January 4’s WWE Monday Night RAW ended with Hall of Famer Goldberg calling out WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, and challenging him to a match for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble event on January 31. The challenge to McIntyre came after months of speculation that Goldberg may be facing off against Roman Reigns. It was the Scottish Warrior that he called out instead, accusing McIntyre of not having due respect for the assembled WWE luminaries on RAW’s legends night.
McIntyre’s rise has been rapid. His first run with the WWE ended in release, at which point his knockaround wayfaring in various promotions began, gaining the WWE’s attention once more. An admirable turn on NXT led to a call-up to RAW. In heel mode, McIntyre was billed as the Scottish Terminator or Scottish Psychopath, who reveled in brutally taking on fan favorites like Seth Rollins and John Cena. 2020 changed a lot, including McIntyre’s image: he won the Royal Rumble 2020’s 30 man battle royal, and his victory over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 saw him emerge as the WWE Champion, with a new angle as a babyface dubbed the Scottish Warrior, with the ancestral tartan and broadsword to show for it.
In Goldberg, McIntyre will find a performer known for ending matches quickly and decisively with his two signature maneuvers, a hard-hitting spear and the jackhammer throw. This move set has had mixed results during Goldberg’s current run with WWE: while he was able to defeat Bray Wyatt at February 2020’s Super Showdown with four spears and a jackhammer, claiming the WWE Universal Championship, he was unable to put Braun Strowman away with this combination, losing the Universal Champion title to him at Wrestlemania 36.
McIntyre’s moveset is a bit more diverse. While Goldberg utilizes his heavy-hitting, tackling spear for a decisive victory, McIntyre’s key strength has been his remarkable endurance. He absorbs punishment, and rallies. While in heel mode, McIntyre favored wearing his opponents down with punishing arm holds, but since turning face tend to finish with the future shock ddt and his signature Claymore kick. How effective would the Claymore kick be against Goldberg? While it is usually the decisive maneuver for McIntyre, ending the match solidly in his favor, it can sometimes take several tries for him to land it. The unique dropkick variation requires McIntyre to repeatedly tense to build up momentum-the chances of thwarting it with a tackle like Goldberg’s spear are high. However, he could definitely survive a jackhammer, and perhaps counter with a suplex of his own.
Storyline-wise, Goldberg is a part timer. Bestowing the Championship upon him makes sense only if he is also set to appear at WrestleMania 37 to defend it against a challenger. What, then, would McIntyre’s place in the WWE universe be? Would he turn heel once again, embittered by his loss? Only time will tell, until the two meet in the ring on January 31’s Royal Rumble.
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