10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE's Drew McIntyre

Back in 2014, Drew McIntyre was released from WWE as something of an afterthought. Despite having the look and build of a main event star, as well as genuine in-ring talent and a brooding charisma, he'd slid further into sports entertainment oblivion, after a hot start five years earlier. Going from being "The Chosen One" per the story, to being one-third of a punchline stable that gasped for airtime, is quite a mighty fall.  

When McIntyre got the axe, there was a little lament, but not a lot of shock. Today, it's hard to to fathom any promotion letting McIntyre slip through their fingers, as main roster Drew McIntyre carries himself on camera like a self-imposed Chosen One, a fearless warrior with no remorse and even less regret, holding his own with the best and 'beastiest' on the WWE roster.  

And with that image comes plenty of support, as fans across the globe that may have once dismissed McIntyre in his earlier decay see him as the star that he has all the tools to be. Certainly, continued greatness awaits "The Scottish Terminator".  

And with McIntyre on his way to WWE's pinnacle and that match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36, there's no better time than now to take a look at one of pro wrestling's best comeback stories over the last decade.  

Back in 2014, Drew McIntyre was released from WWE as something of an afterthought. Despite having the look and build of a main event star, as well as genuine in-ring talent and a brooding charisma, he'd slid further into sports entertainment oblivion, after a hot start five years earlier. Going from being "The Chosen One" per the story, to being one-third of a punchline stable that gasped for airtime, is quite a mighty fall.  

When McIntyre got the axe, there was a little lament, but not a lot of shock. Today, it's hard to to fathom any promotion letting McIntyre slip through their fingers, as main roster Drew McIntyre carries himself on camera like a self-imposed Chosen One, a fearless warrior with no remorse and even less regret, holding his own with the best and 'beastiest' on the WWE roster.  

And with that image comes plenty of support, as fans across the globe that may have once dismissed McIntyre in his earlier decay see him as the star that he has all the tools to be. Certainly, continued greatness awaits "The Scottish Terminator".  

And with McIntyre on his way to WWE's pinnacle and that match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36, there's no better time than now to take a look at one of pro wrestling's best comeback stories over the last decade.  

10. Official Matters

Like you and I, Drew McIntyre was big into wrestling as a child, acting out matches with his younger brother John in order to try and figure out how all of these complex manoeuvres worked.  

But wrestling was not McIntyre's only hobby, though it would be the one that he'd put his mind toward when it came to building a career. Another one of McIntyre's interests came in the form of unclassified information. As a lad, McIntyre used to a read a magazine called X-Factor, which told of conspiracy theories, ghost stories, and other macabre matters.  

When he was 10 years old, spurred by his unorthodox curiosities, McIntyre actually wrote to the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the Freedom of Information Act, and in return, was sent a file with several documents. Why? Well, McIntyre's father wanted to know the same thing, wanting to know why the FBI in the United States was sending him things in the mail. McIntyre's response to his incredulous father: "Because I asked for it, Dad."  

If one of those documents includes the recipe for how to make WWE Ice Cream Bars from home, we're hoping Drew shares it with us.  

9. CSI: Scotland

At just 15 years of age, McIntyre began training for a pro wrestling career at the school of the Frontier Wrestling Alliance.  

McIntyre recalls that his parents would take him on 12-hour road trips in order to get him to his matches, a level of support that is above and beyond what some mothers and fathers would do for their kid's dreams.  

But there was a trade-off - they would continue to aid his goal of making it in pro wrestling, as long as he made the most of his regular schooling.  

And he did - McIntyre would obtain a masters in criminology at Caledonian University in Glasgow. McIntyre would later joke in a 2010 interview with SLAM! Sports that the degree could be good at judging his peers in the WWE locker room, saying, "Some of the guys are potential serial killers," albeit with good humour, one assumes.  

8. Global Conflicts

The Hidden Gems section of WWE Network has been an absolute mind screw, even for fans that think they've seen it all. Check out the collection of rarities and oddities some time, and you'll find matches you never even knew took place, featuring stars of modern renown.

Maybe WWE could shell out some cash to a few overseas promotions, and dredge up a few classics from McIntyre's youth, with some of his future WWE contemporaries.

Between 2005 and 2007 alone, McIntyre had his own "fight forever" rivalry with fellow future WWE mauler Sheamus, mainly in promotions like Irish Whip Wrestling, as well as British Championship Wrestling and Real Quality Wrestling.

The two men warred in 2 Out Of 3 Falls matches, Lumberjack matches, and No Holds Barred battles during their lengthy feud. On one occasion in February 2007, the two were on opposite sides of an elimination match in Wiltshire, England, where one of McIntyre's partners was another future WWE star: Stu Sanders, who would go on to become Wade Barrett.

Man,  did WWE pick the right region to raid, or what?

7. Left In The Dark

Speaking of Hidden Gems, perhaps this one would be the exact opposite.

In the fall of 2007, McIntyre would wrestle his first televised match for WWE, winning a SmackDown match against fellow 22-year-old Brett Major, who would gain much more notoriety later as Zack Ryder.

McIntyre's time on the main roster at this point was exceptionally brief, but did provide the world  with one of the strangest dark matches that has ever taken place.

Two days following the 2007 Survivor Series, McIntyre teamed with veteran wrestler, agent, and trainer "Squire" Dave Taylor to take on, of all people, Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, The Nasty Boys.

