Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre made his official WWE debut on the October 12, 2007 edition of *SmackDown!*. In his debut match, McIntyre, accompanied by Dave Taylor, defeated Brett Major with a roll-up. The next week, he defeated Brian Major with the help of Taylor. At the beginning of 2008, McIntyre moved to the *Raw* brand, making his official debut on the January 4 edition of WWE.com's Heat as a face, defeating Charlie Haas with a bridging Northern Lights suplex.

On 28 August 2009, McIntyre re-debuted on the *SmackDown* brand, disregarding his previous time on WWE television, and established himself as a villain by attacking R-Truth as he entered the ring, using his new double underhook DDT finishing move, the *Scot Drop* (soon renamed the *Future Shock*). McIntyre continued to attack Truth over the following weeks, claiming to be on the show to wrestle not to party like R-Truth. On 18 September, while Charlie Haas was waiting to face R-Truth, McIntyre came to the ring to explain that R-Truth had been injured backstage, and then attacked Haas. On 25 September, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon introduced McIntyre as a "future world champion" that he had personally signed, after which Truth made a return attack against McIntyre. The following week on *SmackDown*, McIntyre continued to crash parties by making a speech at the *Decade of SmackDown* celebration until R-Truth put him through a table and the anniversary cake. This all led to McIntyre's first proper match since his return at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, where McIntyre defeated R-Truth in under five minutes again using his DDT finisher.

McIntyre faced R-Truth once more in a singles match and won by countout to represent SmackDown at Bragging Rights, but during the episode before the PPV, the entire team, captains aside, was replaced leaving McIntyre omitted from the event. McIntyre briefly feuded with Finlay in the same manner as Truth with matches not starting properly until McIntyre won their final meeting in under two minutes. At Survivor Series on 22 November, McIntyre had a place on The Miz's team for the traditional Survivor Series elimination match. McIntyre, The Miz and Sheamus were the surviving members on their winning team; McIntyre eliminated Evan Bourne and Matt Hardy.

Being the only SmackDown superstar to survive against Team Morrison, McIntyre faced and defeated John Morrison a few weeks later, putting him in line for Morrison's Intercontinental Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Days before the event, Morrison mocked McIntyre's Scottish heritage by dressing as a *Braveheart*-inspired William Wallace, but at TLC on 13 December, McIntyre managed to pin Morrison after a thumb to the eye to win the Intercontinental title, his first championship in WWE. He retained the title against Morrison and later against Kane using underhanded tactics. His televised undefeated record ended in a Money in the Bank qualifying match against Kane on the 26 February episode of *SmackDown*, but Mr McMahon forced SmackDown's general manager Teddy Long to expunge the loss. The same thing happened again with Matt Hardy before McIntyre finally qualified for the Ladder match by pinning an unsigned wrestler. McIntyre then lost to The Undertaker on 19 March and also failed to win the Money in the Bank match on 29 March at WrestleMania XXVI, his first WrestleMania appearance. In weeks after this, McIntyre continuously attacked Matt Hardy until he was stripped of his title on 7 May by Long and suspended for the purposes of the storyline; McMahon decreed he be reinstated as champion the following week, undermining Long's authority which developed tension between McIntyre and Long.

As a result, McIntyre faced Kofi Kingston—who had won a tournament to determine the new champion—at Over the Limit on 23 May and lost the championship after 161 days. McIntyre, however, still used his relationship with McMahon to bully Teddy Long, publicly humiliating and forcing Long to lie down for him for their match. At Fatal 4-Way on 20 June, McIntyre faced Kingston in a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship. During the match, Long took over as the referee, but he refused to make the three count when McIntyre had the match won. A vengeful Matt Hardy then attacked McIntyre, leading to Kingston winning the match and retaining the championship.

On the 21 June episode of *Raw*, The Nexus faction attacked McMahon which removed him from television for a prolonged period and ended McIntyre's preferential treatment. After losing to Matt Hardy on the 25 June episode of *SmackDown*, Long informed McIntyre that his work visa had expired and that he would be deported back to Scotland immediately.

