Who REALLY Carried WWE Every Year (1985-2026)
7. 2020 (Drew McIntyre)
Incredibly, Drew McIntyre's 2020 could've been even better had the world not shut down.
The big handsome Scot won January's Royal Rumble (spinning around in ecstasy to deliver a timeless replay WWE could use over and over again when selling the match type), then saw a WWE Title win vs. Brock Lesnar at 'Mania 36 go from packed out stadium to empty Performance Center. Ploughing through the uncertainty and refusing to feel sorry for himself, Drew soldiered on and worked top bouts vs. Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Lashley before settling into a rivalry with Randy Orton.
Their Hell In A Cell match in October proved to be a highlight of the closed door era. Generally, WWE was lucky to have a guy like McIntyre flying the flag for everything that was right about the promotion during a scary time. It was never clear exactly when the company would be able to return to packed out buildings or gigantic stadiums post-PC and ThunderDome days, so the McMahons were surely chuffed to have someone as reliable as Drew on top.
Sure, McIntyre was absolutely robbed of an even more magical 'Mania in Tampa, but winning the WWE Title still represented the culmination of a lifelong journey, and the world was able to share that with him through the cameras. The 'Scottish Warrior' also proved himself to be a dignified and excellent ambassador for the organisation in the media by knocking back any chances to bleat about his own misfortune.
The world was terrified. Drew knew that, and he recognised his job as an entertainer.