Reigning champion Big E set for crunching WWE Crown Jewel showdown against Drew McIntyre

Big E has accepted Drew McIntyre's challenge for the WWE Championship. The fight is set to take place at WWE Crown Jewel which will be held on October 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Big E and McIntyre came face to face last week on Raw and Big E accepted the Scotsman's challenge for the title. Big E defeated Bobby Lashly to retain his WWE Championship in a steel cage match on Monday Night Raw successfully. However, Big E had to survive two matches to leave the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, as the champion. While Big E had all the reasons to celebrate after defending his title, there was a surprise in store for him after the main event.

Tag Team win and Big E accepts the challenge

As Big E was celebrating his win, Drew McIntyre made a surprise appearance as the champion stood in disbelief. McIntyre appeared on the entranceway with his sword, Angela which he pointed at Big E. A few words were exchanged between the two of them and then Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler interrupted them with Ziggler saying that he wanted a thank you from both of them, pointing out how he helped both Big E and McIntyre throughout their careers. McIntyre and Big E refused, leading to a tag team match. Big E and McIntyre defeated Roode and Ziggler and then Big E accepted McIntyre's challenge. Big E told McIntyre, "You want this so bad? Crown Jewel. You and me. It's on. I'll see you there."

WWE Raw: Bobby Lashley vs Big E (Steel Cage Match)

Bobby Lashley dominated the proceedings as he sent the champion into the steel ring steps before sending him face-first into the steel wall of the cage but, Big E fought back after taking a lot of blows and looked to retain the title by getting over the top and exiting the cage but his attempt failed as he was blocked by Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin who knocked him back to the mat. Meanwhile, Bobby Lashley hoped to escape the cage from the door after the ringside referee had opened it but, Xavier Woods came from nowhere and slammed the door on Lashley's face. Kofi Kingston also made his presence felt as he and Woods gained the upper hand over Cedric and Benjamin once again.

With the cage opened for Big E, the champion tried to escape for a victory before being stopped by his challenger. The two were then involved in an aggressive fistfight by exchanging hard blows but, in the end, it was Big E who had the last laugh as he delivered a super Big Ending from the second rope to pick up the win via a pinfall and thereby, prolonged his title reign.

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