McIntyre returned two weeks later and was re-instated after being made to beg Long and qualified for the eponymous match at the Money in the Bank PPV by defeating Kofi Kingston. McIntyre then continued his rivalry with Matt Hardy and Hardy's friend Christian. At the same time, "Dashing" Cody Rhodes also took umbrage with Matt Hardy and Christian, leading to an alliance being formed. On 19 September at Night of Champions, McIntyre and Rhodes captured the WWE Tag Team Championship in a five-team tag team turmoil match as the last entrants. This allowed them to appear on both brands. McIntyre and Rhodes then successfully defended their championship twice against The Hart Dynasty. At the Bragging Rights PPV on 24 October, McIntyre and Rhodes lost the championship to The Nexus (John Cena and David Otunga) and dissolved their team. On 21 November at Survivor Series, McIntyre participated in a 5-on-5 traditional Survivor Series tag team match as a member of Team Del Rio against Team Mysterio. McIntyre would be the final man remaining on his team before he was eliminated by Big Show. McIntyre would participate in the 40 man Royal Rumble match on 30 January, but would be eliminated by Big Show.

In early 2011, McIntyre was part of a brief storyline with Kelly Kelly. Though Kelly was a popular character, McIntyre tried to woo her despite his villainous behavior. She refused to date him, due to his anger problems which were shown during his matches against Trent Barreta. In February, He participated in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship but was eliminated by Kane. After being continually spurned by Kelly, McIntyre teamed with Vickie Guerrero in a losing effort against Kelly and Edge on the 22 February episode of *SmackDown*.

On 26 April, Drew McIntyre was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 supplemental draft and made his debut for the brand in a losing effort to Kofi Kingston. McIntyre featured very rarely on *Raw* and was confined to dark matches and *Superstars*, he last appeared on the Smackdown brand in a Blindfold Match against Santino Marella, which he lost.

On the 15 December episode of *Superstars*, McIntyre finally won a match by defeating Justin Gabriel which earned him a contract with *SmackDown*. He switched to the SmackDown brand on 30 December and resumed his tense relationship with General Manager Theodore Long. Long put pressure on McIntyre to win matches to justify his contract and McIntyre subsequently began an eight match losing streak going into the new year, after the last of which, Long fired McIntyre within the storyline. A week later, McIntyre was reinstated by guest general manager John Laurinaitis, where he finally ended his losing streak by defeating Hornswoggle. He was subsequently included on Laurinaitis' team in the 12-man Tag Team match at WrestleMania XXVIII, helping to earn Laurinaitis control of both the Raw and SmackDown brands. During the match, Drew McIntyre injured his shoulder. He returned on the 10 May episode of *Superstars* defeating Ezekiel Jackson. Since returning his fortunes had relatively stayed the same. He continued to lose most matches and was confined to Superstars and house shows. However, he was able to make several appearances on *Raw* and *SmackDown*, but most of them were squash matches against the likes of Brodus Clay.

When WWE shifted NXT from a reality show-type incarnation to that of a full fledged developmental program, McIntyre was inserted into the Gold Rush Tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Champion, where he lost to Seth Rollins in the quarter-finals on the 1 August episode of *NXT*. McIntyre also participated in a number one contender fatal four-way elimination match on the 7 November episode of *NXT*, but was eliminated by Bo Dallas.

On the 21 September episode of *SmackDown*, McIntyre and Jinder Mahal interfered in a match between Heath Slater and Brodus Clay by attacking Clay, aligning themselves with Slater. The trio became known as the Three Man Band, or 3MB for short. Due to a wrist injury, McIntyre managed Slater and Mahal in tag matches. McIntyre returned to the ring from injury on the 7 December episode of *SmackDown* when 3MB defeated the team of The Usos and Brodus Clay. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, after being guests on *Miz TV* and harassing the Spanish announce team, 3MB challenged The Miz and Alberto Del Rio to find a partner for a six-man tag team match for later that night. Miz would announce their partner to be the Brooklyn Brawler, and would go on to defeat 3MB. The next night on *Raw*, 3MB were defeated by The Miz and Del Rio again, this time with Tommy Dreamer as their partner. On the 31 December episode of *Raw*, McIntyre and Slater challenged Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. McIntyre and Slater also competed in the first round of the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament to crown the inaugural champions, but were defeated by Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey on the 23 January episode of *NXT*.

At the 2013 Royal Rumble, McIntyre competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match where he was eliminated by Chris Jericho. On the 12 April episode of *SmackDown*, in an attempt to make a name for themselves, 3MB tried to attack Triple H, but were attacked themselves by The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns). On the 15 April episode of *Raw*, 3MB called out The Shield, only for Brock Lesnar to come out instead and attack the group. On the 29 April episode of *Raw*, 3MB attacked The Shield, but The Shield would quickly turn the tables on them. This resulted in Team Hell No chasing away The Shield, before attacking 3MB themselves. Beginning in late 2013, 3MB began adopting new ring names against their opponents, although their misfortunes and amounting losses remained the same. At WrestleMania XXX, McIntyre competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but was eliminated by Mark Henry. 3MB then formed an alliance with Hornswoggle to feud with Los Matadores and El Torito. On 12 June 2014, WWE announced that McIntyre was released from his WWE contract.

