In this inspiring video, we introduce the remarkable journey of Drew McIntyre, tracing his path from humble beginnings to WWE stardom. Despite facing numerous challenges and setbacks, McIntyre's unwavering determination and undeniable talent propelled him to the top of the wrestling world.
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#drewmcintyre #clashatthecastle #wwe #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling
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00:00Brock Lesnar entered the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble match at number one, began dominating
00:23the field, eliminating opponents one by one.
00:27The crowd was in awe and detest as Lesnar continued a ruthless performance.
00:34And then, at number 16, Drew McIntyre made his entrance.
00:39As McIntyre entered, Ricochet, who was already in the ring, delivered a low blow to Lesnar.
00:45This gave McIntyre the perfect opportunity to strike, seizing the moment and launched
00:51his body and hit Lesnar with a powerful claymore kick, sending the beast incarnate, one of
00:57the most dominating figures in the history of WWE, flying over the top rope and out
01:03of the match.
01:04The stadium erupted in disbelief.
01:08Lesnar laid at the ringside area with his advocate, Paul Heyman, in shock.
01:15With Lesnar eliminated, McIntyre went on a rampage.
01:19He outlasted all of the other competitors to win that Royal Rumble, winning the rightful
01:24opportunity to challenge the champion of his choice at the upcoming WrestleMania 36.
01:30McIntyre set his sights on none other than the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, the very man
01:36he eliminated.
01:37The story was simple, it made sense, and people were excited to see how it was going to play
01:41out.
01:42This was going to be McIntyre's crowning moment.
01:44After years of hard work and struggle, he was finally going to have his moment on the
01:50grandest stage of them all.
01:53However, just weeks before their anticipated match at WrestleMania, the COVID-19 pandemic
01:58hit the world and everything was suddenly very, very different.
02:02Forced WWE and everyone in sports and entertainment to hold off their events, WrestleMania was
02:08presented at the Performance Center with no live audience.
02:11Despite the empty arena, McIntyre remained focused.
02:14In a hard-fought battle that was brief but intense, he defeated Brock Lesnar to capture
02:20the WWE Championship.
02:22It was a monumental victory, but it came without the roar of the fans to celebrate the achievement.
02:28Though it was sweet, it was bittersweet.
02:30Although he wouldn't have liked it when he won the WWE Championship, this was still
02:34the biggest moment of his career, elevating him to the upper echelons of WWE superstardom.
02:40Let's dive deep into Drew McIntyre's career and see how he managed to become one of the
02:46most valuable superstars in WWE and in all of professional wrestling.
02:50This is Sportskeeda Wrestling, I'm Kevin, what do you think of Drew McIntyre and his
02:55future?
02:56Let us know in the comments below.
02:57Drew Galloway started training to be a professional wrestler at the age of 15, making long trips
03:03just to get to training sessions in 2001.
03:06His early career saw him compete in the British and European independent wrestling scene,
03:11breaking in in the same circles as one Seamus O'Shaughnessy, now simply known in WWE as
03:16Seamus and McIntyre, Galloway at the time, would win several championships on the independent
03:21circuit before jumping to the United States.
03:24He signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2007 under the new, modified name of Drew
03:30McIntyre.
03:31He began his journey in WWE's developmental territory of OVW.
03:36Standing at 6'5", McIntyre quickly caught the attention of WWE officials who were so
03:41impressed that they decided to bring him to television as quickly as they could.
03:46He immediately made his official debut on WWE main roster television in October of 2007
03:52on Smackdown.
03:53However, they were continuing to work with him in OVW.
03:57It became apparent in WWE that he needed more time to develop his skills.
04:02He was taken off TV and remained in OVW.
04:05Soon he would move to WWE's latest developmental territory, FCW, Florida Championship Wrestling,
04:11where he began teaming with Stu Sanders, later known as Wade Barrett, and even won
04:15the FCW Tag Team Titles.
04:17After losing the titles, they imploded and McIntyre entered the FCW Florida Heavyweight
04:22Championship picture.
04:23It was not long after that he won that championship as well.
04:27He proved himself as a viable wrestler, ready in the waiting for the main roster.
04:33On the August 28, 2009 episode of Smackdown, McIntyre was reintroduced to WWE eyeballs
04:40and established himself as a heel and on the grandest level with one of the biggest endorsements
04:46you can get.
04:47Yeah, a few weeks later, Vince McMahon introduced him as the chosen one who would win the World
04:54Heavyweight Championship in the future.
04:56Think of the expectations, the weight that is put on your shoulders when a man that powerful
05:01and that influential in pro wrestling says it about you on television.
05:06It looked like WWE were ready to really put the machine behind him and give him a monster
05:10push.
05:11Why not?
05:12He was young, he had the look, he had charisma, and he was solid inside the ring, right?
05:17He had all the qualities at a very young age that WWE looks for.
