Drew McIntyre Thinks IC Title Match At SummerSlam Could “Stand Above” World Title Bout
Drew McIntyre believes that his Intercontinental Title match at SummerSlam could stand above the World Title match on the same show.
In one week’s time on August 5th, WWE presents SummerSlam from Ford Field in Detroit with over 40,000+ fans. When it comes to the most anticipated match on the show, some people might go with the Intercontinental Championship match with the champion GUNTHER facing off against a former two-time WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
A big reason why fans might care so much about the Intercontinental Title match as much as anything else on the show is because GUNTHER has been a dominant champion that has held the title for 414 days. That means GUNTHER only trails Pedro Morales at 424 days followed by the 453-day record title reign of The Honky Tonk Man. If GUNTHER is still champion by September 8th, the record will be his.
After being away for about three months, Drew McIntyre returned at Money in the Bank and went after GUNTHER while making it clear he was coming for the Intercontinental Title. Since then, the McIntyre-GUNTHER match has been made official for SummerSlam.
In an interview with the Cheap Heat podcast, Drew spoke about how he’s always trying to stand out with his performances while adding that he thinks their IC Title match at SummerSlam can top the World Title match between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor.
“The way I see whatever I’m doing, I’m trying to make it stand out more than anything else on the show. It doesn’t matter if it’s a segment with newer talent or [with] people still getting to know them, I’m always trying to figure out how it can stand out more than anything else going on.”
“It’s a little easier in this situation, returning to a program with Gunther. As you mentioned, he really has elevated this title, he’s done such an incredible job. Of all of the superstars who have returned and new superstars that have been introduced over these past couple of years, I’d probably put him at the top of the list. He’s done such an incredible job at reinventing himself from who he was on the independents and NXT UK, and he should be very proud of himself because he has done an incredible job. Sadly, all good things must come to an end eventually.”
“Drew McIntyre is back to ruin that party and I think for our audience, especially our smart audience who listen to this podcast, Gunther finally has an opponent outside of probably like Sheamus where people are like, ‘Oh, he may lose this one, he’s probably going to lose this one.’”
“People are questioning it rather than [saying], ‘This is just another good Gunther match.’ We now have a program, a big match where people are like, ‘Okay, I want to see these two guys together. Oh, Gunther’s in jeopardy, he’s perhaps gonna lose the title. Drew’s back, he’s finally gonna get his moment with a title in front of the fans.’”
“The run Gunther’s been on, [we have] the opportunity to stand above even the world title match, which is the goal.”
This won’t be the first time that Drew McIntyre and GUNTHER face off for the IC Title. At WrestleMania 39, they were part of an incredible triple threat match with Sheamus that saw GUNTHER find a way to retain his title.
Drew McIntyre Facing GUNTHER Is Just One Of The Huge Matches At SummerSlam
The updated SummerSlam lineup looks like this:
* Tribal Combat Match (Anything Goes) For the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso
* Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes
* World Heavyweight Championship: Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor
* WWE Women’s Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
* Intercontinental Championship: GUNTHER (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
* Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler
* Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
* Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus (Not official as I write this but it’s the plan)
* SummerSlam Battle Royal
There is also likely going to be Rhea Ripley defending the Women’s World Title vs. Raquel Rodriguez, but that is not official yet.
You can watch SummerSlam streaming live on Saturday, August 5, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.