On 1 April 2017, McIntyre was shown on-screen sitting in the front row at NXT TakeOver: Orlando. It was later confirmed that he had re-signed with WWE and would perform in NXT. On the 12 April episode of NXT, McIntyre made his NXT re-debut as a face - with new entrance music - where he defeated Oney Lorcan. On the 19 July edition of NXT, McIntyre defeated Killian Dain to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship, earning the right to challenge Bobby Roode at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, McIntyre defeated Roode to win the NXT Championship, making him the first superstar to have previously been on the main roster to win the championship and the first Scotsman to do so. Following the match, McIntyre was attacked by Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and the debuting Adam Cole. On 5 October, he had his first title defense against Roderick Strong in a winning effort. Over the next few weeks, McIntyre began a feud with Andrade "Cien" Almas that led to GM William Regal scheduling a championship match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. The night before NXT TakeOver: WarGames, McIntyre successfully defended his championship against Adam Cole with Shawn Michaels as the guest referee at a live event in San Antonio, Texas, continuing their feud. The title defense would eventually air on the WWE Network on 3 January 2018. On 18 November, McIntyre lost the NXT Championship to Almas at NXT Takeover: WarGames, marking his first loss in NXT. After the match, it was revealed that McIntyre suffered a torn bicep towards the end of the match.

On 16 April during the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up, McIntyre made his return from injury on *Raw*, attacking Titus Worldwide (Titus O'Neil and Apollo Crews) and allying himself with Dolph Ziggler, thus turning heel in the process for the first time since 2014. The following week, McIntyre and Ziggler defeated Titus Worldwide. Over the following weeks, the team of McIntyre and Ziggler would go on to defeat the likes of Rhyno and Heath Slater, Finn Balor and Braun Strowman, and Fandango and Tyler Breeze.

On the 18 June episode of *Raw*, McIntyre assisted Ziggler in winning the Intercontinental Championship from Seth Rollins. The following week on *Raw*, Rollins defeated Ziggler by disqualification in a rematch for the championship following interference from McIntyre, allowing Ziggler to retain the title. After the match, Roman Reigns came out to help Rollins fend off Ziggler and McIntyre. With Rollins set to challenge Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules in an Iron Man match, McIntyre faced Rollins on the 9 July episode of *Raw* to determine whether or not he'd be allowed at ringside, where McIntyre was victorious. At the event, the match went into sudden death overtime, and McIntyre distracted Rollins, allowing Ziggler to retain.

On the 27 August episode of *Raw*, McIntyre and Ziggler competed against Reigns and Braun Strowman in a tag team match, during which Strowman turned on Reigns and joined McIntyre and Ziggler in attacking him and The Shield (Dean Ambrose and Rollins) when they came to help Reigns. On the 3 September episode of *Raw*, McIntyre and Ziggler attacked The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) backstage before their scheduled Raw Tag Team Championship match against The B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) and replaced them in the match to defeat The B-Team to win the Raw Tag Team Championship, beginning their first reign together and McIntyre's second reign individually. McIntyre and Ziggler successfully defended the titles against Rollins and Ambrose at Hell in a Cell. McIntyre, Ziggler and Strowman then faced The Shield in a six-man tag team match at WWE Super Show-Down in a losing effort. On the 23 October episode of *Raw*, McIntyre and Ziggler lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to Ambrose and Rollins when Strowman attacked McIntyre. On the 5 November episode of *Raw*, McIntyre defeated Raw General Manager Kurt Angle by making him submit to his own ankle lock submission hold. Later that night, McIntyre also attacked Finn Bálor after seemingly coming to his aid against Bobby Lashley. At Survivor Series, McIntyre participated in the traditional 5-on-5 tag team elimination match against Team SmackDown, where he, Lashley, and Strowman were the sole survivors for Team Raw.

