We are once again entering the most exciting time of the year to be a professional wrestling fan, WrestleMania season! It all starts on Saturday night live from the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis when 30 men and 30 women fight for a shot at immortality, to challenge for a championship of their choosing at WrestleMania 41.
The men’s side of things is shaping up to be one of the biggest Royal Rumbles in recent memory. With Roman Reigns, CM Punk, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Logan Paul, and a newcomer in Penta among those already announced, this is truly looking to be one of the best men’s Royal Rumble matches in recent memory. So, who should walk away with the win?
Drew McIntyre should win the Men’s Royal Rumble match
Drew McIntyre has been a mainstay in the WWE for quite some time now. Going to hell and back in the WWE, McIntyre turned the WWE into his home for better or for worse. Whether he was the “Chosen One,” or played an air guitar in 3MB, McIntyre has done a lot in the WWE.
McIntyre has also been to the top of the mountain in WWE a couple of times, he was a WWE Champion twice, and a World Heavyweight Champion once for about five minutes. Still through it all, McIntyre never got his true WrestleMania moment in front of tens of thousands of people.
Of course, the argument can be made that at WrestleMania XL he did win the World Heavyweight Championship from Seth Rollins after a fantastic match in front of a huge crowd. However, McIntyre would only hold that championship for five minutes as CM Punk went on to attack him, which led to Damian Priest cashing his Money In The Bank briefcase in.
The one time McIntyre won the championship at WrestleMania and actually held onto it longer than a day came in 2020 when he defeated Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 36. However, he did so in front of zero fans at the WWE Performance Center where the Covid-19 Pandemic forced the WWE to run.
2020 turned out to be one of McIntyre’s best years in WWE history. Unfortunately, aside from his Royal Rumble win that year, most of it was done in front of zero fans. He certainly was one of WWE’s best in their Thunderdome years, and he truly deserves that moment in front of fans.
One argument that can be made for McIntyre comes in the question, was 2020 truly his best year, or was it 2024? After injuring CM Punk in the 2024 Royal Rumble match, McIntyre went on what many fans would say was their favorite run of his. He also had the best rivalry of 2024, by far, with the same man he injured earlier in the year, CM Punk.
McIntyre became one of the biggest “haters” in the WWE, releasing merchandise he could to clown CM Punk any chance he could get. Since the rivalry with Punk came to an end, McIntyre has a new goal in mind, get back at those who wronged him in The Bloodline, starting with Jey Uso and Sami Zayn.
While it remains to be seen how the men’s Royal Rumble match will go on Saturday night, Drew McIntyre should absolutely be in the talk to win the whole match and go on to WrestleMania and face a champion of his choosing, whether it’s the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, or the World Heavyweight Champion, GUNTHER.
A match between GUNTHER and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 41 could truly be a match of the year contender. We saw a taste of that a couple of years ago at SummerSlam 2023 for the Intercontinental Championship, but with how much both men improved, it could be that much better.
