On January 26, 2020, Drew McIntyre was the WWE’s most popular face as fans loved him (still do) and he was ready to take his place among the immortals.
But there were a few things that could go wrong on his path to that goal. The first one was hurdled when he found out he was going to win when he arrived at the arena.
But that opened up a whole lot of other obstacles he had to overcome like avoiding an injury, not being accidentally eliminated, or having the rug pulled out from under him if fan reaction was read the wrong way.
The fans were a big part in that one as they went crazy with Edge’s surprise return and how that figured into the ending of the match.
Defining moment
Sometimes, it’s best to keep things simple, and to that end Drew was looking to have a big moment as he was expected to eliminate Brock Lesnar, but learning he was going to win added a whole new layer to it.
After talking to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, he talked about what it was like and his concerns that things would change mid match due to the crowd’s reaction to Edge’s return.
Special thanks to Inside the ropes for the following transcript.
“I mean, I was just hoping for a big moment that day. And when I got the idea that I might eliminate Brock, considering what I heard the story was going to be and how dominant he was going to be in the Rumble as WWE Champion, I was like man, that’s pretty cool.
“That’s the kind of thing that can make somebody. But then the idea that I’d win as well, it blew my mind, and I didn’t really believe it was going to happen until I was the last person standing in the ring.
“I was laying to the side of the ring and the referee was close by and half expected them to whisper a word to me that things have changed. Other things changed on me in the past many times throughout my career, and nothing’s official till it’s official.
“So it wasn’t until that very end moment when I eliminated Roman, half expecting the crowd to boo because Edge had returned after a nine-year absence… I heard the reaction that I heard that was equal to when I eliminated Brock… that night was the night when Drew McIntyre finally arrived.”
Turning the page
It’s understandable considering Edge’s welcome by fans, and with Reigns eliminating him before Drew Eliminated Reigns to win, it set up the potential for a perfect storm.
But the fans were behind Drew and remain so to this day.
The problem comes, as he said, when someone in back gets a different feel from the crowd and waffles on the planned ending.
It’s got to be a stressful situation to work in as knowing you could be derailed at a moment’s notice.
While it makes sense to keep the talent on their toes and give the fans what they want, it may often be better to stick with the current plan.
It all worked out in the end, but unfortunately for Drew he had his WrestleMania moment without any fans there to celebrate with him, but with any luck he’ll have that moment this year.
It’d be great for him and he deserves it.
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