The night after on *Raw*, McIntyre teamed with Lashley and Baron Corbin in a match against Strowman, Bálor and Elias that ended after McIntyre attacked Strowman with a chair. The trio continued their alliance the following week with McIntyre and Lashley defeating Bálor and Elias in their respective matches. On the 3 December episode of *Raw*, McIntyre ended his partnership with Ziggler after attacking Ziggler, saying that he was only using him to make a statement, and Ziggler fulfilled his role to bring McIntyre back to the top, causing Ziggler to interrupt, and ultimately assault McIntyre, leading to a impromptu match between the two, in which Ziggler defeated McIntyre following Bálor's interference, thus giving McIntyre his first pinfall loss since his return to the main roster. The next week he won the rematch. At TLC, Bálor defeated McIntyre following Ziggler's interference.

On the 24 December episode of *Raw*, McIntyre announced his intention to enter the 2019 Royal Rumble match. McIntyre defeated Ziggler in a cage match on the December 31 episode of *Raw*. On the 14 January 2019 episode of *Raw*, McIntyre failed to win a fatal 4-way match also involving John Cena, Baron Corbin and Finn Bálor to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship, after Cena was pinned by Bálor. McIntyre failed to win the Royal Rumble match at the namesake event on 27 January, after being eliminated by Ziggler.

Leading up to the Fastlane pay-per-view, McIntyre re-entered his feud with The Shield. After defeating Ambrose on back to back episodes of *Raw*, Roman Reigns would make his return from illness to reform the group. At Fastlane, McIntyre, Corbin and Lashley lost to The Shield. The next night on *Raw*, McIntyre viciously assaulted Roman Reigns before his scheduled match up with Baron Corbin. This lead to a falls count anywhere match with Dean Ambrose later that night, which McIntyre won. On the 18 March episode of *Raw*, McIntyre challenged Reigns to a singles match at WrestleMania before defeating Seth Rollins in the main event. The next week on 25 March, Reigns accepted McIntyre's challenge before the two began brawling. McIntyre eventually got the upper hand and laid Reigns out with the Claymore Kick. Later that night, McIntyre defeated Dean Ambrose in a last man standing match. At WrestleMania 35, McIntyre faced off against Reigns in a losing effort. Three weeks later, McIntyre interrupted Reigns and demanded a WrestleMania rematch, which Reigns accepted. Reigns defeated McIntyre by disqualification. After WrestleMania, McIntyre allied himself with Shane McMahon, becoming his enforcer. At Super Showdown, Shane defeated Reigns thanks to a Claymore from McIntyre while the referee was incapacitated. Afterwards, another match between Reigns and McIntyre was scheduled for Stomping Grounds where Reigns defeated McIntyre despite interfernce from McMahon. McIntyre and Shane lost to Reigns and The Undertaker in a No Holds Barred tag team match at Extreme Rules.

After Shane McMahon was fired from *SmackDown* in October, McIntyre returned from inactivity and was drafted to *Raw* as part of the 2019 WWE Draft. On the October 21 edition of *Raw*, Ric Flair added McIntyre as the final member of Team Flair for Crown Jewel and McIntyre would defeat Ricochet in a singles match. At Crown Jewel, Team Flair would be defeated by Team Hogan. Going into 2020, McIntyre slowly turned into a fan favorite by engaging in interaction with the crowd and leading chants in his own support. Throughout the weeks heading into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, McIntyre would embark on a winning streak, while vowing to win the namesake match and receive his first world championship opportunity.

On 26 January at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, McIntyre won the Royal Rumble match, by lastly eliminating Roman Reigns. McIntyre also notably eliminated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, after Lesnar had eliminated thirteen entrants. The following night on *Raw*, McIntyre announced that he chose to challenge Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36. After defeating Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a 2-on-1 handicap open challenge the next night on *Raw*, McIntyre was attacked by Lesnar. At the main event of WrestleMania 36, McIntyre would defeat Lesnar to capture his first world championship in WWE and become the first-ever British-born world champion in WWE history, as well as WWE's thirty-first Triple Crown Champion. The following night on *Raw* (which was taped as a dark match immediately following McIntyre's victory over Lesnar at WrestleMania), McIntyre made his first successful title defense, where he defeated Big Show after the latter abruptly challenged him to a title match. McIntyre then moved onto a feud with Seth Rollins, leading to a championship match between the two at Money in the Bank in May, which McIntyre won. On the May 18 episode of *Raw*, McIntyre started a feud with Bobby Lashley, after he and MVP observed McIntyre's match from the stage. At Backlash, McIntyre successfully defended the title against Lashley. At The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, he retained the championship against his former tag team partner Dolph Ziggler.

