6 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE's Road To WrestleMania 36

2. That Braveheart-Inspired Vignette

Drew McIntyre
BT Sport

Since the Rumble, Drew has gone from strength-to-strength.

In a special clip aired on BT Sport, McIntyre was presented as a William Wallace-style warrior who braved the harsh conditions of the Scottish highlands to prepare for war with Brock Lesnar. It was short, but oh was it ever sweet. This, this is something WWE need to do a lot more of.

The Braveheart-inspired vignette was over-the-top, and yet it was one thousand times more potent than any number of lifeless backstage interviews, duelling in-ring promos or any other of WWE's go-to booking tropes. McIntyre came across like a movie star hero fans could believe in, and the skit did what any good one should: WWE enhanced Drew's aura.

Remember how good this was the next time you see someone interrupt an authority figure mid-phone call, see a wrestler awkwardly watch television backstage or two workers struggle with stilted dialogue in unrealistic conversations.

This was world class wrestling storytelling. OTT and unapologetically so.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.