Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre Advertised For WWE TLC 2018

WWE TLC 2018 will take place on Dec. 16 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, and the venue is already advertising three big Raw matches, including Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre.

Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and Drew McIntyre appear to be the three wrestlers competing for the Universal Championship that was solemnly vacated by Roman Reigns. Although Survivor Series is the next Pay Per View on the calendar, that show will be filled with champion vs. champion matches to continue the rivalry between Raw and SmackDown Live.

So the first Pay Per View where the Universal Title would be defended, assuming somebody wins the championship before then, would be WWE TLC 2018. That Pay Per View will be the final show of 2018 and will take place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on Dec. 16.

The SAP Center’s website is currently advertising three matchups for TLC. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins (“The Kingslayer” will face Shinsuke Nakamura at Survivor Series) are set to feud over the Intercontinental Championship, Nia Jax will take her title opportunity against Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey (at Survivor Series, Rousey will face SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch), and Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre is the third match advertised for TLC.

Rollins vs. Ambrose and Jax vs. Rousey are not a surprise, but Strowman vs. McIntyre is a notable match to be advertised. Fans are hoping that one of those two superstars comes away with the Universal Title, as opposed to Brock Lesnar, whose lengthy title reign annoyed the majority of the fanbase. A repeat of that, with Strowman and McIntyre fighting for the No. 1 contendership, is possible but would not be a popular decision.

Meanwhile, McIntyre has produced the best work of his career since returning to WWE for a second stint, with both his promos and in-ring work receiving high praise. His current partnership with Dolph Ziggler is destined to fall apart at the seams, and he may not win the Universal Championship until turning on Ziggler.

Strowman has been pursuing the Universal Title, whether it was held by Reigns or Lesnar, for over a year, and there was a time when he was the most popular superstar on Raw. WWE didn’t pull the trigger on a Strowmna title run, but it will be interesting to see if that changes now that the title has been vacated.

This Strowman vs. McIntyre match could be a placeholder, but it would be an exciting match that could have extremely high stakes. By the time TLC comes around, Strowman vs. McIntyre could be the Universal Title match, with Strowman currently back to being a babyface and McIntyre on a heel rampage.