Power Ranking Drew McIntyre's Matches from Every WWE PPV in 2020

While 2020 has been a tough year for many, one man has made the most of a unique opportunity. Drew McIntyre has had the greatest 12 months of his career, winning two WWE Championships and holding the title for the majority of the past year.

No one has had a year like The Scottish Warrior. At the start of 2020, he was considered a solid performer just waiting for his shot. But he has become one of the biggest wrestlers in WWE, rivaling even the standing of Roman Reigns.

His work on pay-per-views in particular has been spectacular. He had some of the best matches of the year, even without a crowd, against some of the best in the business. His work with Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Lashley and others are some of the best matches those wrestlers have had.

The Scot may be the wrestler of the year (certainly for WWE) and looking back at his matches gives a strong perspective of why he had such a special run.

From his win in the 2020 men's Royal Rumble match to his TLC fight with AJ Styles on Sunday, this is a full power ranking of McIntyre's PPV matches in 2020.

10. Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania 36

WrestleMania 36 was more of a moment than a match. In less than five minutes, McIntyre overwhelmed Brock Lesnar, taking his best shots and kicking out at one. It was a star-making moment from the opening bell to the close.

WWE was just beginning to figure out how to stage wrestling events without a crowd, but this was rushed like most modern matches involving The Beast Incarnate. However, he gave everything to McIntyre and let him stand tall as a new franchise star.

Since The Beast returned to action in 2012, he has been dominant. He ended The Undertaker's WrestleMania Streak and held the Universal Championship three times for 686 days.

This set him up to finally put over one star as the future of WWE. It looked like it would be Roman Reigns, and Lesnar did eventually lose to The Big Dog. However, the true star who shined by dominating The Beast was McIntyre.

This may not be a great match, but it was an unforgettable moment. The Scot became a star overnight.

9. Randy Orton, Clash of Champions

The feud between McIntyre and Randy Orton turned into the defining rivalry of the Scot's 2020 run. The Viper helped build him up in a way no one else could.

However, that didn't mean they always had great matches. Their Clash of Champions contest in September was as much a long segment as a match. The Ambulance match led to a brawl throughout the arena that included many of The Viper's legendary victims.

Big Show, Christian, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair all appeared in this contest to help the WWE champion. While their appearances were important to the story, it made McIntyre look worse as he struggled to win with all the help.

When this was about just The Viper and The Scottish Warrior, it was a solid fight, but leaving the ring took away from what the two men do well together.

The overall presentation was memorable, but this would be the match to skip when reviewing their feud.

8. Randy Orton, Hell in a Cell

Once more, this McIntyre vs. Randy Orton contest is low on our list, mostly because the two men had better matches than these two stipulation-focused clashes. The problem here was just how slow the fight was over 30 minutes.

The Scot walked into this match focused and angry, and he delivered on that emotion; The Viper had a plan, and he executed it. He managed to get the WWE champion on top of the cage before knocking him off the side.

The problem was that the tactic made this match last forever. The two men climbed up the cage, brawled on top of it, then awkwardly set up for a dramatic fall through the announce table. This single spot added 10 minutes to the match.

These complaints come out of a largely good contest. Orton and McIntyre went off from the opening bell. They used weapons and their fast-paced offense to brutalize one another. Once again, the Scot looked truly unstoppable until Orton had to throw him off the Cell.

The two men went all-out and had obvious chemistry, but the pacing was an unavoidable problem based on the way they wanted to use the cage.

It also ended in disappointing fashion with McIntyre's dominant title reign curtailed earlier than necessary.

7. Bobby Lashley, Backlash

McIntyre and Bobby Lashley have similar stories in WWE. They were built as the future of the company before their runs came crashing down to Earth to the point that they both left the promotion.

They then dominated outside of WWE and came back with a new aura of expectation.

This made this clash of titans so compelling, and they fought each other with everything in their arsenal. It was a true war of heavyweights with both just needing one move to win. The All Mighty needed the Hurt Lock, while McIntyre had to land the Claymore.

The two traded some physical shots and showed how much they were feeling each hit. In particular, the Scot put over Lashley in a big way. He made it look like The All Mighty might be the one man who had his number.

The only real flaw in this battle of big men was the ending. Lana's appearance distracted Lashley out of sheer foolishness and did not help this story in any way. McIntyre won by taking advantage of the romantic melodrama, and there was no follow-up.

This didn't work because of the ending, but it did work as a physical war between two of the best big men in the business.

6. Men's Royal Rumble Match

Credit: WWE.com

The Royal Rumble matches have been known to create and solidify stars, but they haven't always succeeded in that in recent years.

However, the 2020 men's match delivered in a way that elevated McIntyre beyond all measure.

Brock Lesnar dominated the early Rumble by eliminating the first 13 competitors, but then The Scottish Warrior arrived. He went after The Beast without fear and eliminated him thanks to a Claymore.

That alone could have been enough to make it clear McIntyre was on the rise, but WWE put all its chips on the table and let him win the match. It was the moment when everyone knew the Scot had arrived.

