13 Ups And 23 Downs For WWE In 2020

2. McIntyre Reaches Mountaintop

It would be very easy to criticize the WWE Championship run of Drew McIntyre for multiple reasons: the John Cena-lite promos, the constant reminding everyone of how it took him 19 years to rise up from garbage to become champion, etc.

But let’s celebrate one important fact: WWE succeeded in making Drew McIntyre a main event player. No matter what else happened, the Scottish Warrior is now regarded as a top-level superstar in the company. Beating Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley and AJ Styles in one year will do that for a man.

McIntyre’s rise was smartly done, as he began winning convincingly upon returning to Raw, leading to his triumphant appearance in the 2020 Royal Rumble, where he eliminated Lesnar. He then went on to defeat Brock at WrestleMania 36 and hold the title for the majority of the year, losing it briefly to Orton (and regaining it) in a bad, bad feud.

But overall, Drew has been established as a top guy, which is a huge accomplishment, and he’s made the WWE Championship both something to be attained, and something that’s seen and “revered” each week (unlike Brock’s runs, where the top title disappears for a month at a time).