Drew McIntyre will reportedly be pushed back into the WWE main event scene before long.
The 36-year-old is scheduled to face Madcap Moss at the Feb. 19 Elimination Chamber 2022 pay-per-view in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. McIntyre has been feuding with Moss and Happy Corbin for a couple of months now, but when it's finished, a marquee opponent is reportedly in store for the former WWE Champion.
McIntyre missed most of January recovering from a legitimate neck injury. He was attacked backstage by Corbin and Moss following his win over the latter at WWE Day 1 on Jan. 1 and kept off of television before returning during the 30-man Royal Rumble match.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Ringside News), Dave Meltzer reported that McIntyre is "being groomed for" a feud with Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Meltzer stated that this program is "down the line", adding that WWE will be protecting The Tribal Chief's upcoming opponents.
On top of that, Meltzer noted that McIntyre is still rehabbing and not fully recovered, so he won't be working WWE house shows for the time being. Meltzer speculates that McIntyre will face Corbin at WrestleMania 38 (Apr. 2-3 weekend in Arlington, Texas).
Reigns will defend his Universal Championship against Hall of Famer Goldberg at Elimination Chamber. Men's Royal Rumble winner Brock Lesnar announced on last week's episode of WWE Raw that he'll challenge Reigns for the Universal title at WrestleMania 38. As such, a potential Reigns-McIntyre feud theoretically won't take place until some point after WrestleMania.
McIntyre and Reigns last met one-on-one in the Survivor Series 2020 pay-per-view, a champion vs. champion match. Reigns outlasted McIntyre to win the main event.
McIntyre vs. Reigns Again Is Long Overdue
The Reigns-Lesnar program has been going on since the end of SummerSlam 2021, which happened more than five months ago. Following WrestleMania, it'll be time for WWE to place both stars in different programs. McIntyre is a well-established babyface, and he flourished as the WWE Champion in his two reigns. He's an ideal opponent for Reigns, and WWE shouldn't hesitate to run this program after WrestleMania.