While the early pacing hurt the match more than it helped, the overall story and the emotional return of Edge turned this into the perfect way to make McIntyre. The future WWE champion will forever be one of the best Rumble winners in history.

He ran through the field and looked poised to be a force for years to come. His resilience was on display even here, though no one knew how dominant he would become through the rest of 2020.

5. Dolph Ziggler, The Horror Show at Extreme Rules

McIntyre was never going to lose to Dolph Ziggler. That was so obvious that it was incorporated into the story. Everyone but The Showoff knew the WWE champ was better, but the challenger refused to give in.

Instead, WWE found a way to give The Showoff an edge with a uniquely one-sided stipulation. This match at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules might not last long in the minds of fans, but it will stand as one of the most creative booking decisions in 2020.

Ziggler announced just before the bell that they would fight in a one-sided Extreme Rules match in which only The Showoff could use weapons. This is a better setup than the more commonplace stipulation where the champion can lose the title by disqualification and count-out.

The two men displayed chemistry to spare and nailed this performance from start to finish. Ziggler continually challenged McIntyre, but the WWE champion refused to stay down, selling just how resilient he can be.

The Scot can take a beating and keep swinging. He fought through a barrage and smiled. By the end, it was clearer than ever before that he was wrestling on a higher level than his peers.

4. AJ Styles and The Miz, TLC

McIntyre's TLC match with AJ Styles at the same-titled PPV was always expected to be really good, but this was also filled with unexpected twists and turns.

In particular, the surprise addition of The Miz mid-match made this all the better. It took this brutal war where The Scottish Warrior survived The Phenomenal One's best strategy and added a chaotic final act where anything could happen.

After everything that McIntyre had done as champion throughout this year, this was the exclamation point. He managed to defeat a fresh Miz and a devious Styles with the helpful assist from John Morrison, who led Omos away from the action.

While lacking the emotion of McIntyre's true 2020 classics, this contest was smart and action-packed. Everyone involved, including the giant Omos, brought their all to this moment.

It was a fresh showing that proved McIntyre could open a show as well as close it. 

3. Roman Reigns, Survivor Series

Last-minute booking aside, McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns was a dream match in the best year of both mens' careers. While they had previously fought at WrestleMania, they were changed men in November and better for the time apart.

Survivor Series was supposed to be the "Best of the Best" in clashes between the Raw and SmackDown brands, and this match especially delivered on that. From the limited build, it was clear the Scot would need to earn the respect of The Tribal Chief.

While Reigns might never admit it, he clearly ended the match with respect for the WWE champion. Despite the universal titleholder hitting his best offense against the Scot, McIntyre always kicked out. His resilience became so infuriating that Reigns needed Jey Uso to help him by turning the tide.

This was a battle of titans in the current industry. Everyone expected greatness, and the champions did not disappoint.

The only real difference between this match and much of the rest of this list was the stakes. Nothing was on the line. McIntyre and Reigns just wanted to be the best, and that question was never really answered.

2. Randy Orton, SummerSlam

While McIntyre vs. Orton produced several fine but overlong stipulation matches, they truly showed their chemistry in a straight-up one-on-one title match in August.

SummerSlam was the night when WWE shocked the world by allowing these two to simply put on a great wrestling match.

The Viper was coming off the "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" but when he stepped into the ring with The Scottish Warrior, he faced the reality that his bluster was just overconfidence.

Both men wrestled with everything they had, and the WWE ThunderDome atmosphere allowed fans to actively react to the action in a way the last few months had lacked. It was pure technical wrestling without unnecessary flash.

There were no near-falls and neither man hit his signature finisher. Instead, they got close and countered, pushing back and forth. In the end, the WWE champion outwrestled The Viper.

A backslide in a match this intense might have felt odd on the surface, but it shined in retrospect. This set the story for the whole feud in which Orton needed weapons to overcome the power and resilience of McIntyre.

The two men crafted a compelling story in this first outing that lasted all the way to their final clash on Raw, whichwas the only contest that could compete with this 2020 WWE classic.

1. Seth Rollins, Money in the Bank

While McIntyre had set the stage with his impressive victory over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36, the performance left the question of whether he could truly compete at a main event level.

Seth Rollins helped put all those concerns to rest.

The Monday Night Messiah felt entitled to the WWE Championship while the Scot was taking nothing for granted with his WrestleMania victory. It was a true test for the new champion, and Rollins pushed him to the limit.

This was non-stop action from the start and built on an intense story where McIntyre earned the respect of The Messiah. He survived The Stomp, rebounded off a superkick into the Claymore and established an unforgettable title defense.

No WWE title match since has lived up to this one, as McIntyre worked at a higher level than ever before. The shock of realizing just how good he is can never be duplicated. Everyone can now see he is a defining talent for this generation.

The WWE Championship is made to be defended in battles like this. In the wake of a pandemic and leaving crowds out of the action, this match stood out as the physical contest that was needed to remind everyone wrestling could continue.

This match should be in contention for match of the year, and even if it doesn't win, it will stand as the moment when McIntyre became the face of Raw.