SETH ROLLINS vs DREW McINTYRE: PREDICTIONS AND BREAKING DOWN EVERY OUTCOME

The Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes saga certainly takes up a lot of the spotlight. However, the match for the World Heavyweight Championship might be the most intriguing. Drew McIntyre has come into his own in a way that he had never done before in WWE, even when he was the champion during the Pandemic era. Seth Rollins has become one of the best performers in not just WWE, but the entire world. This is why a Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre match for the title made sense for WWE to do again, even if CM Punk fought the champion at WrestleMania 40.

Drew takes on one of the faces of WWE, who will have his hands very full the whole weekend. There are more potential twists and turns with this match than we could possibly calculate. This is why we’re going to look at the most likely scenarios. As in, what would be the best possible moves WWE could make? That is not just evaluating both Seth & Drew and their respective positions in WWE, but we’ll also discuss the after-effects of each end result.

This is going to be a really fun article, so hold onto your hats and make sure your seatbelt is tightened. Let’s get started!

WHAT SETH ROLLINS HAS DONE FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Even if this is the last night of his title reign, Seth Rollins is owed a huge thank you for his work for the championship. This whole title has been a response to Roman Reigns’ inability to carry the responsibility of making the towns and putting his World Title on the line.

Rollins has consistently done that throughout the last year and he’s made every feud matter. Meanwhile, Roman is waiting for a WrestleMania, whether this year, next year, or never, to lose the championship. Rollins wanted to be different, and wanted to make the World Heavyweight Championship mean so much more.

Fans have walked into each match thinking that maybe tonight is the night. He doesn’t have the story armor that Roman does, which makes him beatable enough to where any loss makes sense. In this writer’s opinion, that makes for a much more appealing main event and a much more interesting champion.

Seth has defended that title at every turn, and he’s done it as one of the most beloved babyfaces on the roster. Roman might think that Seth has no pop (which isn’t true), but you cannot deny that he’s been the face of the title picture for every second Roman has been resting or doing whatever Tribal Chiefs do.

Moreover, since the time he won it, Rollins has defended the World Heavyweight Championship nearly as much as Reigns has defended the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship. Funny enough, Roman has held the gold for over 1300 days while Seth hasn’t held the WHC for even a year yet.

DREW McINTYRE HAS BECOME SETH’S MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGER

Two years ago, we would have told you that Drew McIntyre was stale. He is another big guy who is a big badass, another monster without a city to terrorize, or another monster to take down. Been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt. He had a moment at the Clash at The Castle PLE when he seemed like he was going to take the title from Roman. Yet other than that moment, he’s been pretty stagnant.

Then…enter CM Punk.

Drew can argue that his new persona had started before he danced with Punk in the Men’s Royal Rumble match. Maybe he’s right, but it blossomed the moment he injured Punk.

His current reputation is something of a “truth-teller.” At least, the truth as he sees it, without any detours or subterfuge. He even told Punk that he prayed he’d get hurt, which this writer feels was a stroke of genius. Ever since he has been a constant live internet troll. Yet the World Title is still his mission, and Seth Rollins is his main focus.

McIntyre has warned Seth numerous times that he is taking his eyes off the prize. As in, he is not focused on his title defense as much as he is on Cody Rhodes’ match for the title Reigns holds. Seth knows Drew is a dangerous man, laser-focused on taking him down and taking his title.

Drew had his big moment years back when he defeated Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36, after winning the Rumble the same year. 2020 was his year, only for no fans to be there to see it. That has been eating away at the Scottish Psychopath, and he wants to make up for it at WrestleMania 40.

WHAT IF DREW MCINTYRE WINS THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE?

Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre has two possible outcomes, so let’s talk about the possibility of Drew McIntyre winning. To be fair, this is a very likely scenario.

We have to understand that WWE might just think it’s time for the title to change hands. Rollins has been the first and only World Heavyweight Champion since the title was brought back. By WrestleMania, Rollins will have held this title for roughly 315 days. It might just be time to reset.

Plus, we have a very easy story to tell here. Rollins was so busy and focused on defeating The Rock & Roman Reigns that he did not do what was needed to keep his own title. Drew could come in and whoop him pillar to post. Keep in mind that Rollins will have wrestled on Night #1 of WrestleMania, so he’s walking into this match at less than 100% while McIntyre is fresh, well-rested, and good to go.

We do not expect WWE to have Drew come in and dominate from bell to bell, but they could if they are stretched for time. This could make sense though, and add a layer to Drew’s win, making him dominant.

A battered Rollins is going to be present, yet we cannot forget about his other issues. Rollins has notably referenced his nagging back issues last year, and most recently hurt his knee yet again. Sure, he is medically cleared but is he actually anywhere near 100% before WrestleMania even starts? It does not matter what Seth says himself.

