Drew McIntyre Returns To Save Former WWE Champion On SmackDown

The final "WWE SmackDown" of 2022 was eventful to say the least, as fans in Tampa Bay, Florida were witness to Charlotte Flair's victorious WWE return, Uncle Howdy getting physical in a wrestling ring, and John Cena maintaining his streak of wrestling a match every year for 20 years. Amid all the excitement and drama, another veteran superstar — Drew McIntyre — returned to WWE programming for the first time since the December 2 episode of the blue brand.

Following Solo Sikoa's win over Sheamus, the youngest Uso wrapped a steel chair around The Celtic Warrior's neck, and it appeared Sheamus was about to suffer the same fate as Elias and Matt Riddle — two stars who were recently put out of commission by Sikoa. However, McIntyre ran down to the ring and took out The Bloodline, rescuing Sheamus from Sikoa's vicious running hip attack. 

Later in the night, after "SmackDown" went off the air, McIntyre and The Brawling Brutes rescued Cena from a post-match beatdown at the hands of The Bloodline. According to local advertising, McIntyre, The Brawling Brutes and Cena were slated to wrestle The Bloodline in a 10-man tag match. 

McIntyre was last seen on WWE programming in the WarGames Match at Survivor Series, after which he and Sheamus were slated to challenge The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles on "SmackDown." On December 6, however, McIntyre deemed himself "medically disqualified" to compete in the title bout, but did not specify the nature of his medical issue. Subsequently, PWInsider reported that McIntyre was out of action due to "a legitimate medical DQ and not an angle."

With the Royal Rumble less than a month away, it remains to be seen if McIntyre will be in the annual battle royal. As of this writing, only Kofi Kingston has declared his entry in the match. McIntyre prevailed in the 2020 Royal Rumble match and captured his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36.