WWE Champion Drew McIntyre reportedly has no idea how he got COVID-19.
As noted, WWE announced on Monday that McIntyre had entered quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus. He appeared for pre-recorded video segments on RAW, but was not there live. McIntyre told fans to take the virus seriously, but noted that he had not had any symptoms, and would be back soon.
In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that McIntyre was experiencing minimal symptoms before testing positive, but has no idea how he got the virus because he very rarely leaves the house these days, unless it’s for work.
McIntyre had just tested negative a few days earlier, following the previous week’s RAW taping. That led to the belief that McIntyre was not infected on January 4 for the Legends Night edition of RAW, where he wrestled Keith Lee in the main event and interacted with WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart, among others.
McIntyre was one of a minimum of four wrestlers within WWE that are either suffering from COVID-19 now, or have just gotten over it. One SmackDown Superstar, who had a TV role but not a major one, had to be pulled from the January 8 episode after testing positive on January 7. Another significant talent was out of action “for a while” but has since returned. A fourth talent was a WWE NXT Superstar who has missed a few weeks of TV.
The Observer also reported how WWE had a rule that the brands were to be kept separate, especially NXT from RAW and SmackDown. While exceptions were made in certain cases, such as Akira Tozawa working RAW and SmackDown one week or Lucha House Party working RAW and NXT as of late, the company has softened on the rule for whatever reason. This rule is part of what led to RAW Underground being nixed a few months back, but not the only reason.
McIntyre is expected to be back in action for his title defense against WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 31.
Stay tuned for more.
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