10 Wrestlers Having An AMAZING 2023 (… That Nobody Is Talking About)

Rostermates Sheamus and GUNTHER have drawn wider commendation, but Drew McIntyre - the third piece of the 2023 Intercontinental title puzzle - is the most complete of the three.

A master of the stereotypically-dross WWE house style, Drew McIntyre has the chops to be on par with any other WWE talent, both from an in-ring and microphone perspective, and has a diverse list of best matches that are each distinctive from one another. Where his, Sheamus, and GUNTHER's WrestleMania 39 Intercontinental title Triple Threat lacked a story, it made up for it with a brutally beguiling potency that condensed the best hits of three of WWE's stiffest strikers. Vs. Roman Reigns at Clash At The Castle, meanwhile, was almost the polar opposite of this; it was more story-based, the story being Drew's bid to dethrone Roman as Undisputed Universal Champion. It, too, was a ruthless fight, but its prevailing aspect was its story.

Storytelling has been a peerless element of Drew's year. His and Sheamus' evolution from rivals to brothers-in-arms to regulated friendly fire in a bid for the Intercontinental title not only displays the pair as generational narrators, but it accentuates the weighted significance of WWE's workhorse title. The comparatively brief history between Sheamus and GUNTHER has left Drew oft-neglected, a nonentity almost, in the title scene that ought to be corrected following his current hiatus.