Right now, Drew McIntyre is one of the biggest stars in the world of professional wrestling. Holding the WWE Championship, the Scottish wrestler has managed to carve out a position for himself in the main events, proving he is worthy of being one of WWE's top stars.

RELATED: 5 Wrestlers WWE Has Booked To Perfection (& 5 They Have Mishandled)

However, his journey to the top of the mountain hasn't been a simple one, and McIntyre has really had to scratch and claw for every opportunity he has been given so far. So, let's take a look at his journey to WWE's top prize.

10 The Chosen One

drew-mcintyre-2009

To start Drew McIntyre's run to the WWE Championship, you have to go all the way back to 2009. While he had been working many years on the indies and WWE's developmental prior to that, it was on an episode of SmackDown he was introduced to the masses.

RELATED: WWE Backlash: 5 Reasons Bobby Lashley vs Drew McIntyre Was The Best Match On The Show (& 5 Reasons Edge vs Randy Orton Was)

He got given the perfect debut as well, with Vince McMahon personally endorsing him as the "Chosen One." Very few wrestlers get such hype from the WWE Chairman himself, but the fact McIntyre did instantly saw fans invest in his character, even though he was a heel.

9 Intercontinental Championship Victory

Drew McIntyre had a very impressive start in WWE, becoming one of the most dominant mid-card talents. It was clear the company had high hopes for him and it didn't take too long for the Chosen One to win the Intercontinental Championship.

McIntyre defeated John Morrison to win the title, which many thought would be a stepping stone for him to the World Title. However, after this, he had a brief run as Tag Team Champion with Cody Rhodes and some mid-card feuds, but never anything ore.

8 His Fall & Release

3MB makes their entrance

While Drew McIntyre had started out life in WWE incredibly well, things quickly began to derail for him. McIntyre didn't go up from his Intercontinental Championship victory, and instead, he began to slip further down the card.

Eventually, he was put into the 3MB group which was a really low point of his career as he became a comedic jobber. His usefulness came to an end and he was then released from WWE, seemingly ending his hopes of ever being a World Champion.

7 Dominant Independent Run

When Drew McIntyre was released, he opted to hit the refresh button on his career as he returned home to ICW. He burst out and made a big impact, instantly proving he was going to take things seriously, rather than continue being the comedy wrestler WWE wanted him to be.

He dominated in the Scottish promotion and he also did the same across the pond working for EVOLVE. McIntyre was clearly out to prove himself, and his performances and physical changes showcased that.

6 TNA

While Drew McIntyre dominated around the independent scene winning top titles everywhere he went, he wasn't getting the major television exposure he needed. However, when Drew joined TNA, that all changed.

RELATED: Ranking Drew McIntyre’s 10 Greatest Title Wins

Even though the company wasn't on the same level as WWE, he was given a chance to prove himself in TNA. That's exactly what he did, having an amazing run with the company, putting on great matches and proving he could be a strong World Champion.

5 WWE Return/NXT Championship Victory

After taking time away from the company, Drew McIntyre returned to WWE to NXT. He first appeared at NXT Takeover: Orlando and he wasted little time getting to the top of the card, proving he was returning as a new man.

McIntyre won the NXT Championship and dominated during his run with the brand, showcasing he had all the talent to be a main event player. However, an injury brought his time on the show to an abrupt end.

4 Raw Tag Team Champion

When Drew McIntyre returned from injury, he didn't return to NXT. He was instantly pushed to the main roster again and he wasn't back to be a jobber like when he was last competing on Monday Night Raw.

It didn't take long for him and Dolph Ziggler to join forces and they formed a very impressive tag team. While it wasn't a main event spot, Drew was back to winning gold on the main roster as they became Tag Team Champions.

3 Battling Roman Reigns

Drew vs Roman

After his run with Dolph Ziggler was brought to an end, it became clear that WWE had high expectations for Drew McIntyre still. When Roman Reigns returned from his battle with Leukemia, it was Drew who was trusted to work with him and was given a massive opportunity.

RELATED: WWE's Future: 5 Best Challengers For Drew McIntyre (& 5 For Braun Strowman)

The two men kickstarted a really fun feud as they competed at WrestleMania in what was the biggest match of Drew's career at that stage. It showcased he was ready to hang with the main event stars and was a real sign of things to come.

2 Royal Rumble Victory

Drew McIntyre Royal Rumble Cropped

Prior to the 2020 Royal Rumble, Drew McIntyre had turned into a babyface and was proving to be very popular with the fans. He was booked as a dominant badass and heading into the Rumble, Drew was clearly one of the favorites.

While it wasn't obvious he was going to win due to how Drew had been booked over his career, he quickly entered and eliminated Brock Lesnar. From then on he dominated the Rumble, winning the match to receive an unforgettable pop by the WWE Universe, earning a future title match.

1 Slaying The Beast

Finally, of course, Drew McIntyre's epic moment came at WrestleMania 36 on night two of the event as he slew the Beast, defeating Brock Lesnar to finally become WWE Champion. It wasn't a massively long match, but it was effective in putting over McIntyre as a dominant wrestler.

While he didn't get his big moment in front of thousands of fans due to COVID-19, he still got to finally win WWE's top prize. His celebrations didn't last long either as his first title defense actually happened just minutes after winning it against Big Show, starting his reign in style.

NEXT: 10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Drew McIntyre Faced