Drew McIntyre Says Intercontinental Title Is Where It Should Be

GUNTHER is a strong Intercontinental Champion, and it’s impossible to deny. Only time will tell who takes his Intercontinental Title, but Drew McIntyre is right here, in his face, and waiting for the challenge.

Following his highly anticipated return to WWE television at the Money In the Bank pay-per-view, Drew McIntyre aimed to confront GUNTHER, the reigning Intercontinental Champion, setting the stage for their upcoming clash at SummerSlam next month.

McIntyre had been absent from WWE programming as he took a hiatus to recover from an injury sustained during a thrilling triple threat match involving Gunther and Sheamus at WrestleMania 39.

During his absence, McIntyre also expressed frustration over what he perceived as a lack of creative direction for his character on television. Negotiations for a new contract with WWE had reached an impasse, with both parties reportedly far apart in their financial discussions. McIntyre’s current contract is set to expire in early 2024.

In a recent appearance on WWE’s The Bump, McIntyre shared his thoughts on the WrestleMania match, describing it as one of his favorites. He also praised the prestige that GUNTHER has brought to the Intercontinental Title.

“One of my favorite matches I’ve ever had is in the top three. And it can be in any position, to be honest, to have a WrestleMania match at that level with Seamus in there and always make the joke, about, you know, I met him when I was 19. He was 43. And it’s not a joke cause he’s much, much older than me, but I’ve always dreamed about having that big stage match and to have it at WrestleMania finally. And to have GUNTHER in there was so incredibly talented and physical himself was unreal. But to hear the crowd that night, like they were so invested from the start, you know, they were ready for that match. We were ready for that match. No matter what was going on with me physically, I was gonna make that match. And,  yeah, I remember specifically when Sheamus gave me the 500 beats to the face, most of them, the way the people came up. And I was lying there thinking, ‘Oh, we’re just getting started guys.’ And I’ve never had such feedback after a match. It was unreal. Something I’m very proud of, Sheamus and I maybe get carried away with the whole personal issue and forgot about the undefeated Austrian outside the ring as we had ourselves a 15-minute WrestleMania match. Forgot about him. Gunther slid and took advantage of it and as he should have took advantage of the personal situation. But I’ll always be very, very proud of that WrestleMania moment in that match.”

“Yeah, he certainly raised the prestige 100%. The Intercontinental Championship is where it should be, where it used to be when I was growing up, and I can’t remember it being at this level for a long time. When I won Intercontinental Championship in 09, you know, we still had such prestige and somewhere along the way, it kind of slipped and, we don’t need to get into the ins and outs of why that happened, but I’ve watched GUNTHER’s development since I saw him when I was outside of WWE the first time I saw him in Germany. I said, ‘That guy’s got something.’ He’s found himself. He’s got himself in the best shape of his life.”

“He’s been on a tear over the past year plus, you know, if his lads might get involved and whenever he is in trouble, and I’ll deal with that. But you can’t take away from him what he is achieved, what he’s done for that title. And, right now, you know, with the, the world title, I think there’s gonna be a bit of competition going on with the IC title and the world title. You know, what’s the most exciting segment to watch? I know how competitive Seth [Rollins] is and I know how competitive I am, how competitive GUNTHER is. I really think this is gonna be an exciting time for Raw overall.”

WWE has some strong champions, with Roman Reigns leading the pack. The Intercontinental Championship is certainly in strong hands with GUNTHER, but Drew McIntyre will still give it his all to capture that title.

Drew McIntyre’s return to WWE was exciting, but he hasn’t inked a new deal with the company yet. It seems that he might have options, but WWE might be able to keep him around for another WrestleMania.

GUNTHER is an incredibly strong Intercontinental Champion, but who will take his title? Sound off in the comments!