Drew McIntyre's next WWE Championship defence will be against Randy Orton at SummerSlam, and while it's not a rivalry which has got fans overly excited, it does have the makings of an entertaining storyline on a show, RAW, which seems to be getting increasingly worse.
During a recent interview with ComicBook.com, McIntyre explained why he believes feuding with Orton will help take his career to the next level. "The truth is, I’m still in a position where I need to be building. I’m still a new character for a lot of people who are tuning in for the first time and the fact I’m going to be across from someone like Randy Orton, I’m going to have to work up to his level," he explained.
"Someone who’s tuning in for the first time, a new pair of eyes, they’re not wondering, ‘Oh, who’s this guy that’s the champion? Okay, this is Randy Orton. I recognize this guy. Who’s this guy?’ Then when I stand up and keep up with Randy Orton, they’re like, ‘Okay. I like this guy. I understand this guy, I relate to this guy. I’m going to keep tuning in to check out this guy.’"
"So that’s what I’m most excited about, is the build towards SummerSlam, getting on another level as a character, especially another level as a champion," the WWE Champion continued. "I know the match itself will be great and I hope it’s not one and done because I think this has a lot of legs for a story perspective to really take me to that next level."
Since becoming WWE Champion, McIntyre has feuded with Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and Dolph Ziggler, but with rumours swirling about a WWE title match at next year's WrestleMania pitting Orton against WWE Hall of Famer Edge, his time with the title could be nearing its end.