Yes, at a SmackDown taping in 2007, a young "Scottish Terminator" teamed with one of the former Blue Bloods in WCW to face the Nastys. And the match *was* nasty, as both Knobbs and Sags were said to have acted unprofessionally, stiffing both opponents, and took forever getting to the ring, which almost threw off the tight taping schedule.

Sadly, no Claymores of justice were doled out on that night.

6. Too Much Focus

The Drew McIntyre we see on Raw today has a very special quality, and that is a commanding presence, oozing charisma without even having to say a word. When McIntyre makes his ring entrance, or even walks into the frame of a backstage segment, there's something about the way he carries himself that keeps you compelled to watch. And it's a far cry from the Drew McIntyre we knew on the SmackDown brand about a decade ago.

The McIntyre of the "Chosen One" period was much more stilted and awkward on the mic, coming off as just another developmental call-up that couldn't hack it with the script.

In talking with Edge and Christian on their (now deceased) Pod of Awesomeness, McIntyre revealed that back in the day, he was more focused on speaking clearly through his thick accent, and as a result of that (plus trying to deliver the lines precisely as written), he came off robotic and inauthentic.

McIntyre even refers to himself from this time by the pejorative name "Captain Wooden", at least having a sense of humour about his old struggles.

5. The NXT Step

After a two year run with IMPACT Wrestling, McIntyre was suddenly a free agent headed into the spring of 2017.

Having remodelled himself in his time away from WWE as one to watch in places like EVOLVE and PWG, an older and wiser McIntyre would have much to offer a WWE that was more than happy to bring him back in. And before long, he would be sitting front row at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, the weekend of WrestleMania 33.

According to McIntyre, it was his decision to go to NXT, as opposed to simply returning to the main roster. A former Intercontinental Champion could have bypassed the developmental group, as other returning ex-champions have done, but McIntyre felt it was necessary to have a run through Full Sail.

McIntyre noted that Triple H agreed it was best, to introduce the modern McIntyre to the savvier NXT crowd, as opposed to re-debuting him on the main roster straight away. A year after his NXT run began, heads turned when McIntyre 2.0 popped up on the Raw brand, making that chosen path a smart one.

4. It Starts With A Kick

McIntyre's moveset has included various different finishers over his career, including his Future Shock DDT, Scot Drop Reverse STO, Ego Trip modified Facebuster, among others.

Today, he's most identifiable with the Claymore, a simple charging kick to the face that sees McIntyre lay out, as though his sole were the tip of a two-handed sword hurtling toward the face of a marked man. The move is rather basic, but looks effective.

As McIntyre would reveal on a Table For 3 episode with his former 3MB teammates, that finisher that could see him win the WWE Championship at ‘Mania 36 was invented entirely by accident. McIntyre had attempted a simple running big boot back in those 3MB days, when he would wear leather pants during his matches. Because the pants were so tight, his plant leg flew up when he raised the attack foot, causing him to inadvertently lay out.

Instead of lamenting the moment as a throwaway botch, McIntyre thought the move looked cool in that form and, well, the rest is history.

3. Early Success

When McIntyre assumed the "Chosen One" moniker in 2009, it wouldn't take him long to take the fast-track up the card.

Within months of his re-emergence as the smug, privileged, and calculating brawler, McIntyre was surviving at the 2009 Survivor Series, alongside partners The Miz and Sheamus. Three weeks later, he was dropping John Morrison to capture the Intercontinental champion at TLC.

With that victory, McIntyre became the third-youngest man in WWE to win the Intercontinental belt, doing so at 24 years, six months old. Perhaps it bodes well for his chances at future WWE success that the only two men to achieve that at younger ages would go on to win multiple world titles for the promotion. Randy Orton was 23 years, 8 months old when he defeated Rob Van Dam in 2003, and Jeff Hardy was a mere 23 years, 7 months old when he defeated Triple H in 2001.

2. The Less Beaten Path

As noted before, McIntyre requested a run through NXT, as opposed to seeking passage on the main roster upon his 2017 return. Just four months after popping up at the development brand's tapings, he would defeat Bobby Roode at the third Brooklyn TakeOver, the night before SummerSlam 2017.

Although his reign was comparably short, only three months, his win would facilitate a WWE first. Drew McIntyre was the first man to have won a main roster WWE belt *prior* to later winning any championship belt down in NXT.

In addition to his reign as Intercontinental champ in 2009-10, McIntyre also briefly reigned as a Tag Team champion with Cody Rhodes later in 2010, a run that is often forgotten. A good number of ex-NXT titleholders have cashed in on their acquisition of knowledge and experience on the main roster through championship victories, but only McIntyre has done it in reverse.

1. Grand Entrance

On the night that McIntyre downed Bobby Roode in Brooklyn to capture the NXT Championship, he joined a special group of wrestlers that had previously held that belt. The likes of Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens had all held World Championships on the main roster, while Roode, Samoa Joe, and Shinsuke Nakamura had reigned atop promotions like TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling. What made McIntyre's title win all the more special is that the circumstances behind it are quite unique.

Drew McIntyre became the first NXT Champion to capture the belt in his first ever TakeOver match. McIntyre didn't wrestle on the main card of the May 2017 Chicago TakeOver, though he would defeat Wesley Blake in a dark match. That makes the Brooklyn event that August the first TakeOver in which he wrestled on the main show, and sure enough, it was on that night that he fed a Claymore to Roode in order to procure the championship. And it won't be the last big belt that Drew McIntyre ever wins.