Drew McIntyre has named Roman Reigns as the defining unfinished challenge of his WWE career.
During an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, McIntyre reflected on the opponents and rivalries that have meant the most to him over more than two decades in professional wrestling. He pointed to his long relationship with Sheamus, now known as S. Farrelly, and also cited Seth Rollins as a major rival. But when the conversation turned to the one opponent who remains especially significant, McIntyre did not hesitate to identify Reigns.
“Roman, my kryptonite,” McIntyre said on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. “Still haven't defeated him to this day. Need to get him before it's all said and done. Him and his stupid family.”
The remark captures a central thread in McIntyre’s WWE story: no matter how much he has accomplished, Roman Reigns remains an opponent he has not been able to conquer in a one-on-one match. McIntyre has been a WWE Champion, has headlined major events, and has stood across the ring from some of the most prominent names of his generation. Yet Reigns is still the rival tied to a personal statistical frustration that McIntyre plainly wants to erase.
For more background on this topic, read Monica Monroe Reveals AJ Styles Personally Invited Her to WWE Tryout.
Five singles meetings, no McIntyre victory
McIntyre and Reigns have wrestled each other in five singles matches during their careers. McIntyre’s comments underline that he has not won any of them. That record adds significant weight to a rivalry that has often been connected to championship stakes, Bloodline interference, and McIntyre’s repeated pursuit of a defining moment against the former Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Their most recent singles bout came at Clash at the Castle 2022 in Wales, where Reigns defended the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against McIntyre. The setting was uniquely favorable to McIntyre. He entered the stadium before a massive crowd in the United Kingdom, with the atmosphere making the match feel like a potential home-region coronation for “The Scottish Psychopath.”
Instead, Reigns left with the championship. The Bloodline’s presence has loomed over much of Reigns’ title run, and McIntyre has regularly connected his missed opportunities to Reigns and the family surrounding him. The frustration in his newest comments was not just directed at Reigns individually. It also extended to the wider group McIntyre believes repeatedly stood between him and the result he wanted.
That is why the wording matters. McIntyre did not describe Reigns merely as a difficult opponent or one of many former rivals. Calling him “my kryptonite” suggests a far more specific obstacle: the man who has consistently found a way to beat him, even when McIntyre appeared to have the momentum, crowd support, or championship opportunity necessary to change the outcome.
A rivalry shaped by the Bloodline
The Reigns-McIntyre issue has never existed in a vacuum. Reigns’ run at the top of WWE was closely tied to the Bloodline, and McIntyre has been vocal about the role he believes Reigns’ relatives and allies played in altering major matches. For McIntyre, a future win over Reigns would not simply be another victory over an established star. It would represent a chance to finally break through a wall that has been reinforced by the Bloodline dynamic.
McIntyre’s line about Reigns’ “stupid family” also reflects how personal the rivalry has become from his perspective. He is not discussing a distant contest from early in his career or a one-off match with no lasting consequence. He is speaking about an opponent whose success has been intertwined with the very faction that McIntyre has blamed for changing the direction of his own championship pursuits.
There is also a clear difference between McIntyre’s history with Reigns and his other named rivals. His bond with S. Farrelly reaches back more than 20 years and includes battles around the world. McIntyre and Rollins have likewise shared high-profile WWE conflicts. Those are important chapters in his career, but neither carries the same unresolved singles-match record that follows McIntyre in his dealings with Reigns.
In the case of CM Punk, McIntyre has been involved in a rivalry that has felt unusually intense and personal. Even outside that feud, however, McIntyre still views Reigns as the opponent he must defeat before his career is over. It is a revealing distinction. The feud with Punk may carry its own emotional edge, while Reigns represents the competitive target McIntyre feels he has been unable to reach.
WarGames result adds another layer
McIntyre and Reigns have not only crossed paths in singles competition. In 2025, they stood on opposing sides in a WarGames match. McIntyre was part of the heel team that defeated Reigns, The Usos, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk.
That result gave McIntyre a victory in a match involving Reigns, but it did not settle the point he raised in his interview. A WarGames win is not the same as defeating Reigns one-on-one, and McIntyre made clear that the singles victory is the one he still needs. Team success can provide momentum and create new rivalries, but it cannot change the five-match head-to-head record McIntyre referenced.
That distinction could be important if WWE again places McIntyre and Reigns in the same story. McIntyre can point to being on the winning side against Reigns in WarGames, while Reigns can point to his unbeaten singles record against McIntyre. Both facts can be true, and together they give the rivalry a straightforward foundation for another major confrontation.
For McIntyre, the ideal scenario is easy to understand. He does not merely want to oppose Reigns in a multi-person match or gain a measure of revenge through an allied victory. He wants a singles meeting in which Reigns has nowhere to turn, the Bloodline cannot decide the outcome, and the record can finally be changed.
Reigns enters WarGames season as World Heavyweight Champion
Reigns is heading into this year’s WarGames match as World Heavyweight Champion. He appears set to align with the Bloodline rather than defend the championship at the event, with the group seemingly preparing to face the 946.
That development keeps Reigns’ attention focused on faction warfare, but it also reinforces the very issue McIntyre raised. Reigns remains connected to the Bloodline environment that McIntyre has long viewed as a source of interference and obstruction. If McIntyre’s eventual objective is to beat Reigns in a singles match free of that influence, any continuing Bloodline conflict may become part of the path toward making that bout happen.
Reigns holding the World Heavyweight Championship also raises the stakes of any potential rematch. McIntyre’s history with Reigns already includes a title match at Clash at the Castle. If they meet again while Reigns is champion, McIntyre would have the opportunity to pursue two goals at once: winning a championship and earning the first singles victory over the man he calls his kryptonite.
There is no announced singles match between McIntyre and Reigns. McIntyre’s comments are instead a statement of intent, one rooted in a record that has remained unchanged despite their history. Still, WWE has a ready-made story whenever both men are positioned for another collision: McIntyre has beaten champions, won major matches, and prevailed in WarGames, but he has never beaten Roman Reigns by himself.
McIntyre has been teasing a return
McIntyre has been absent from WWE while handling Hollywood obligations. He was last seen at WrestleMania 42 in April, though he has teased a WWE return in several interviews.
His absence has not softened the sense of unfinished business in his comments. If anything, time away has allowed McIntyre to speak more directly about the opponents he believes still matter most. Reigns is at the top of that list, and McIntyre’s framing leaves little ambiguity about what he wants from a future encounter.
The timing of McIntyre’s return remains unclear, as does whether Reigns will be waiting for him immediately. Reigns’ apparent WarGames plans and his status as World Heavyweight Champion create several possible directions, while McIntyre’s own return could place him into a variety of high-level programs. But McIntyre has now publicly identified a destination that stands apart from all others.
He wants Roman Reigns.
For McIntyre, the appeal is not only about revisiting an old rivalry. It is about completing something that remains incomplete. He has battled Reigns five times in singles action and come up short each time. He has watched the Bloodline affect the landscape around Reigns. He has already been part of a WarGames team that beat Reigns’ side, yet he still does not consider the issue resolved.
That is the essence of McIntyre’s challenge. Until he defeats Reigns in a singles match, the World Heavyweight Champion will remain the one opponent McIntyre believes has consistently had his number. Whether that opportunity arrives soon after McIntyre’s return or further down the road, “The Scottish Psychopath” has made the priority clear: before it is all said and done, he intends to get Reigns.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.