WWE's main-event picture ahead of WrestleMania 41 is as unclear as it has been in many years. Despite having more top guys and gals in the company than ever before, the top of the WrestleMania card remains completely in flux.
Drew McIntyre is one of those top guys who does not appear to have concrete plans for WrestleMania 41. It appeared as if WWE was setting up the Scottish Warrior vs Damian Priest for WrestleMania after the latter eliminated the former in the Royal Rumble.
However, after online backlash, WWE is reportedly reconsidering that theorized plan. While it could still happen, McIntyre's future is as unclear as it has been in quite some time with no home-run opponent jumping off the screen.
Perhaps that is because you can't see him.
Fans are focused on John Cena's pursuit of championship No. 17 and expect Cena to win March's Elimination Chamber to challenge Cody Rhodes in Las Vegas. While Cena should eventually break Ric Flair's record, it may not happen that soon as a better feud for Cena at WrestleMania exists with McIntyre.
WWE would be smart to book John Cena vs. Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 41
McIntyre and Cena have never had a televised one-on-one match with the former openly admitting it is a dream match of his before Cena hangs it up at the end of 2025. Cena even outright mentioned McIntyre during his promo on the RAW Netflix premier at a time where there was no buzz around that potential matchup.
The story tells itself and can be done in a surprising way — we all know Triple H loves a good swerve — at the Elimination Chamber. McIntyre, Cena and CM Punk are the three men who are currently qualified (at the time of writing) and are at the crux of this story.
It starts with McIntyre being eliminated from the match halfway through. WWE can run the classic "big name takes a finisher from every member of the match" to pin McIntyre and allow him to look strong in the process. It is important to note that Cena, who can be the last one to enter the match, is the one who hits the final Attitude Adjustment and pins McIntyre.
Fast forward to the end of the match with two men remaining: Cena and CM Punk. The two long-time rivals can spend five-plus minutes giving fans a vintage showdown reminiscent of the early 2010s. Right when Cena appears to have Punk dead to rights, a familiar figure emerges back in the cage: Drew McIntyre.
Because of his history with Punk, fans in attendance will assume McIntyre is there to screw over his long-time rival. Instead, McIntyre, seeing red, turns his attention to Cena and hits him with a Claymore. McIntyre leaves the chamber and Punk secures the victory.
From there, the story tells itself. McIntyre's gripe with Cena isn't just because he pinned him to keep him from main eventing WrestleMania. His gripe with Cena revolves around him coming back for a "dumb" (in the words of McIntyre) retirement tour, stealing Drew's spot in the process.
This also creates one of the main events of WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk. Instead of having triple-threat matches, WWE would have four huge singles matches in Rhodes-Punk, Reigns-Rollins, Cena-McIntyre, and Uso-Gunther.
The promo battles between these two leading up to WrestleMania would be legendary. Plus, it gives Cena a legitimate storied feud for his last WrestleMania while also giving one of the hardest workers in the company a dream match he clearly wants.
This sets up a match where Cena can go over clean in his final WrestleMania without it burying a young superstar in the process. It also prolongs Cena's chase for championship gold and makes that story better in the process.
Winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania is the easy way to tell the story. The more engaging way is for Cena to continually come up just short — first at the Rumble, then at Elimination Chamber, then at Money in the Bank — only for him to finally go on a Super Cena run to win King of the Ring and face the champion at Summerslam.
After a long journey, Cena can win title no. 17 at Summerslam, hold the belt for two-plus months, and put someone else over before starting his final retirement angle. And in the interim, a feud (and win) over McIntyre is a great placeholder.