The Resurrection Of Drew McIntyre

At the 2020 Royal Rumble, Drew McIntyre outlasted 29 other men to win the Rumble match and earn a ticket to a world championship match at WrestleMania 36.

A few years ago, this would have been a laughable reality.

In late 2007, McIntyre was introduced to the WWE universe along with his mentor, Dave Taylor. It was only a cup of coffee for McIntyre, but fans saw a glimpse of his bright future. Drew moved to FCW for some seasoning in early 2008 and showed a lot of improvement working the WWE type of work, despite the fact McIntyre has been a professional wrestler since 15 years old. He won the FCW Championship during that stint. In August 2009, McIntyre re-debuted in WWE and shortly after, Vince McMahon proclaimed him as "The Chosen One" and a future "world champion". Yes, Vince McMahon himself, hyped Drew McIntyre as a "world champion". Already, pressure was placed on him. Over the next couple years, McIntyre won a Tag Team Championship and an Intercontinental Championship, so the company was invested in his potential and he had a killer entrance song that many fans remember. (Broken Dreams by Shaman's Harvest). Around 2011, something just didn't seem to click with McIntyre and management. The wrestling fans liked his work in the ring and his mic skills were ok, but something was missing for him. That "something" held him back from being in the main event picture and subsequently, led him to be in 3MB.

Ok, 3MB was a comedy, jobber team and the three men that were in it didn't deserve to be in this situation. Heath Slater is never going to be in a main event player, yet he didn't deserve this. Jinder Mahal was a mid-carder stuck in neutral throughout his career and this, honesty, was a shining moment for him.....then he won the WWE Championship and everyone hated it. For McIntyre, this was a painful demotion in all the sense of the word. He would job to Hornswaggle and ironically, suffered an F-5 from Brock Lesnar during a segment. That's right, the same Brock Lesnar he would face at WrestleMania 36 for the WWE Championship. At times, you felt bad for him. McIntyre was released by WWE in 2014. (Side note: Mahal was also released) It had ended. The hype machine of Drew McIntyre became the biggest disappointment in recent memory. Drew would have to go back to the drawing board and tour the indies to get back to relevancy.

Then it happened.

That "something" McIntyre was missing in WWE was found. He looked focused and more built for a chance to be a main-eventer. His noticeable stint was in Impact Wrestling, where he won the Grand Championship and the Impact World Championship under his real name, Drew Galloway. Everyone was taking notice.......especially WWE. The company signed him and he was placed in the NXT brand. Many believed Drew didn't belong in NXT due to his track record in WWE, but I thought it was a good strategy considering he was in the middle of a "resurrection" project. The fans responded by showing him the recognition that he longed for. He would win the NXT Title during this tenure. Drew McIntyre was called up to the main roster in 2018......and placed in a tag team with Dolph Ziggler. UGH! Towards the end of the year, he was in a faction with Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley. It was happening again. The company was shortchanging a talent that was close to becoming "the chosen one." At WrestleMania 35, he would face Roman Reigns in an okay match, despite my pleas saying that he deserves to be a main-eventer. He would suffer an injury and missed a chunk of 2019. He returned and on his lonesome, the man turned face and the fans, once again, got behind him.

His Royal Rumble victory showed the company had faith in him becoming the top star. And as of this writing, Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36. The prophecy has come true.

Drew McIntyre has become "The Chosen One"

(References: Wikipedia, WWE.com, SB Nation)

(Image by talksport.com)

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