Drew McIntyre Talks Wrestling Will Ospreay On The Indies, Vince McMahon Promo During First WWE Run
During his first run in the WWE, Drew McIntyre was dubbed "The Chosen One". McIntyre recalls when Vince McMahon endorsed him as "The Chosen One," and how he was unaware that was going to be his breakthrough introduction to the WWE Universe in 2009.
"The Chosen One thing started when I was 23 or 24 when Vince endorsed me on television. That's not something that I knew was going to happen," McIntyre recalled on WWE's After The Bell podcast. "I was just in Gorilla (Position) and I was aware I had a promo and they told me Vince was gonna say 'a quick thing' and I'll just go out and react. I was like, 'Okay.' Then he went out there on television and he put me over as a future World Champion as I say he didn't say when it is over ten years later. When it happens, it could be true when it happens he was right like he always is.
"Yeah, I didn't know it was going to happen and it was a huge moment for me that everyone always asks 'It put a lot of pressure on you, would you change anything?' I say absolutely not. Everything that's happened has happened for a reason taking me on this journey I was on and obviously things didn't work out with the Chosen One thing and then the 3MB thing happened and obviously I got fired.
"When I got that call, it was a surprising call. At that moment, I thought to myself, here's your opportunity to do more than what you were doing. You've got a lot of people who believed in you and are asking why you haven't stepped up your game. You're not giving it your all, which is true. I told myself that day, from this day forward, I'm going to show who Drew McIntyre really is."
Once his character returned to the WWE in 2017, McIntyre dominated in NXT and in the main roster as well. With his current run, McIntyre took it upon himself to create the "Countdown to the Claymore Kick" to make light of his character and to get fans involved with his in-ring move set.
"It's just something I did at a house show once," McIntyre stated. "I did it, the crowd got involved. Outside the company, I was very interactive with the crowd. Coming back to RAW, I was serious (character-wise) for a while, because that was what they wanted me to portray. Finally, when I got the ok to be myself, I was thinking the whole time and telling them the whole time, I'm a 6'5", 270 pound, hairy Scotsman, who no one could relate to. I need to let them in a bit; just let me be myself. I'm a bit silly, I like to have fun, crack a few jokes. When it comes to kicking a**, I kick a**. That's what's going to make me relatable, and thankfully it's working now."
With all the opponents McIntyre has faced during his independent run and in the WWE, he names several wrestlers he has enjoyed squaring up against and ones that he would like to face once again in the near future.
"I've wrestled so many guys, who are so talented," McIntyre noted. "They got their opportunities, etc. who weren't big names at the time – the Ricochet's and Will Ospreay's. When I wrestled them at the time, I was like what the heck is going on here, they're not even human. The things that they can do. And then watching NXT UK, Big WALTER, we've tangled briefly. I would like to revisit that (a match with him) when the time is right."
You can listen to Drew McIntyre's full interview here If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's After The Bell with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.