The Fate of The Shield and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania and Beyond
The future seems unclear for Raw's current crop of top stars. Drew McIntrye has been feuding with The Shield in various capacities for months now, and the fate of all four men appear more intertwined than ever before. Despite all conventional wisdom, RAW's top babyface Seth Rollins was defeated by Drew McIntyre in the main event of Monday Night RAW.
This comes as a surprise as 2019 Royal Rumble winner Rollins is currently slotted to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the highly coveted WWE Universal Championship. Many expected to see Rollins walk into the biggest show of the year stronger than ever, but WWE clearly want to portray Rollins as an underdog.
Considering Lesnar's lofty on-screen presentation and the increasing number of obstacles Rollins has needed to overcome (since winning the men's 2019 Royal Rumble match), I believe 'The Architect' will defeat Lesnar at WrestleMania. Fans are eager to see the title return to the hands of a full-time competitor, as the infamous part-time Lesnar has dominated the championship scene for what feels like an interminable duration (starting after his defeat of Goldberg at WrestleMania 33).
In the main event match-up, McIntyre was able to win with a swift claymore kick and subsequent pinfall, due to a distraction perpetrated by Rollins' upcoming WrestleMania opponent- Brock Lesnar (accompanied by longtime manager and personal confidante Paul Heyman). This is likely setting the stage for a downtrodden Rollins to overcome the odds and definitively vanquish 'The Beast' once and for all.
After cutting a scathing promo on Roman Reigns, it appears McIntrye will take on 'The Big Dog' at WrestleMania. This is set to be a promising match-up, as many have speculated McIntrye could evolve into the face of the company. His work in the ring has drastically improved (since first arriving in 2007- later billed as The Chosen One) and he possesses the quintessential build and stature WWE looks for when it comes to anointing main event players.
If McIntyre and Reigns do square off - I believe Reigns will emerge victorious, but this will obviously come at the price of McIntyre's ascending momentum being halted. Due to McIntyre's impressive WWE return and contemporary on-screen portrayal, I believe he will capture major singles gold no later than SummerSlam 2019.
In a shocking turn of events, Dean Ambrose charged the ring when RAW went off the air last night (Ambrose had yet to appear during the televised event). We last saw Dean Ambrose being brutalized at the hands of Drew McIntyre in the culmination of last week's episode of Monday Night RAW. Many believed this would be the last appearance for the lunatic fringe, as his contract is set to expire soon with no plans of re-signing with WWE.
It will be interesting to see if Ambrose will factor into Reigns' or Rollins' WrestleMania plans, or be appointed a match of his own. Unfortunately, Ambrose has yet to capture a quintessential 'WrestleMania Moment' and his closest opportunity against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32 fell flat, leaving fans largely disappointed.
Before his contract runs out - I believe Ambrose will continue to redeem his previously dastardly actions (from his heel run starting in October) assisting Seth to win at WrestleMania - and celebrate in the ring with his Shield brethren (Rollins and Reigns) to close out the upcoming showcase of the immortals.
If Ambrose does remain with WWE, his future appears uncertain as he's been consistently losing on television and appears to have no clear direction for his character going forward.
There's still a couple of weeks until WrestleMania, with more developments to come in the Rollins/Lesnar and Reigns/McIntrye feuds, along with the mysterious fate of Dean Ambrose. WrestleMania 35 will take place on April, 7th 2019 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey ,and can be watched from home via the WWE Network streaming service.