WWE Backlash 2020 Results: Drew McIntyre Defeats Bobby Lashley To Continue Dominant Reign

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre retained his title against Bobby Lashley at Backlash 2020, and the company has made it clear: The Scottish superstar is in line for a long and dominant reign as champion.

As you may know by now, McIntyre has had the support of both Vince McMahon and Triple H since he returned to Monday Night Raw in 2018, and though it took nearly two years for him to get to the top of WWE, he finally reached that spot in January 2020 when he won the Royal Rumble match. A few months later, he cemented his position as a main eventer when he defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36, marking an incredible rise for a star who was once released by WWE.

Since then? WWE has made a very obvious effort to establish McIntyre as its most dominant superstar.

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Consider that it’s now an honor for superstars to get a two-count on McIntyre, and you’ll see that WWE is positioning him as a nearly unbeatable behemoth, which is both the right move and a risky one. Virtually any fan who’s watched WWE over the past decade will tell you that WWE’s notoriously harsh fan base tends to turn on any star who is skyrocketed up the card and then dominates the competition. After all, a fan recently started a petition to end the title push of Charlotte Flair. Though that’s not to say that all fans turn on their beloved babyfaces, that is a reality that everyone from John Cena to Roman Reigns to Seth Rollins to Becky Lynch has had to deal with at some point or another.

When it comes to McIntyre, it’s hard to gauge whether or not he would fall into that category. Social media reaction to him is currently positive, but with no live crowds, you can’t really measure how fans would respond to him in person. In the eyes of most, however, McIntyre is doing a wonderful job as WWE Champion and the new face of Raw, even though McMahon may not necessarily feel the same way. McMahon himself infamously blamed Raw’s recently and historically low viewership on the absences of stars like Brock Lesnar, which could be cause for concerns for McIntyre’s chances of having a lengthy title reign, especially given Paul Heyman’s recent dismissal as Raw Executive Director as well as reports of Lashley possibly winning the title soon.

One of the few major angles WWE has booked well since WrestleMania 36, however, has been the reign of McIntyre, who is booked the way a world champion should be: He dominates inferior competition, and he looks strong while doing so. Isn’t that the way a 6-foot-5-inch physical specimen of a world champion should be portrayed? Indeed it is, especially at a time when there are limited options on Raw. Virtually no heel on the red brand—ranging from names like Andrade to Seth Rollins—has been properly positioned to be able to defeat McIntyre, who has spent his 2020 defeating the likes of Lesnar, Rollins and now Lashley, albeit the latter with a little help.

The way that WWE has made a clear and concerted effort to establish McIntyre as a virtually invincible superstar hasn’t gone unnoticed, and it’s a smart strategy to create a compelling champion during a transitional era in which many of WWE’s part-time stars are gone and the company desperately needs to create some new stars who can carry the company into the future.

There is no better choice for the role than McIntyre, who has the look, charisma, in-ring abilities and microphone skills to carry the red brand on his back for the foreseeable future until the time is right. Judging by the current circumstances on Raw and the lack of credible heel opponents, that time may not come anytime soon, so WWE fans should just enjoy the ride.

McIntyre is performing quite well as champion, and unless something unforeseen happenings, there is no end in sight to his reign.