The Miz cashed in the Money in the Bank on Drew McIntyre at Elimination Chamber 2021 (WWE)
It was going great for the Scotsman so far, so why did Drew McIntyre lose the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber?
Drew McIntyre has looked like a model WWE champion. Sure, the fans may call him bland or boring at times, but he has not put a foot wrong.
McIntyre has transformed his physique, his game, his persona, and almost everything he possibly could to take the step up to be one of the faces of the promotion.
Him getting the opportunity to send off a legend like Goldberg without even losing his belt is a testament to that. But all of that changed when The Miz won the belt this Sunday.
McIntyre survived the Elimination Chamber. He flaunted his belt, but just then, Bobby Lashley attacked him. He said that it was just ‘business‘. He had, of course, himself lost his belt earlier on the show.
Seeing the Scotsman bruised and battered, Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank suitcase and won without any sort of trouble whatsoever, which was expected after Lashley beat McIntyre to a pulp. Fans were taken aback by this sudden change of champions.
So what made WWE take the belt off him at Elimination Chamber this weekend? Well, there are a lot of answers to that, but one seems to be the most glaring one. It seems like a ploy to win him the belt at WrestleMania.
And that too in front of a packed crowd. As well as WWE has done with the virtual fans, it is nowhere near the feeling of having a packed arena and seeing ‘The Chosen One’ reclaim the title there would be a great visual.
This is something that Dave Meltzer acknowledged too in a the latest episode of the Wrestler’s Observer Radio.
“This [Miz winning the belt] is a transition to get somewhere else. Whatever that is, I don’t know. It may just be. I don’t think it may be that quick [McIntyre winning it back on RAW] because they have a PPV. So, I could see Drew getting it back at the PPV or he could get it back RAW.”
Well, RAW went by, and the title stayed with the new champion. But it did open up new possibilities. McIntyre may be winning the belt back at WrestleMania, or even Fastlane, but his opponent might not necessarily be The Miz.
Lashley confronted The Miz on RAW this week and demanded a title shot, but the champion weaselled out to make a deal that he would to beat Braun Strowman first. He did that, and will now have a shot at the title next week on the Red Brand.
And it was just this week that Lashley said that he would love to go and snatch a belt if it meant him fighting against real fighters like Drew McIntyre. So there are a few possibilities and WWE can play around with the belt a little before The Chosen One gets it back.
They can use it to push a babyface like Damian Priest, start a feud between The Miz and Lashley, or just give McIntyre a dream scenario of winning it at WrestleMania 37 in front of a packed crowd.
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