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WWE Champion Drew McIntyre Throws Shade At Former Rival During Scotland Tour

The newly crowned WWE Champion Drew McIntyre threw some shade toward CM Punk via a picture of himself during recent match.
Ethan Schlabaugh|
Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre | WWE

The January 9 episode of SmackDown saw Drew McIntyre finally overcome Cody Rhodes to capture the WWE Championship.

McIntyre scored two victories over Rhodes during their Three Stages of Hell match, earning the last one via some unintended help from a returning Jacob Fatu.

Since capturing the title, Drew McIntyre has been extremely active on social media, posting everything from clips of his match to a photo of himself sleeping in bed with the WWE Championship.

This recent post of McIntyre standing in the ring had the caption, "No t-shirt needed. This is what a real Champion looks like." This was hinting at the comments that were made by Kevin Nash toward World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk for wrestling on Raw in a t-shirt a couple of weeks ago.

McIntyre and Punk had a bloody and brutal feud that started when McIntyre injured CM Punk during the 2024 Royal Rumble match, taking the current World Heavyweight Champion out of action for many months.

They would go face-to-face throughout that summer with a feud ending Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood 2024.

Drew McIntyre righting the wrongs from Clash at the Castle

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre, Clash at the Castle 2022
Roman Reigns hitting Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle 2022 | IMAGO / Sports Press Photo

Another post on Instagram would see Drew McIntyre after wrestling a match in his home country of Scotland, making up for what he called "the worst night of his career".

He references the match he had with Roman Reigns back at Clash at the Castle 2022, in which he lost his shot at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship due to a debuting Solo Sikoa costing him the match. He also mentions the moment of him singing in the ring with Tyson Fury after the match.

To make up for that night, McIntyre and the audience sing "Flower of Scotland," a patriotic and unofficial national anthem of Scotland, to cheer on the Scottish football team in their efforts to make it past Haiti in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Drew McIntyre is set to defend the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble on Saturday, January 31. SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced that a tournament will begin next week to determine his opponent:

  • Randy Orton vs The Miz
  • Sami Zayn vs Ilja Dragunov
  • Matt Cardona vs Trick Williams
  • Damian Priest vs Solo Sikoa

All four of these matches will take place this coming Friday on SmackDown from London, with the winners advancing to a Fatal Four-Way at Saturday Night's Main Event on January 24th in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

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Published
Ethan Schlabaugh
ETHAN SCHLABAUGH

Ethan Schlabaugh is a news writer for The Takedown on SI. His journalism experience has seen him cover professional wrestling for outlets such as TheSportster, The Takedown and more. He has been a lifelong fan of professional wrestling, dating back to his first experience with the WCW Nintendo 64 games, and that passion for the sport has remained many years later. He also writes feature articles for ResuraMag, where he focuses on mainstream Japanese promotions like Stardom and Marigold.

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