Drew McIntyre feels revitalised in WWE following his recent turn.
After failing to defeat the Intercontinental Champion Gunther on 2 separate occasions in 2023, McIntyre has been spinning his wheels on Monday nights. Following a brief tag team with former star Matt Riddle and various singles matches on the red brand, McIntyre got a shot against Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel to finally win a major title in front of fans.
After being repeatedly told to let his loss to Roman Reigns at Clash at the Castle go and losing to Rollins, McIntyre finally snapped and sided with The Judgment Day to attempt to write some wrongs at Survivor Series. The November 20th edition of Raw saw The Scottish Warrior explain his actions and that he couldn’t pass up the chance to face off against Jey Uso following months of previous Bloodline torment.
According to Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff, this version of McIntyre is much more interesting than what has been seen earlier this year or even back in 2020 when McIntyre was WWE Champion but did not have a crowd to feed off of.
While speaking on 83 Weeks, Bischoff stated that although fans were behind McIntyre during the pandemic, the fact that they were not in attendance hampered the former champion’s reign and this next stage will see McIntyre return to form:
“I do. I’ve always been a fan of Drew’s. His initial run with WWE, and then he was let go. I was on a couple independent shows with him in the UK. Just a classy guy, and a great performer, but perhaps like Ronda Rousey previously in WWE, he may not have been cast in the best role as a babyface. I’m anxious to see what he’s capable of as a heel. Let’s be honest, as much as I respect him and like him, he never really connected as that babyface champion. He had some things against him.
I know it was [during the] COVID era, [didn’t have] the crowd reaction to kind of help put you up over the top, and give you the credibility that a champion should have. That’s just bad timing. But I’m looking forward to seeing him in that heel role because he’s a phenomenal performer, he’s got the right look, he’s got the voice, he’s physical. He can perform in the ring. So maybe a fresh paint of coat will do him justice,” Bischoff said.
Drew McIntyre: The Pandemic Champion Of WWE
2020 was set to be McIntyre’s year. Beginning at the Royal Rumble, McIntyre won the battle royal and was destined for a showdown against Brock Lesnar in Tampa, Florida. However, following the world shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the match took place in the Performance Center with no fans in attendance. Winning the title on 2 separate occasions in the pandemic era, McIntyre lost the championship first to Randy Orton and later to The Miz via Money in the Bank cash-in.
McIntyre got an opportunity to face Bobby Lashley for the title at WrestleMania 38 in front of fans for the first time in over a year but was unsuccessful, still looking for that first title reign in front of a live audience.
In the same episode, Eric Bischoff gave his thoughts on Ronda Rousey in the professional wrestling industry.
H/t to Fightful.