10 Worst First Days For WWE Champions

7. Drew McIntyre

Batista Injury
WWE.com

WrestleMania 36, all things considered, was quite the creative success story.

The ethics of it could be debated for days and the standard of expectation was set way, way too high for the wrestlers within that wretched Performance Center atmosphere as a result, but WWE actually served its consumers a night of escapist entertainment in the dark days of April 2020. A fleeting moment of something to savour.

Unless you were Drew McIntyre.

Forever immortalised as WWE's newest made man during an unfathomable time, the coronation was the hollowest of any in WrestleMania history, and the disappointed new titleholder had to defend the belt straight after! Due to the company's need to film everything before a brief Florida shutdown, The Big Show was drafted in for a title match that could air on Raw the night after. McIntyre looked every bit of a guy making the best of a bad situation, but "best" had never been so tempered and "bad situation" had never been such an understatement.

It was a clunky, pandemic-y start to life on top for 'The Scottish Warrior', though it would at least become a crucial part of his character's lore in the years that followed. 

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett