Drew McIntyre’s story of going from bottom of the card jobber to WrestleMania main eventer is a tremendous one, with him getting released from WWE, only to use that as motivation to better himself and become a performer worthy enough of being a World Champion.
McIntyre would return to WWE in 2017 after finding a lot of success on the independent scene, with him slowly rising to the top, to the point where is now a WWE mainstay and one of the biggest stars on the full-time main roster. Over the last five years, there have been some ups and downs for McIntyre, with not quite everything going to plan.
10 Best: Appearing Behind The Undertaker
This was only a very minor and fleeting moment during an Extreme Rules match in which Drew McIntyre teamed up with Shane McMahon to take on The Undertaker and Roman Reigns in a tag team match.
After Undertaker had dealt with McMahon, WWE’s often criticized camera work was top notch as McIntyre was shown rising up and lurking behind Undertaker, only for Reigns to appear from off camera to take out McIntyre. Even though McIntyre was on the losing end, it was a top-class visual.
9 Worst: Losing WWE Championship To The Miz
Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship reign unfortunately took place in front of zero fans, but McIntyre did a tremendous job at the top of Raw as the WWE Champion during the pandemic era of WWE.
Unfortunately though, his time as the champion came to the worst possible end, as he was ambushed and attacked by Bobby Lashley, allowing The Miz to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. The Miz may be very talented, but in the year of 2021, he wasn’t in the position to be the one to dethrone McIntyre.
8 Best: Winning NXT Championship
Drew McIntyre’s return to WWE started in NXT when it was experiencing its boom phase, with touring TakeOver events and housing some of the best wrestlers on the planet.
At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 3, McIntyre defeated Bobby Roode in a glorious moment to become NXT Champion, with him being greeted with a thunderous ovation. The entire moment was made even more special by the NXT debut of Adam Cole after the match.
7 Worst: Getting Injured In NXT
McIntyre was riding a huge wave of momentum in NXT, as his reign got off to a decent start. Unfortunately though, this was cut short as Andrade Cien Almas dethroned him at the very next TakeOver event.
To make matters worse, McIntyre received a huge injury in this match, tearing his bicep and ruling him out of action. This could have threatened his long-term potential, as at times, wrestlers who are considered injury-prone can get shunned from the biggest spots, especially when they pick up injuries whilst being a champion.
6 Best: Clash At The Castle Entrance
In 2022, WWE ran their first UK PPV for two decades, and Drew McIntyre was front and center of the build for the show, with him being from Scotland. McIntyre went toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event of the evening.
His entrance, starting out with his popular “Broken Dreams” theme, was met with an enormous ovation. The match itself may be one of the hottest matches for years on WWE’s main roster, with the fans going absolutely crazy for everything McIntyre did. His reception will be something he likely remembers forever.
5 Worst: Mocking Roman Reigns’ Cancer
In 2019, Drew McIntyre entered a feud with Roman Reigns, who had recently returned to in-ring action after having been ruled out previously due to his leukemia diagnosis.
After fighting off the disease, he was back, but WWE decided to add fuel to their feud by having McIntyre both talk about and mock Reigns’ cancer. Some of the things he said were diabolical, and despite being a heel, it cut a little too close to reality at times, making for rather uncomfortable viewing.
4 Best: Destroying Kurt Angle
Drew McIntyre put in some great performances, mic skills, and character work during his time as a heel following his return, and perhaps his most impactful moment was when he took on Kurt Angle in a match on Monday Night Raw.
McIntyre absolutely destroyed the Hall of Famer, essentially squashing him, and even beating him with his own move. It made a major statement, with the only downside being that this wasn’t Angle’s last ever match, as it would have given McIntyre one hell of a rub.
3 Worst: WrestleMania Main Event… Against The Big Show?
Drew McIntyre won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36 against Brock Lesnar, in a moment which suffered from the lack of fans. In a very peculiar move, WWE decided to reveal on Raw that McIntyre’s match against Lesnar wasn’t the “real” main event.
In footage revealed on Raw, Big Show confronted McIntyre after the bell and challenged him to an impromptu title match, which McIntyre would win. Doing this has added some question marks to what the actual main event of WrestleMania was, with it all just being very weird.
2 Best: Winning The Royal Rumble
Towards the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, McIntyre had undergone a natural babyface turn, simply by winning matches and looking great whilst doing so. He then developed a more likable persona, which gave him some very real momentum.
In the 2020 Royal Rumble, Brock Lesnar had gone on an elimination spree, which saw him eliminate 13 competitors in the row, until he was faced with McIntyre, who dumped him out to a huge reaction. From there, McIntyre would go on to win the match to a mega pop, which truly felt like a star-making moment.
1 Worst: Losing At Clash At The Castle
As mentioned, McIntyre was treated with a hero’s welcome at Clash at the Castle, and with how hot and loud the crowd was, it seemed like the right time to finally dethrone Roman Reigns of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Whilst Reigns’ time as champion is legendary, and with their perhaps being a bigger plan down the line, taking away a potential all-time great moment from a hometown crowd felt like a slap in the face, especially when McIntyre seemed nonplussed by the result after the bell as he serenaded the crowd awkwardly along with Tyson Fury.