According to Sean Ross Sapp on the Fightful podcast, there will be a gimmick match at WrestleMania 41. It will either be a Ladder Match or a Street Fight-type of stipulation.
There’s a lot of speculation going on that WWE might add a gimmick stipulation to the planned Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest match at WrestleMania 41, especially after Priest chokeslammed McIntyre on a car’s windshield on SmackDown.
Drew tweeted the following later:
“That was real glass…
It got in my eye.”
PWInsider reported the following about this incident:
“After speaking with additional WWE sources upon their return to the United States, we are told that while McIntyre did receive treatment to have something cleared from his eye after the angle at the scene, we were told today that it was determined that what was removed was not glass. We are also told McIntyre was checked out by WWE medical before leaving SmackDown.”
McIntyre recently addressed the vocal criticism surrounding his ongoing rivalry with Priest, a storyline that many fans feel lacks the necessary spark for a WrestleMania-caliber build. The crux of the issue lies in Priest’s repeated eliminations of McIntyre, first in the Royal Rumble and then again in the Elimination Chamber, fueling a narrative some perceive as repetitive.
However, McIntyre, in an interview with The Daily Star, is adamant that there’s more to the story than meets the eye, and he’s urging fans to give the feud a chance to develop. “I appreciated when the fans reaction was, oh my goodness, it’s Priest and Drew, there’s nothing there. I’m like bloody hell, give us a chance to tell the story,” McIntyre stated, acknowledging the initial skepticism.
He further elaborated on the underlying narrative, tracing its roots back to last year’s WrestleMania. “The thing with Priest has been going on since last year’s WrestleMania when he cashed-in on me after Punk assaulted me,” McIntyre explained, highlighting the long-standing animosity between the two. He paints Priest as an opportunist, a character who thrives by capitalizing on McIntyre’s misfortunes.
“He doesn’t know how to succeed unless it is at my expense. Elimination Chamber I claymore Cena. Instead of going ‘I’ll let Drew pin Cena first’, he eliminates me. It’s the only way he knows how to succeed because he is a vulture. A parasite. A big emo vulture.”
McIntyre’s frustration is palpable, and he sees the current feud as a culmination of Priest’s persistent interference. “Finally, he’s got my attention because they’ve got nothing else,” he asserted, suggesting that Priest’s actions have finally pushed him to his breaking point.
“I stomped him in his big stupid head last week and if he wants to keep coming back for more, if it goes all the way to Mania, it’s a year in the making story and he deserves the biggest stage of all to get his stupid looking arse kicked.”
While WWE has yet to officially confirm the match for WrestleMania 41, McIntyre’s passionate defense of the storyline indicates a strong belief in its potential. McIntyre’s message is clear: give them time, and they’ll deliver a story worthy of the grandest stage.