THE BLOODLINE EFFECT:

The Bloodline getting involved to help Drew win is another scenario. How ironic would that be, right? It is the same people who screwed him over, but now they want to help him?

Rock said numerous times that he is looking to take the World Heavyweight Championship away. Does he mean from WWE altogether or just from Seth? Would it surprise anyone if, on Night #2, he comes in and hits the Rock Bottom on Seth? This allows Drew McIntyre to win the title easily.

The Old Drew would have never accepted this, he’d never want to win this way. However, the New Drew? We could see this working out perfectly for him.

Plus, it adds a layer of complexity for the Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns match later that night. Would Seth Rollins still have Cody’s back, especially if Rhodes never came out there to help him retain the WHC? A jealous Seth makes sense coming out of this. He did everything for Cody, but what now? Does that make Seth want to screw over Cody later that night? Does this cause Rollins to get jealous later while watching Cody have everything while he has nothing?

It makes sense, especially since Cody will need someone to defend the title against. We all know Reigns will take an extended vacation as usual post-WrestleMania. Maybe Seth will feel like Cody owes him one.

The other aspect to consider is, what if Reigns retains? We now have two babyfaces without a title. One would surmise that one losing guarantees the other retains, but could both hold gold after WrestleMania 40? To us, that does not seem likely.

WILL DREW’S FOCUS COST HIM THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP?

We have been discussing Seth Rollins’ focus, and he should indeed keep an eye on the monster in front of him. However, what of Drew? Is he entirely focused on Seth or does he too have someone else on his mind?

“Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre” might be what we will see on all the programs and billboards. CM Punk is still a major part of all of this, as Drew took what would have been Punk’s spot. On RAW in Chicago, despite fans calling for him to be the Special Guest Referee, he claimed he would be on commentary during the WHC match. That means the Second City Saint will be right there, watching.

In fact, it was Drew who requested this. He desperately wants Punk to see him win the title. Does he want this win to get the big moment he wanted in 2020? Or has he now become focused on taking from Punk?

On Drew’s social media and in his dealings with the press, he’s been taunting CM Punk. He injured the former World Champion in the Rumble and has now effectively stolen his dream. This would have been the main event of Night #1, but now it’ll be a Night #2 match. Punk wanted to mainevent a WrestleMania his entire career, and not getting this chance after such hard work is one of the big reasons he left a decade ago.

Yet it seems like Drew McIntyre is like a bratty kid at a zoo, taunting animals because he knows they are in a cage and can’t hurt him. He’s fine with Punk being around because he assumes he won’t get involved physically. However, this might be the wrong assumption to have.

THERE ARE NO STRINGS ON PUNK:

By WrestleMania, Punk will be around seven weeks past his tricep surgery. He’s posted social media videos training without the brace on, and he’s only going to be healed up more by the time WrestleMania 40 takes place. After what Drew has said about him, Punk would be happy to cost Drew McIntyre the gold. He has taunted him publicly and to his face, literally making shirts with the man’s name and face on them.

The average recovery time from a tricep surgery is 4 to 6 months. Yet it isn’t as if Punk needs to be cleared for full in-ring competition to cost Drew the title. Punk might very well get cleared for minor action by WrestleMania. Once he’s totally cleared, McIntyre will be his first target, and rightfully so. Before this though, costing him the World Heavyweight Championship seems like a nice point in the win column.

One could argue that Punk might want Drew to take the title so Punk could win it for himself later. At this point though, Punk knows he can fight his way back into the title picture. Why not ruin a WrestleMania moment that Drew stole from him?

Drew, somehow, does not think he needs to care about Punk. He is treating him like a joke or afterthought. Maybe the punchline is that Punk is the one that gets the last laugh.

Not for nothing, it would be cool to see Punk ruin The Bloodline’s potential plans and sow the seeds for one of his own with them down the line. A Punk vs Reigns match is just too noteworthy to never see.

WHAT HAPPENS AT WRESTLEMANIA?

While CM Punk is part of the focus of this match somewhat, it isn’t about him in the end. This is Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre, and that is big enough on its own.

The question is, what is going to happen?

Mileage may vary, but it depends on what you want out of the next three months. We can see Seth retaining—for now. Maybe Damian Priest will cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase the next night or even after the match. However, we feel Drew won’t beat Rollins.

The Bloodline may interfere but they’ll fail to get the drop. If anything, they’ll only do it after the match so they can open the door for Priest to do the cash-in.

We think that Punk is likely to interfere, costing Drew the match. That will set up the next big feud for both Punk and McIntyre. This will also leave Rollins open to lose the title to Priest or give it a couple of months and eventually lose it to Gunther.

This match has the potential to steal the show. It’s one of the better stories on the card, and it features two of the best wrestlers on the roster. We would expect some interference at multiple points. In fact, this might be one of the craziest matches of the night unless they end up with a bloodline rules match for the main event.

In the end, when it comes to this Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre match, we think Seth retains.