In the next following weeks, McIntyre was scheduled to defend his WWE Championship against Randy Orton at SummerSlam. During the event, Mcintyre successfully defended his WWE Championship after pinning Orton with a backslide. The following night on *Raw*, he was injured in kayfabe upon suffering three punts to the head by Orton over the course of the evening. Two weeks later, he returned the favor, by putting Randy Orton through three *Claymore Kicks*, the first during Orton's promo, the second during his match against Keith Lee, and the third one backstage, setting up an ambulance match between the two at Clash of Champions. During the event, McIntyre retained the title against Orton with the help of Big Show, Christian, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. The following night on *Raw*, McIntyre issued an open challenge for the WWE Championship, which was answered by a returning Robert Roode, who McIntyre defeated. On the October 9 episode of *SmackDown*, McIntyre was the number one draft pick and was drafted to remain on the *Raw* brand during the 2020 WWE Draft. At the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 25, McIntyre was defeated by Orton in a Hell in a Cell match for the championship, ending his reign at a recognized 203 days.

On the November 16 episode of *Raw*, McIntyre regained the WWE Championship after defeating Randy Orton in a no disqualification match, taking Orton's place to face the Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Survivor Series in an interbrand champion versus champion match, which he would go on to lose. McIntyre successfully defended the title against AJ Styles and The Miz, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a triple threat TLC match. On the January 4, 2021 episode of *Raw*, after successfully defending the WWE Championship against Keith Lee, McIntyre was confronted by the returning Bill Goldberg, who challenged McIntyre to a championship match at the Royal Rumble, which McIntyre accepted the following week. At the event, McIntyre defeated Goldberg to retain. On the February 1 episode of *Raw*, during a promo about his match at Royal Rumble, he was interrupted by men's Royal Rumble winner Edge and his friend Sheamus. Sheamus, however, turned on McIntyre after Sheamus attacked him with a *Brogue Kick*. McIntyre then declared that Sheamus could challenge him anytime for his WWE Championship. On the February 8 episode of *Raw*, he was announced for an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship alongside Randy Orton, Sheamus, Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles and The Miz at the Elimination Chamber event. Later that night, he wrestled at a non-title match against Randy Orton. He lost the match by disqualification after Sheamus interfered and inadvertently attacked Orton with a *Brogue Kick*. Afterwards, McIntyre executed a *Claymore* on Sheamus. At Elimination Chamber, McIntyre defended the WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber match. After entering third, he would go on to win the match after countering a *Phenomenal Forearm* by AJ Styles into a mid-air *Claymore*. After the match, Bobby Lashley struck McIntyre with a spear. The Miz would then come out and cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, and hit the *Skull-Crushing Finale* to pin McIntyre and win the WWE Championship.

At WrestleMania 37, McIntyre challenged Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship, where he was unsuccessful. At WrestleMania Backlash, McIntyre also challenged Lashley in a triple threat match for the title also involving Braun Strowman, but was unsuccessful once again. On the May 31 episode of *Raw*, McIntyre would tease a slow heel turn when he started teasing Kofi Kingston about not beating Brock Lesnar, something that he had done at WrestleMania 36, but still kept his face gimmick after he showed respect to Kingston by shaking hands with him after winning a match between the two to earn a WWE Championship match at Hell in a Cell against Bobby Lashley, with the stipulation being he could no longer challenge for the championship if he lost the match, and until Lashley lost the title. At Hell in a Cell, McIntyre failed once again to defeat Lashley for the title after interference from MVP.

Shortly after this, McIntyre would be unsuccessful in qualifying for Money in the Bank ladder match after losing to Riddle on the June 21 episode of *Raw,* but on the June 28 episode of *Raw*, would win a last chance qualifying match by defeating Riddle and AJ Styles to enter the match. At the event, McIntyre would fail to win the briefcase after being attacked by Jinder Mahal, Veer, and Shanky. During this feud, he named his Claymore sword "Angela" (named after his late mother). It would be announced via WWE's social media, that McIntyre would face Mahal at SummerSlam. On the August 16 episode of *Raw*, McIntyre would defeat Veer and Shanky in order to ban them from ringside at SummerSlam. At the event, McIntyre would defeat Mahal. On the *Raw* after SummerSlam, he would defeat Bobby Lashley and Sheamus in a tag team match alongside Damian Priest. A week later, McIntyre would step up to Priest and challenge him for the United States Championship; a match was set later on that night with McIntyre facing both Priest and Sheamus in a triple threat match for the title, with McIntyre ultimately losing to Priest. McIntyre then lost to Sheamus in a match for a United States Championship opportunity at Extreme Rules. On the September 27 episode of *Raw*, he confronted WWE Champion Big E after his successful title defense against Bobby Lashley.

