WWE Gives an Injury Update on Drew McIntyre After Getting Punted Three Times

Drew McIntyre had a rough night on this week's Monday Night Raw. The reigning WWE Champion opened the show by bragging about his victory over Randy Orton at SummerSlam, leading to Orton attacking him from behind as he celebrated on the entrance ramp. "The Viper" nailed him with back-to-back Punt Kicks, which left McIntyre in a dazed state. The champ tried to get some revenge later on by attacking Orton during his match with a debuting Keith Lee, only for Orton to hit a third punt during a backstage interview. That last kick had McIntyre placed in an ambulance and taken to a local hospital.

Later that night WWE.com gave a status update on McIntyre, stating, "As reported by Charly Caruso on Raw, medical staff were fearful of a skull fracture and potential brain bleeding to Drew McIntyre after Randy Orton delivered three vicious kicks to the skull to the WWE Champion earlier in the night. The medical officials did also express concern the injuries could potentially be career-threatening. McIntyre was eventually loaded into an ambulance and transported to a local medical facility for further testing."

WWE has already announced Orton will face Lee at Sunday's Payback pay-per-view, so it's possible McIntyre will miss the event completely. By all indications, his injury is purely part of a storyline

On Monday McIntyre spoke with ComicBook.com about how he felt his first championship match with Orton lived up to expectations.

"There was a big buzz around the whole situation and I personally felt like, 'If I'm able to win this one, it really cements me as the top of the card, especially beating Randy Orton at the level he's at right now.' And with all the buzz around it, I feel like we probably didn't have to do too much it'd still feel like a big deal, just because of the build and the nature of the situation," McIntyre said.

"But we went all out in there," he continued. "There was no holding back. This is a different Randy Orton, he's going to go all out the promos, he's going all out in the ring. Randy Orton has never been thrown around like that very many times, but he's not brought that kind of physicality too many times, I think, either. He busted me open all over the place, he busted himself open, headbutted me, we're both bleeding, we're both sore. But I think it delivered not just the match quality wise, that people really enjoyed and were proud of, but the story is the biggest thing. As far as he's concerned, as far as I'm concerned, it's about that story, and I'm really proud of the story we told, even if we beat the crap out of each other."