Drew McIntyre has not won on pay-per-view in over a year

Drew McIntyre has spent the last few episodes of Raw squashing jobbers like Zack Ryder and No Way Jose. It seems clear that WWE is trying to heat up the Scottish Psychopath for something bigger down the line. Some fans are even speculating that McIntyre is a leading contender to win the upcoming men’s Royal Rumble match (Jan. 26) and/or challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36.

If you told me that Drew McIntyre was a potential Royal Rumble winner heading into last year’s match, I wouldn’t have blinked an eye, because McIntyre was booked like a badass in 2018. He didn’t take his first pin fall loss on the main roster that year until December.

But something bizarre has happened with McIntyre since that time; he hasn’t won a match on pay-per-view (PPV) since Survivor Series 2018. I guess playing a generic heel thug doing the bidding of Shane McMahon for a few months didn’t do much to help McIntyre in 2019.

Here is a chronological listing of McIntyre’s PPV matches since he was called up to the main roster in April 2018. Wins will be in bold. This data can be easily found at CageMatch.net.

1. McIntyre & Ziggler defeat The Shield (Hell in a Cell 2018)
2. The Shield defeats Strowman, Ziggler, McIntyre (Super Show-Down)
3. Team Raw defeats Team SmackDown (Survivor Series 2018)
4. Finn Balor defeats Drew McIntyre (TLC 2018)
5. Drew McIntyre fails to win the men’s Royal Rumble match (Royal Rumble 2019)
6. The Shield defeats Corbin, Lashley, McIntyre (Fastlane 2019)
7. Roman Reigns defeats Drew McIntyre (WrestleMania 35)
8. Drew McIntyre loses the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Money in the Bank 2019)
9. Roman Reigns defeats Drew McIntyre (Stomping Grounds)
10. Reigns & Undertaker defeat McIntyre & Shane McMahon (Extreme Rules 2019)
11. Team Hogan defeats Team Flair (Crown Jewel 2019)
12. Team SmackDown defeats Team Raw & Team NXT (Survivor Series 2019)

The final tally is two wins and ten losses for McIntyre, with his last PPV win coming as part of Team Raw at Survivor Series 2018. McIntyre was one of the three survivors for his team in that match. One thing that stands out about this list is that it only includes three one-on-one matches, and Drew was the loser in all of those bouts.

This losing streak is why I am skeptical that Drew McIntyre will win the 2020 men’s Royal Rumble match. It would seem awfully strange to suddenly win such a big match after a winless PPV record in 2019.

That doesn’t mean McIntyre has no chance to either win the Royal Rumble match or challenge Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. Roman Reigns is a clear candidate to win the Royal Rumble match, and then McIntyre’s name fits in well enough among the next tier of superstars who could win if Roman does not. And WWE needs to find some fresh opponents for Brock, so McIntyre fits that criterion too.

Under normal circumstances, however, I wouldn’t expect a guy who hasn’t won on PPV in over a year to get either of those coveted spots.

What do you think of Drew McIntyre’s booking over the last year, Cagesiders? Is he a viable option for a featured match at WrestleMania 36, or is more time needed to establish a spot for him in the upper card?