning the WWE Championship at SummerSlam and being the veteran of the business that he is, Randy Orton has won numerous world titles especially at The Biggest Party of the Summer. However, at SummerSlam 2020, Orton doesn't necessarily have to get his hands on the WWE Title, and in this article, I've listed down 5 reasons why Drew McIntyre should retain his WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
Without any further ado, let's get straight to it.
#5. Drew McIntyre deserves a successful title defense outside of the Performance Center
Having won the 2020 Royal Rumble, it seemed like Drew McIntyre was on the verge of capturing his first WWE World Championship in front of thousands of fans at WrestleMania. However, that wasn't to be, as disaster struck with the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, and instead, Drew McIntyre was forced to face Brock Lesnar at the WWE Performance Center with no fans in attendance for WrestleMania 36.
With WWE now set to move out of the Performance Center and start filming at the Amway Center, Drew McIntyre is likely to defend his WWE Championship in a bigger arena at SummerSlam. Sure, there still won't be any fans in attendance, but the atmosphere and setting will be different from what we've been seeing for the past 4-5 months. Letting McIntyre retain the WWE Title in an arena that is not the Performance Center is the least that WWE could do for him.
#4. Randy Orton doesn't need a WWE Championship at this stage of his career
Randy Orton is arguably enjoying one of the most phenomenal runs of his professional wrestling career right now. 'The Viper' has been tremendous during his current heel run and has been top-notch both inside the ring and on the microphone in the lead-up to his feud against Drew McIntyre.
By now, Orton has already established his place as a veteran of the business and has numerous world title reigns to his name. While he would absolutely love to add another come SummerSlam 2020 and eventually get another step closer to breaking Ric Flair's record, beating Drew McIntyre to do so isn't exactly a necessity.
Randy Orton always was and will be relevant in WWE. And, he still will be the hottest heel in the company even without a World Title around his waist. As of now, Randy Orton's next World Title reign can wait a little longer and it certainly doesn't need to occur against Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam 2020.
#3. Drew McIntyre vs Edge is the way to go
Ever since Edge made his return to WWE earlier this year, fans have been wanting to see 'The Rated-R Superstar' share the ring with some of WWE's finest from the present-day roster. But, so far, WWE has only revisited his feud against former Rated-RKO tag team partner Randy Orton.
As things stand, there is a possibility that WWE might book a rematch between Edge and Orton for the WWE Championship at some point down the road, given the latter wins the title from Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam.
However, if 'The Scottish Psychopath' does end up retaining his title against Orton, then WWE should definitely consider booking McIntyre in a feud against another veteran in the form of Edge. The current WWE Champion was even vocal regarding a potential match against Edge while speaking to Sportskeeda's very own Rick Ucchino.
Drew McIntyre and Edge did share the ring against one another during the early stages of the former's career, however, the reigning WWE Champion never really had the opportunity to share the ring with 'The Rated-R Superstar' on a big stage. All that could possibly change if McIntyre walks out as the WWE Champion at SummerSlam.
#2. There are better options for Drew McIntyre to drop the WWE Championship to
In one of the previous slides, I mentioned that as of now, Randy Orton doesn't need the WWE Championship. Orton, regardless of being the world champion or not, will always be one of the most relevant Superstars in WWE. Therefore, there are other potential options for Drew McIntyre to drop the WWE Championship to.
The present-day WWE roster is filled with Superstars who are yet to enjoy a WWE Championship reign but definitely deserve to get a taste of gold at least once in their career. Additionally, there are also Superstars who could possibly win the WWE Championship once again to add more relevancy to their characters, the biggest example being Seth Rollins. 'The Monday Night Messiah' is on one of the best runs of his career right now and his feud with The Mysterio Family has been brilliant till now.
In the aftermath of Rollins' clash against Dominik Mysterio at SummerSlam, the former could once again challenge for the WWE Championship (Given he beats Dominik) and eventually win the title off McIntyre, as well. Whereas, someone like Aleister Black is the biggest example of a Superstar who deserves a debut WWE Championship reign.
#1. Another clash against Brock Lesnar
At WrestleMania 36, Drew McIntyre defeated 'The Beast' Brock Lesnar and won the WWE Championship in the process. Despite the historic win, McIntyre certainly didn't become the first Superstar in history to beat Lesnar in WWE, as in the past, we've seen the likes of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns slay 'The Beast Incarnate', as well.
However, every time any of the WWE Superstars have beaten Brock Lesnar, the former WWE Champion has made a return to WWE TV in order to settle the scores. Over the past few years or so, Lesnar has done the same with both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, reigniting his feud with each man after dropping his World Title to them in the first place.
As things stand though, Brock Lesnar is yet to get his revenge on Drew McIntyre, who beat the former at WrestleMania 36. Given McIntyre reigns supreme over Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2020, a rematch against Brock Lesnar will be the only logical option moving forward.
A second clash between Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre definitely needs to happen by the end of the year or by the early stages of 2021. However, McIntyre would have to walk out with the WWE Title at SummerSlam for that to happen.
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