Jacob Fatu defeated Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 42, marking a significant turn in their rivalry. McIntyre, who lost the WWE Championship before the event, is now focused on his feud with Fatu.
Key points
Jacob Fatu defeated Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 42
Drew McIntyre lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes
Randy Orton won the Elimination Chamber match
Fatu and McIntyre are now in a singles feud
Neither wrestler will challenge for the championship at WrestleMania
Drew McIntyreJacob FatuCody RhodesRandy Orton
SmackDown
Drew McIntyre lost the WWE Championship prior to WrestleMania. (Credit: Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE via Getty Images
WWE looked to be building toward DrewMcIntyre and Fatu challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42. Instead, the two stars spun off into a singles feud of their own.
After McIntyre lost the WWE title back to Rhodes and Randy Orton won the Elimination Chamber match, it became clear that neither âThe Scottish Psychopathâ nor âThe Samoan Werewolfâ were going to get a shot at championship gold inside Allegiant Stadium.
Instead, the two bitter rivals, was once reportedly set to face off in a Hell in a Cell match, went to war in an Unsanctioned Match at WrestleMania 42 instead.
WWE WrestleMania 42 Results For Drew McIntyre Vs. Jacob Fatu
Fatu didnât leave WrestleMania 42 with the WWE Championship, but he did pick up the biggest win of his young career.
In an all-out war with McIntyre, Fatu emerged with a career-defining win after hitting McIntyre with his second Mighty Moonsault. The finish came after a chaos-filled match that included broken tables, chair shots, belts and even a toolbox.
Here are the biggest moments and key highlights from Fatuâs victory over McIntyre at WrestleMania:
Fatu immediately attacked McIntyre to start the match and tossed him into the crowd. He then took out a bunch of weapons from under the ring, but it backfired and McIntyre took him down with a big clothesline. McIntyreâs brother was sitting ringside, and the Scottish star took his phone to send out a mid-match tweet.
Q&A
What were the results of WrestleMania 42?
Jacob Fatu defeated Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 42, highlighting their ongoing feud.
Why did Drew McIntyre lose the WWE Championship?
Drew McIntyre lost the WWE Championship back to Cody Rhodes prior to WrestleMania 42.
What is the significance of Fatu's victory over McIntyre?
Fatu's victory over McIntyre marks a pivotal moment in their rivalry, shifting focus away from the WWE Championship.
Who won the Elimination Chamber match before WrestleMania 42?
Randy Orton won the Elimination Chamber match leading up to WrestleMania 42.
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That allowed Fatu to regain control as he nailed 10 headbutts in the corner followed by a corner splash and pop-up Samoan Drop. McIntyre hit Fatu with a nasty Glasgow Kiss, and then, Fatu missed a corner splash, sending him face-first into the ring post.
McIntyre took out Fatu with a flipping dive over the top rope onto the outside. He went for the Claymore Kick, but Fatu ducked and avoided it. Fatu then sent McIntyre skull-first into a chair setup in the corner before nailing McIntyre with the Mighty Moonsault. Fatu was surprisingly able to kick out at two.
McIntyre blasted Fatu in the knee with a wrench and then dug it into his skull. McIntyre suplexed Fatu into two chairs set up in the ring but got just a two-count. He took the belt off the referee, but Fatu surprised him with a big superkick.
Fatu hit McIntyre with two chair shots and then whipped him repeatedly with the belt. He went to hit McIntyre with the tool box, but McIntyre hit a Claymore Kick out of nowhere. That was good for a very close two-count. The two stars exchanged strikes, and Fatu eventually won that battle with a rapid series of headbutts.
McIntyre threw a chair at Fatu while Fatu was on the top rope and then pushed him off the top, sending Fatu crashing through a table on the outside. Back in the ring, McIntyre ate a pair of superkicks from Fatu, who blasted McIntyre with the toolbox and then hit a Mighty Moonsault on McIntyre through the table. That was enough for the 1-2-3 and the victory.
WWE WrestleMania 42 Results: Whatâs Next For Drew McIntyre And Jacob Fatu?
Going into WWE WrestleMania 42, the widespread expectation was that McIntyre would put over Fatu, whoâs on his way up in WWE.
Whereâs McIntyre going? Well, heâs been going down for much of the past year, even despite a WWE title win. But itâs hard to blame WWE for booking Fatu to win at WWE WrestleMania. Itâs, after all, pro wrestling booking 101 to have a more established star lose to a younger one, and thatâs exactly what happened at WrestleMania 42.
McIntyreâs loss couldnât come at a worse time, though. McIntyre had a long-running feud with Rhodes that nearly buried his character completely. In fact, if it wasnât for Rhodes and McIntyre pushing WWE officials to have Rhodes drop the WWE title to McIntyre, his character would be completely dead in the water.
While it hasnât gotten quite that bad for McIntyre, a lengthy post-WrestleMania absence could do him some good. McIntyreâs character hasnât been helped by his booking in recent months, and despite consistently stellar performances, he badly needs a refresh, perhaps coupled with a move to Raw.
McIntyreâs loss, however, was obviously Fatuâs gain.
Fatu was red hot last year until a couple of lengthy TV absences completely halted his momentum. While Fatu is still one of WWE SmackDownâs top stars, he needs something to get him over the hump and solidify himself as an upper echelon star in the company.
Fatuâs WWE WrestleMania 42 win over McIntyre was a great start, but WWE needs to keep that momentum going heading into the summer. If Randy Orton does indeed defeat Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship on Saturday, Fatu would be a great candidate to ultimately dethrone Orton down the road.
But for now, WWE simply must capitalize on Fatuâs momentum and keep him going strong in the weeks ahead. The fans love him, and he just picked up a massive win at WrestleMania 42. WWE canât drop the ball by cooling him off.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com