Okay, Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar at WresteMania is a dream match for me, but there are other factors involved.
As we’ve all heard by now, Brock Lesnar entered the Royal Rumble as the first entrant. The reasoning is a typical creative angle: no one person is worthy. The difference this time is that instead of openly trying to avoid facing anyone, Lesnar intends of facing everyone. At least, according to Paul Heyman.
This is a pretty smart tactic, as it’d allow Lesnar to eliminate everyone one at a time and get a breather before the next man enters. Of course, it could be smarter to come in last so he’d face tired superstars, but that’s been done several times before. This new angle adds a bit of intrigue to the Royal Rumble match as the question of who he’ll face and will he be successful are very good questions/points.
Not really unexpected
The idea of Lesnar isn’t unexpected as I wrote about it in December when reporting that Cain Velasquez was expected to return for the Royal Rumble. I explained how I thought it’d be a cool angle hearkening back to the Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior moment in the 1990 Royal Rumble.
Was is unexpected in this is that the WWE is actually doing it. It shows a nice creative switch that’ll piss off fans to the point they’ll want to tune in or buy tickets just to see who eliminates Lesnar. Sure, many may just walk away at this point, but they probably figure the gain is greater than the loss.
This opens up another angle for a superstar they’re finally pushing to step onto the big stage:
Drew McIntyre
It’s no secret I’ve been a huge McIntyre fan for a while. I think it’s awesome they’re finally giving him a main event push he deserves, and since he entered the Royal Rumble, is it too far fetched to expect him to be a major thorn in Lensar’s side?
Think about it, who would Lesnar have to fear on Raw storywise? His angle with Seth Rollins is over. The Big Show and Samoa Joe would be legitimate threats, but they’re tied up with the Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins storyline. Randy Orton’s probably going to be feuding with AJ Styles until then, so that leaves Drew McIntyre.
There’s no doubting that McIntyre can be the face of the company going forward as fans are loving his new persona (few can touch his mic work heading to the ring). He’s a heel, but he’s loved and growing more popular by the week.
How would it play out?
I look at this as Brock Lesnar being the Ted DiBiase from the 1990 Royal Rumble (first one in and lasted to the last few) more than a Steve Austin. That doesn’t mean he won’t run the table, but he’ll last until roughly the final ten or more. And while Velasquez will be in the match, how much better would it be for McIntyre if he took advantage of a moment and tossed Lesnar over the top rope?
The fans would go crazy and McIntyre’s popularity would skyrocket and it’d ignite a feud like no other between the two.
Take this fanmade promo, for example.
As you can tell, my early favorite to win is Drew McIntyre for the win to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36, and probably win the championship there. It’ll be two goliaths facing off, just as McMahon (and a lot of us, to be honest) loves.
Will it happen? Time will tell. I do think this has far more potential for greatness than Lesnar and Velasquez again, but that’s me.
What do you think will happen? Who’s your early pick to win the Royal Rumble?
