WWE almost made another significant change to last week’s SmackDown Fatal 5 Way to determine the WrestleMania 39 opponent for WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER.
A new report from PWInsider notes that Drew McIntyre was “extremely ill” all last week, and wasn’t actually cleared to compete until after he arrived at the arena and was examined by doctors.
McIntyre, who worked all the weekend live events, has received a lot of respect for how hard he’s worked for the company, even when under the weather or working banged up over the last year. He is very much a locker room leader in that regard these days.
WWE was planning to make another substitution to the Fatal 5 Way if McIntyre was not cleared, but there’s no word on who his replacement would’ve been. As noted, the injured Kofi Kingston was replaced by Xavier Woods. The match also featured McIntyre, Sheamus, LA Knight, and Karrion Kross.
The finish to last week’s Fatal 5 Way saw Sheamus and McIntyre get the pin at the same time. They will now do battle on this week’s SmackDown to determine GUNTHER’s challenger for WrestleMania. A Triple Threat with Sheamus, McIntyre and GUNTHER has been rumored for several weeks.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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