As a part of the 2021 Draft, McIntyre was drafted to the *SmackDown* brand. At Crown Jewel, McIntyre faced Big E for the WWE Championship, but failed to win the title. On the October 22 episode of *SmackDown*, McIntyre issued an open challenge; Sami Zayn came out and accepted, whom Drew defeated. The following week, McIntyre issued another open challenge; Mustafa Ali came out and accepted this challenge, whom Drew also defeated. At Survivor Series, McIntyre was the captain of Team *SmackDown*, but would be eliminated via count out, and his team lost the match to Team *Raw*, with Seth Rollins being the sole survivor. On the December 3 episode of *SmackDown*, McIntyre started feuding with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss. On the December 17 episode of *SmackDown*, it was announced that he would face Moss at Day 1. At Day 1, McIntyre defeated Moss. McIntyre then participated in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake event, but was last eliminated by the eventual winner Brock Lesnar. At Elimination Chamber, McIntyre would defeat Moss again in a Falls Count Anywhere match; during the match, he performed an inverted *Alabama Slam*, which resulted in Moss landing directly on top of his head, but he was able to continue the match. On night one of WrestleMania 38, McIntyre defeated Corbin and became the first person to kick out of his finisher, the *End of Days*. At WrestleMania Backlash, McIntyre teamed with RK-Bro in a losing effort to Roman Reigns and The Usos. On July 4, McIntyre would compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match, where the match was won by Theory.

On the July 8 episode of *SmackDown*, McIntyre was scheduled to face Sheamus to determine the number one contender for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle. As Sheamus feigned illness, the match did not occur. The match was later rescheduled for the July 29 episode as a "Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook" match, which McIntyre won. At SummerSlam the following night, Roman Reigns retained the undisputed title, thus confirming that Reigns would be the defending champion against McIntyre at Clash at the Castle. At Clash at the Castle, McIntyre failed to win the titles from Reigns after interference from the debuting Solo Sikoa. At Extreme Rules on October 8, McIntyre lost to Karrion Kross in a strap match after interference from Scarlett. At Crown Jewel on November 5, McIntyre defeated Kross in a steel cage match by escaping the cage, ending their feud. Three weeks later at Survivor Series WarGames on November 26, McIntyre teamed up with the The Brawling Brutes and Kevin Owens in a WarGames match against The Bloodline in a losing effort. At the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2023, McIntyre entered the Royal Rumble match at number nine, but was eliminated by Gunther. On the second night of WrestleMania 39 on April 2, McIntyre challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship in a triple threat match also involving Sheamus, which he lost.

As part of the 2023 Draft, McIntyre was drafted to the *Raw* brand. After three months out of action, McIntyre made his return at Money in the Bank, confronting Gunther following the latter's title defense over Matt Riddle. On the July 24 episode of *Raw*, McIntyre challenged Gunther to a match at SummerSlam for the Intercontinental Championship, which Gunther accepted. At the event, McIntyre failed to win the title. Over the next month, McIntyre would begin teaming with Matt Riddle. The team faced the New Day on the August 21 episode of *Raw*, which they won, but were attacked afterwards by the Viking Raiders. After Matt Riddle was released from WWE on September 22, McIntyre returned to singles action and would slowly transition into a tweener, showing a more aggressive attitude. On the October 9 episode of *Raw*, he challenged Seth "Freakin" Rollins to a match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Crown Jewel, which Rollins accepted. At the event on November 4, McIntyre failed to win the title from Rollins. On the November 13 episode of *Raw,* McIntyre helped The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) retain the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso after attacking Uso with a *Claymore,* then shook hands with Judgment Day member Rhea Ripley after the match, fully turning heel for the first time since January 2020. The following week, McIntyre said he accepted Ripley's offer to team up with The Judgment Day (Bálor, Priest, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh) in a WarGames match at Survivor Series: WarGames for the opportunity to hurt Uso. Later that night, McIntyre defeated Uso to win the WarGames advantage. At the event, McIntyre along with The Judgment Day faced Rhodes, Rollins, Uso, Sami Zayn and a returning Randy Orton in a losing effort. On the December 11 episode of *Raw*, it announced that McIntyre would have a World Heavyweight Championship rematch against Rollins on the January 1, 2024 episode of *Raw*, which he would go on to lose.