The Forbidden Lore Of WWE's Drew McIntyre
To ultra-cult fans of a certain disposition, it was better than most everything else WWE promoted that year. It was a ridiculously hard-hitting sprint, wrestled with a deranged urgency, in which Lorcan was lucky to still have nipples after one particularly savage McIntyre chop. A great introductory match makes the winner look like the business. This was something even better. Lorcan wasn’t a small boy. The spot in which McIntyre caught his flying cross body and smashed him back-first against the apron absolutely rocked. Even better was Drew’s celebration. Taking time to put his new personality across, he relished the idea of inflicting pro wrestling violence.
Drew went through the obligatory chapter of being NXT Champion. He was then promoted to the main roster after being put on the injury list with a biceps injury. This run wasn’t amazing - very little in 2018, one of the worst years ever, was - but Drew was propelled to the WWE title picture after strange, unproductive associations with Dolph Ziggler and Shane McMahon. The late 2019 babyface turn was sudden, but it didn’t matter; Drew revealed the witty, gregarious side of his personality to win the fans over just as quickly. And, while his 3,2,1! crowd interaction ahead of the Claymore Kick was almost offensively simple, the most effective tricks in wrestling often are.
Drew’s reinvention was awesome. You could argue that WWE almost did too accurate a job of telling that story. In an attempt to solidify his bond with the audience, Drew frequently talked about how hard he had worked during his hiatus from WWE in the mid-2010s. Many weeks on Raw, Drew would talk openly about how he could only reach his level outside of the WWE system. He had to go away to get good.
This isn’t so much forbidden lore about McIntyre himself, but rather the company that utilised his services as an independent contractor. What’s strange here is that WWE said the quiet part loudly. At the exact same time as they recruited collegiate athletes with zero pro wrestling experience, they told the entire world that, to actually make it in WWE, you had to leave WWE and gain experience elsewhere. In a pandemic era of garbage monsters, ninjas, and underground fighting rings, this was amongst the most questionable things WWE did.
WWE being counterproductive to one’s career was canon. As crazy as it was for WWE to admit it, it was true. McIntyre doesn’t get over without undergoing his early humiliation ritual. If nothing else, it has helped fuel his excellent, bitter heel persona.