Before the Coronavirus pandemic took ahold of the world, WWE had some exciting plans for UK fans. Multiple sources tell Inside the Ropes that WWE wanted Drew McIntyre vs Tyson Fury for the WWE Title to headline a UK pay-per-view this year.
While we don’t know if this was a brand new PPV or if the UK would have taken over another, we do know that WWE talked to both men about the idea.
Of course, McIntyre and Fury have continued their feud through this year and keep talking about each other on social media with the view to reigniting the idea where possible.
The British government had originally intended that fans could attend sports events in arenas and stadiums in October, but with Covid-19 cases accelerating once more, that idea has been put on the backburner.
Sources say WWE was keen to capitalise on McIntyre becoming the first-ever British world champion in the company and the hunger of the UK fanbase for a big-time pay-per-view.
There’s no doubt that Drew McIntyre has arrived as a true main eventer during his time as WWE Champion – he’s consistently knocked his pay-per-view matches out of the park and WWE feel pitting him against a boxing star with a mainstream appeal like Tyson Fury will elevate him even further.
McIntyre has even been quoted as noting WWE nearly pulled the trigger on something special in the UK earlier this year.
“This situation has affected a lot of plans, let’s just say things were looking positive and when things are looking a little bit more normal, I’ll be pushing once again because, we’re on the right path and it’s not a case of if it will happen, it’s when it will happen,” McIntyre told talkSPORT. “We’ve just got to roll with the punches right now and eventually we will get that UK PPV we deserve.”
Fury has a trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder to worry about and the hope is we will see that before the end of 2020.
After that, he’s got two dates tentatively locked with Anthony Joshua, providing he comes through his defence against Kubrat Pulev on December 12.
However, Tyson Fury showed with his previous WWE appearance in between a brutal cut against Otto Wallin and decimating Wilder in February that he can make the schedule work.