Drew McIntyre takes on Sheamus in a watch-worthy ‘Donnybrook’ Match, Smackdown July 29th
Opening up the July 29th edition of Smackdown, Drew McIntyre’s proven himself too much for Sheamus in a ‘Donnybrook’ match. Despite interference from The Brawling Brutes, Drew overcame the odds and earned a Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns at Clash at the Castle. Clash at the Castle will be held at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on Saturday, September 3rd, 2022.
Right from the start, Sheamus interrupts Drew’s entrance. As they fight down the ramp, they tease a spot with a stack of barrels, just one of the random prop weapons scattered around the ring for the “Good Old Fashioned ‘Donnybrook’ Match.”
There was a momentary shillelagh tease before the match kicked to ten. The two European wrestlers gave it their all after Sheamus hit a pitch-perfect clothesline to the outside. Sheamus put up a Chekhov’s table: unimportant now, but it will be later.
Drew’s chest soaked up twenty shillelagh-aided smacks to the chest. The Celtic Warrior went to put McIntyre through the aforementioned table, but the heart of Drew proved too much. With a second wind, he took control.
Until after commercial break, of course. The camera resumes with Drew in a shillelagh-submission in the center of the ring, and despite his attempts to overpower his foe, Sheamus has control.
It doesn’t last for long. McIntyre drives Sheamus into the corner. Sheamus’s head would have been driven into a chair wedged between the turnbuckle pads, but it fell out of the ring on its own (whoops). Drew went wild with a kip-up and a half-dozen steel chairs, but Sheamus baseball-pitched one of those chairs at his face. Drew stumbled down, and Sheamus went for his White Noise Fireman’s Carry Drop. He dangerously hovered Drew over the stack of chairs…
McIntyre kicked out and face planted Sheamus into the heap of steel with a Future Shock DDT. He pinned his opponent. Sheamus kicked out at two. This would be just one of the exciting nearfalls this match would bring.
But uh oh, Ridge Holland with a shillelagh against McIntyre’s back. Ridge rolls out, The Celtic Warrior hits his Brogue Kick. One. Two. Kickout. Ridge rolls Drew out to throw him through the table from Act 1! But Drew counters, launches him into the turnbuckle post, and then hits him with a Belly-to-Belly suplex, sending Holland through the table!
Another commercial break, and Sheamus sweeps the advantage out from under Drew once again. This time, Butch dove off a barrel into Drew to stop his momentum from building anymore. That wasn’t all Butch would be used for, because Sheamus had his henchman bust out the big shillelagh. He swung at McIntyre, but a Glasgow Kiss Headbutt dazed Sheamus enough for Drew to snatch the weapon. He whacked Butch in the gut, then Sheamus. Drew went to Claymore Kick someone and ended up hitting Butch. Right after, Sheamus rocked Drew with the Brogue Kick.
One. Two. Kickout. The camera zooms in on Sheamus’s face of disbelief. There’s a red mark of war on his shoulder. He stiffens up and does the only thing he thinks he can: another Brogue Kick. As he does, Drew ducks under and grabs him in a powerbomb, throwing him through the conveniently placed table in the corner.
Sheamus has the heart to kickout, but not much else. He crawls over to his shillelagh, heaving as he clutches onto it. As tight as he holds onto it, it’s not enough to secure the win, as Drew just runs and hits him with a Claymore Kick.
After the match, Drew gives credits to the crowd, tells Sheamus it didn’t have to be that way, and then the youngest Mr. Money in the Bank, Theory clocked Drew in the back with the briefcase. He attacked McIntyre unprovoked, then stood tall with the Money in the Bank briefcase in hand.
