Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre set for next week’s WWE SmackDown

A match that will determine Gunther’s WrestleMania 39 opponent will take place on next week’s SmackDown.

Drew McIntyre and Sheamus will meet to determine the number one contender for the Intercontinental championship. That was intended to be determined on Friday’s show. However, two different referees ended up covering pins for both McIntyre and Sheamus during the five-way match that opened SmackDown on Friday. McIntyre and Shemaus argued about the result after the match. Later, after Gunther complained about the result, Adam Pearce made the match between the two winners for next week.

Sheamus and McIntyre first came to odds on last week’s SmackDown, when Sheamus confronted McIntyre after he announced that he was issuing a challenge to Gunther. Sheamus was upset that McIntyre didn’t consult him first before making the challenge. Eventually LA Knight, Kofi Kingston, and Karrion Kross came out, setting up the five-way for this week’s show.

Kingston, who was injured during a brawl in that segment, did not wrestle on Friday’s show. Xavier Woods ended up taking his place.