It took Drew McIntyre 19 years to become WWE Champion, but he quickly learned that the hard work begins after you’ve climbed the mountaintop. He learned it immediately, in fact. We found out on Raw that McIntyre was provoked into a match by Big Show just minutes after pinning Brock Lesnar to win the title at WrestleMania, and the footage aired on Raw as McIntyre’s first defense.

Big Show’s rationale for confronting McIntyre was to make the champion show he had what it truly takes to win the title and he certainly had his fun with the wounded titleholder, but the answer turned out to be a resounding “yes.” McIntyre roared back from his deficit to down The World’s Largest Athlete with a Claymore and retain the championship. Props to Show for knowing when to pick the right moment, but McIntyre clearly wasn’t about to be written off as a fluke. After years of being called “the future,” there’s no way he’s about to let the moment pass, and he knows what he’ll have to do to keep it.

Newly crowned WWE Champion Drew McIntyre thanks Paul Heyman for urging Brock to F5 him at WrestleMania, which only fueled his anger and will to win. Catch WWE action on WWE Network, FOX, USA Network, Sony India and more.