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Drew McIntyre Beats Randy Orton, Retains WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2020
August 24, 2020
Drew McIntyre defeated Randy Orton at SummerSlam on Sunday to retain the WWE Championship in his biggest defense yet.
At the end of a hard-fought contest in which both men were bloodied, The Viper ducked out of the way of the Claymore Kick and looked to hit an RKO. However, the Scot countered into a backslide for the win.
Orton has been wreaking havoc on Raw in recent months, and when he made it clear that he intended to take his path of destruction toward McIntyre and the WWE title, the champion didn't back down and immediately accepted his challenge for SummerSlam.
The Viper taunted McIntyre over the fact that he previously got fired from WWE and admitted that while he himself should have gotten fired multiple times for his past actions, it never happened because of his value to the company.
McIntyre cut a passionate promo about bouncing back from the low point of his career and eventually winning the WWE Championship. He also made it clear that he didn't intend to drop it to Orton.
It can be argued that Orton was on the most impressive roll of his career entering SummerSlam in terms of his match quality, promos and the compelling nature of his feuds.
His rivalry with Edge got the wheels turning, as they competed in great matches against each other at both WrestleMania 36 and Backlash. They also cut remarkable promos on a weekly basis and did a masterful job of weaving their past into the present.
Orton put The Rated-R Superstar on the shelf at Backlash and then proceeded to embrace the Legend Killer gimmick that first helped him rise to prominence in WWE. After punting Edge at Backlash, he punted the likes of Christian and Big Show on Raw.
He even stooped so low so as to punt WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair despite the fact that the 71-year-old was his biggest supporter and had been in his corner for several weeks.
Orton called The Nature Boy a liability for forcing him into a match with Kevin Owens on Raw and accused him of wanting the spotlight. He called Flair a junkie for the rush of being in the WWE ring just as he had said to Edge previously and then put him on the shelf with a punt.
An infuriated McIntyre chased Orton off after the heinous act and seemed to have even more resolve in terms of wanting to teach him a lesson at SummerSlam.
The Scottish Superstar did precisely that by retaining the WWE Championship in what was arguably the biggest match of his career aside from his clash with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 in April.
Although Orton fell short and didn't become a world champion for the 14th time in his career, he is still a top threat on Raw, and it is likely only a matter of time before he captures championship gold again.
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