Drew McIntyre’s Status for 2/7 WWE SmackDown After Royal Rumble Blowup

Drew McIntyre looks to be making his WWE TV return tonight on SmackDown after a dramatic fallout from the Royal Rumble.

The former WWE Champion was noticeably absent from Raw on Monday, and his status for SmackDown remained unclear all week.

According to PWInsider.com, McIntyre’s Royal Rumble exit didn’t go as planned, leading to some serious behind-the-scenes frustration. Reports surfaced that he was unhappy with another wrestler prioritizing their own moves over the match’s storytelling, which threw off the timing of his elimination. The original plan was for McIntyre to be tossed out before Logan Paul entered the match, following a face-off with Damian Priest to set up their WrestleMania feud.

That didn’t happen. Instead, due to the timing mishap, McIntyre was eliminated later than expected, and sources now claim that LA Knight was the wrestler who threw things off.

Despite the backstage tension, WWE and McIntyre have remained in communication since his dramatic Royal Rumble exit, and his move to SmackDown is expected to become official soon—possibly as early as tonight’s show.

Will McIntyre’s frustrations boil over when he steps back onto SmackDown, or is he ready to focus on the road to WrestleMania? Drop your thoughts in the comments!