10 Random Acts Of Wrestling Violence You Totally Forgot About

7. Welcoming Back 'The Chosen One'

Drew McIntyre
WWE

Drew McIntyre's return to NXT (and, by proxy WWE) over WrestleMania weekend in 2017 was seen as a personal and professional success story for the 'Scottish Psychopath' having failed to live up to the billing Vince McMahon gave him during his original run.

Labelled the 'Chosen One' in a debut that damned him to an entire tenure in which he couldn't meet expectations, McIntyre the man and character had little-to-no-agency in his position to try and earn the reputation that had been thrust upon him.

A moribund midcarder-for-life career seemed to beckon until he made the most of a 2014 release with an independent reinvention that brought him all the way back via the black-and-gold brand.

His debut against Oney Lorcan could well have just been a formative squash, but the entire match was instead a bar fight transplanted onto the WWE Network with the clear intent of reimagining the FCW milquetoast man as a grizzled hybrid wrestler. From a presentation standpoint, it was perfect, but it's placement on the Network-only NXT rendered it something of an all-time hidden gem.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett