SPOILERS: Top WWE Star Returns During SmackDown Tapings (WWE News)

A major WWE star made their return at last night's SmackDown taping.

by Andrew Pollard
Drew McIntyre
WWE.com

With this week's SmackDown taped following last night's Raw, blue brand fans have the WWE return of Drew McIntyre to look forward to on Friday.

From those in attendance at Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena, various clips have circulated on social media showing the Scottish Warrior confronting Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.

It's just over five weeks since we last saw Drew McIntyre, with that being a steel cage match loss to Damian Priest at the latest Saturday Night's Main Event.

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Given how Drew's return saw him involved with Rhodes and Orton, that certainly suggests he's being brought back in a significant role. Two of the biggest names in the entire company, Cody has himself a shot at the WWE Championship at SummerSlam next month, while the Viper is one of the greatest to ever do it.

Prior to his recent hiatus, Drew was circling the United States Championship, which at that point was held by Jacob Fatu. That belt now belongs to Solo Sikoa, so it remains to be seen if McIntyre will still be eyeing that particular piece of gold or whether he has bigger things in his crosshairs.

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A three-time WWE World Champion, Drew McIntyre has been one of the true workhorses of the company across the past several years, and his rivalry with CM Punk was likely the greatest feud of 2024 (and beyond!). As for this recent hiatus, McIntyre had simply been afforded some time off to rest up and just enjoy a break from the ring.

For those wondering why SmackDown was taped last night, that was so that the Smackers crew can enjoy some 4th July celebrations this Friday.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.