There's a story that circulated at WrestleTalk that suggests Drew McIntyre's status as a long term main eventer in WWE is pretty much set in stone.
The story is that McIntyre has really impressed...well, everybody from Vince McMahon, Paul Heyman, Triple H, the rest of the WWE locker room, etc.. Allegedly, so many people are so high on him, especially Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman, that they can see building the entire future roster around him. Since Roman Reigns is going to be off TV for the foreseeable future, and there's no return date in mind, the report states that WWE intends to ultimately make McIntyre their #1 guy.
If true then, all in all, I can't say I blame them. I like how they've been using McIntyre in the post WrestleMania season as they've booked him to look like a big star. He consistently comes off each match and segment like someone that WWE is firmly behind and isn't going to be heading back down the roster once his current run as WWE Champion is finished. My only real complaint, though it's relatively minor when you take everything else into account, is that they try to portray him as some sort of witty guy along the same vein we saw with john Cena and, to a lesser degree, Roman Reigns. To me, McIntyre is at his best when he's an intense tough guy just looking to kick ass, take names and defend his championship. Still, nothing they've done with him has been bad so far, so I'm really hoping that his rumored feud with Jinder Mahal turns out to be just that: a rumor.
Whenever Roman Reigns does make his return, I very much prefer McIntyre in the top spot over him. Why? Well, in my opinion, he's just overall a higher caliber wrestler than Reigns. He can do anything Reigns can do, he can also do a lot of things Reigns probably can't do and he seems much, much, much more comfortable not only in his own skin but on the mic than Roman Reigns ever has. Don't get me wrong, not trying to hate on Reigns or anything but I'm also going to retroactively declare him great just because he survived cancer.