WWE Hell In A Cell 2020 Results: Randy Orton Beats Drew McIntyre, Ends Boring Title Reign

Drew McIntyre’s paint-by-the-numbers WWE Championship reign finally ended as he fell to Randy Orton inside Hell in a Cell. McIntyre’s dominant reign ends at an impressive 203 days, and even in defeat, WWE did just about everything it needed to do to keep McIntyre strong as a top babyface.

Such has been the glaring issue with Drew McIntyre as WWE champion, as he was not been a failure by any stretch, but was been largely unspectacular despite WWE’s best efforts. An exception to the rule of WWE’s ineptitude when it comes to babyfaces and up-and-comers, McIntyre is protected fantastically in this company.

McIntyre was rarely laid out, and when he was finally sent to the hospital by Orton on the August 24 broadcast of Raw, it took three punts. McIntyre suffered only his first loss of the year on October 5 in a six-man tag team match, also at the hands of Randy Orton.

WWE had done everything right with McIntyre to this point, but there simply hasn’t been anything spectacular about McIntyre’s slog of a WWE Championship run in the pandemic era.

McIntyre had tremendous momentum headed into WrestleMania 36, with a star-making performance at Royal Rumble 2020 highlighted by a Brock Lesnar elimination, and capped off by a Royal Rumble win, but after catching a tough break with an empty-arena WrestleMania coronation, he has plateaued as a WWE character despite benefiting from strong booking. McIntyre simply does not have the dynamic personality of a John Cena or the bells and whistles of a Fiend to carry this brand as its top star, and Raw’s lagging viewership has demonstrated just that.

With no live crowds thirsty to back a new star, McIntyre’s limited charisma simply hasn’t been enough to fill the dead air of the WWE Performance Center and later the ThunderDome. Outshined throughout the pandemic by the likes of superior world champions in Bayley, Sasha Banks and Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre just does not rise to the level of star power of his peers when trusted to do so on his own accord.

Of all the stars on the WWE roster who desperately need fans to return, Drew McIntyre is at or near the top of that list, and with Florida now reopening the state, perhaps that’s the plan as McIntyre finds himself chasing Orton.

As The Fiend continues to shine on Monday nights alongside Alexa Bliss, one had to wonder just how much longer McIntyre’s marathon title reign will continue before WWE considers a change of direction. Though Orton is a future WWE Hall of Famer, his reign feels transitional with both McIntyre on the chase, The Miz a Money in the Bank holder and The Fiend waiting in the wings.