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.
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.
MORE FROM FORBESWWE WrestleMania 42 Preview And Predictions For SaturdayBy Blake Oestriecher
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:
Jacob Fatu defeated Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 42, highlighting their ongoing feud.
Drew McIntyre lost the WWE Championship back to Cody Rhodes prior to WrestleMania 42.
Fatu's victory over McIntyre marks a pivotal moment in their rivalry, shifting focus away from the WWE Championship.
Randy Orton won the Elimination Chamber match leading up to WrestleMania 42.
Jamal Murray scored 30 points and set a franchise record by making all 16 free throw attempts in the Nuggets' 116-105 win over the Timberwolves in Game 1 of the playoffs. The victory gives Denver a 1-0 lead in the series.
Tobias Myers will start for the Mets against the Cubs, taking over for David Peterson.
Nuggets rally despite early struggles against Timberwolves in playoff opener.
WrestleMania 42 Night One highlights: Rhodes retains, Lynch wins!
Idaho QB Joshua Wood Thrives with Parental Support
Maxwell Woods impresses in WSU's second spring scrimmage, showcasing his skills.
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
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