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WrestleMania 40 Fallout: Belief Drew McIntyre Staying With WWE; Heat With CM Punk Over?

Originally posted on Ringside Intel | By John Deegan | Last updated 4/8/24

In spite of how Night Two at WrestleMania 40 went, or maybe because of it, the believe is that Drew McIntyre is staying with WWE and perhaps his heat with CM Punk is over?

Much has been made about Drew McIntyre’s contract status. He entered 2024 as one of several high-profile WWE Superstars with contracts set to run out this year. Some others include Sheamus, Becky Lynch and McIntyre’s WrestleMania 40 opponent, Seth Rollins. There was a buzz that WWE and McIntyre resolved the contract situation during the winter, but that has not been officially confirmed by any sources close to either side.

Now, with WrestleMania 40 behind him, there is a belief that Drew McIntyre has re-signed, or will, and is staying with WWE. This belief was strongly echoed by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer. Night two of WrestleMania 40 proved interesting for Drew McIntyre, and may very well give us an idea of what his future with the company will involve-should he indeed have one.

Will art imitate life?

Drew and Seth Rollins opened the second evening of WrestleMania 40. It was the best of times and the worst of times for the Scottish Psychopath. McIntyre was finally able to win the championship in front of real live fans. That was something the global pandemic robbed him of. But his reign was incredibly short lived. He held onto the World Heavyweight Championship for just under six minutes. Then Damian Priest cashed in and stole the gold. And in a blink, Drew McIntyre has two Superstars with whom he has major issues. He will surely want revenge against Priest (can you say Clash At The Castle?), but there is a bigger fish to fry.

source: @wwe, x, screenshot

Is there still heat?

And there’s a curve to that bigger fish. It was well known that some within WWE did not want Punk back with the company. Rollins was very vocal about it at times. Others in the locker room had past beefs with the mercurial Superstar. Since returning (and, even a bit before), Punk has been mending fences. But according to Meltzer’s report, McIntyre was one who was legitimately upset by his return. For a spell, walked out of WWE to show his displeasure. Now, that possible real life animosity may be manifesting itself in an on-screen feud.

After all, in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 40, the now former champion was tormenting the man who many expected to be Rollins’ challenger-CM Punk. Punk versus Rollins was set up and seemed locked in…and then Punk suffered an injury in the Royal Rumble that meant the dream match couldn’t happen. But McIntyre egged him into serving as guest commentator for the title match in Philadelphia. After winning, Drew gloated just a bit too long in front of Punk. CM Punk snapped, attacked Drew and opened the door for the cash in. And just like that, it seems like Drew McIntyre will have a couple scores to settle, and good reasons to stick around.

This article first appeared on Ringside Intel and was syndicated with permission.

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