Will Drew McIntyre win back the WWE Championship from Randy Orton?

Drew McIntyre is obsessed with being the best in the industry, and he’s keeping watch over the WWE Championship.

At Hell in a Cell, Randy Orton finally defeated Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. After both of his losses to McIntyre at SummerSlam and Clash of Champions, Orton never stopped coming back at McIntyre, using his pull and his wickedness to get rematches ahead of anyone else who wanted a shot at the title.

But in the end, the Viper finally proved that he is the No. 1 male wrestler on Raw, pinning McIntyre off an RKO inside the hellacious structure.

Like Orton, though, McIntyre isn’t going to let one loss stop him from pursuing the WWE Title. He is keeping a close watch over Orton’s title, even protecting the Viper from The Fiend and The Miz just so he can be the one to take the championship back.

Obsessed? Overprotective? Perhaps McIntyre is both, but can you blame him? This was his first taste of world title success on the main roster, and he ruled the land with aplomb after defeating Brock Lesnar – who is THE wrestler to beat in WWE – at the Show of Shows in April. McIntyre helped lift Raw during the crowdless era before the Thunderdome.

Drew McIntyre wants to be the one to take the WWE Title off Randy Orton

That said, The Miz made a great point about McIntyre on this week’s episode of Raw. He said that because McIntyre is keeping watching over Orton’s title and saving the championship for himself to take, he is stealing away opportunities from other wrestlers. Miz believes that McIntyre needs to accept his loss and move on, and there’s a great point in there.

McIntyre, though, won’t listen to The Miz. He stopped the A-Lister from cashing in on Orton, and he’ll do so again if necessary.

Because this is personal on two levels. Firstly, McIntyre wants to beat Orton for a third time inside the ring. They have built quite a rivalry. And secondly, he has an attachment to that title. After tasting what it’s like to be the top star on Raw, he wants nothing more than to reach the summit again. McIntyre has lost a part of his identity with that title.

Try as he might, McIntyre probably isn’t winning that title. A feud with Roman Reigns and then one with Keith Lee would be awesome. AJ Styles is another possible feud for McIntyre now on the Red Brand, and it seemed like a possibility if McIntyre retained at Hell in a Cell.

But he didn’t retain. He lost the title, fair and square, to Orton. His loss to Orton inside the cell may seem to carry less weight than the two wins he has over Orton, but his loss was more decisive than either of Orton’s. Whereas legends helped McIntyre beat Orton at Clash and McIntyre won by roll-up at SummerSlam, Orton defeated McIntyre inside Hell in a Cell with an RKO. Decisive.

Now, it’s on McIntyre to come to grips with his loss and find a new sense of purpose on Monday nights, even if that means focusing on a new rival. Because the more obsessed he gets with chasing after Orton and the WWE Title he lost inside the structure that is supposed to end all rivalries, the more of a risk he runs of completely losing himself.

He’ll win that title back one day. But that day won’t come until next year. I am sure of it.