Why Drew McIntyre Wrestled Big Show On WWE Raw
The Scot's first WWE Championship defence explained.
Drew McIntyre defeated Big Show in the main event of this week's Raw, notching his first successful WWE Championship defence since taking the strap from WrestleMania 36. It was a fun little scrap between the new Monday night kingpin and the gigantic veteran, and hey: Show even turned heel for the occasion. He never does that!
This bout was framed as taking place only 20 minutes after McIntyre had defeated Lesnar. It was effectively a "dark" 'Mania main event that aired on regular television rather than a Raw match, and it was presented this way to put Drew over huge.
Per a new report from PWInsider, WWE wanted to show that McIntyre could overcome a physical force like 'The World's Largest Athlete' so soon after felling 'The Beast Incarnate' to make him look as strong as they possibly could, having beaten two of the promotion's most imposing monsters in such quick succession.
It seemed to work, as Dave Meltzer has reported significant viewership gains for the main event slot.
Big Show had last appeared for WWE in January, joining Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe in their war against Seth Rollins and his mob.