3 Ups & 5 Downs From NXT 403
2. Drew McIntyre
NXT's in-ring quality has occasionally reached the very highest levels, but the same has rarely been true of its athletes' promo work. It's telling that it took a veteran like McIntyre, who has been through the WWE wringer once already, to deliver a really good segment on the mic.
McIntyre has needed an insight into his character and motivations and he delivered it here. It was an honest promo acknowledging his failings on the main roster, attributing them to complacency he has since left behind, delivered with crowd-pleasing confidence.
He sold NXT as a place where everyone on the roster works together to help one another to excel, and by stating Bobby Roode stands apart from that, he also gave his conflict with Roode some motivation beyond just a tussle over the belt.
McIntyre's story of a man who fell short once, and now has a chance to do things right, is a really good one, and this promo started realising its potential.