05:21He even had a banger theme song at Broken Dreams, which fans remember even to this date.
05:28Many started comparing him to young Randy Orton, who started his career at a very young
05:32age and became a big name, knocking off established names in front of him.
05:37At Survivor Series, McIntyre secured a spot on The Miz's team for the traditional Survivor
05:41Series Elimination Tag Team match.
05:44McIntyre, Miz, and Sheamus emerged as the surviving members of their victorious team.
05:49It was as if WWE was signaling that these three were destined to become the next top-tier
05:54stars.
05:55He then went on to defeat John Morrison to win his first main roster title, the WWE Intercontinental
06:01Championship.
06:02He retained the title against Morrison and also defeated Kane at the Elimination Chamber
06:06event in 2010.
06:07He was a part of the Money in the Bank ladder match at the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania
06:1326.
06:14Many believed that he would be the one walking out with the contract.
06:18The way that WWE was booking him, it seemed like that was the direction.
06:22It looked inevitable, but then it didn't.
06:24It was Jack Swagger's night, and he won the briefcase.
06:27In his autobiography, The Chosen Destiny, McIntyre wrote,
06:30I was told in advance I would be winning the Money in the Bank match.
06:34To beat nine fellow superstars with a coveted contract that would have been a massive deal.
06:40Next logical step for my spoiled character.
06:43What was disappointing was that it became clear that I wasn't winning the Money in
06:47the Bank match after all, because it was, quote, too obvious.
06:52The change of plans wasn't communicated to me or explained.
06:56It just happened, and I felt elbowed aside.
06:59Although he did not win at WrestleMania, he still held the Intercontinental Championship.
07:05But following WrestleMania, he would lose that title to the number one contender, Kofi
07:10Kingston, at the Over the Limit event.
07:13McIntyre was upset, and he used his relationship with Vince McMahon to bully Teddy Long, the
07:18SmackDown general manager, who booked him in an icy title match against Kingston.
07:23He publicly humiliated Teddy and forced him to lie down for him for their match.
07:28He wanted his title back, and he faced Kingston in a rematch.
07:32Yes, this indignant McIntyre would pursue it at Fatal 4-Way, but failed to regain the
07:38title.
07:39He continued feuding with GM Teddy Long for the next few weeks, and fans were waiting
07:44to see him in that main event scene.
07:46In July of 2010, WWE decided to introduce the Money in the Bank pay-per-view as its
07:51own standalone event.
07:52This allowed WWE to dedicate an entire event to multiple Money in the Bank matches, featuring
07:58competitors from both Raw and SmackDown brands.
08:00McIntyre was involved in the Money in the Bank ladder match for the World Heavyweight
08:04Championship contract, and now was the perfect time for WWE to elevate him to that next level
08:10that eluded him.
08:11There was a moment in the match where Benley thought that he was going to win, but again,
08:16he didn't.
08:17It was Kane.
08:18But this hurt him, and he was not seen as a credible star anymore, and there were issues
08:23outside of the ring that may have been influencing that.
08:26He was then paired with Dashing Cody Rhodes and a tag team dubbed The Dashing Ones, and
08:31they won the WWE Tag Team titles in a five-tag team turmoil match, allowing them to appear
08:37on both Raw and SmackDown.
08:39This was somewhat interesting, as both Drew and Cody needed something new to work with
08:44and keep them in the mix.
08:46They retained the titles twice again against the Hart Dynasty, but lost them to the Nexus
08:51at the Bragging Rights event, and that was it.
08:53They went on their separate ways, and McIntyre slowly got lost in the shuffle of WWE.
08:59The next year of his WWE career may have been possibly the worst.
09:04He continued losing matches and resumed his tense relationship with General Manager Teddy
09:09Long.
09:10He fired McIntyre in storyline due to his losing streak.
09:14Yeah, the guy was in the conversation about winning the money in the bank a few years
09:18earlier, and now was on a losing streak.
09:21However, he was reinstated by John Laurinaitis and became one of the members of Team Laurinaitis,
09:27the evil team, in a 12-tag team match at that year's WrestleMania.
09:32You're on the WrestleMania card, that's pretty cool from me on Team Teddy Long.
09:35Helping his team to victory?
09:37This didn't really help him.
09:39He did continue losing singles matches, though.
09:41In 2012, WWE re-branded FCW to NXT, giving new opportunities to different superstars.
09:49McIntyre was inserted into the Gold Rush tournament to crown the inaugural NXT champion.
09:54This could have been that reboot moment for him, going to NXT, rebuilding himself for
10:00himself.
10:01It came at the right time, but he would lose in the quarterfinals to the man who would
10:04eventually win the tournament and that championship, Seth Rollins.
10:08He then aligned himself with Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater, forming an interesting lower
10:13card trio dubbed the Three Man Band, 3MB.
10:18They played air guitar.
10:20At first, it looked like a team consisting of random wrestlers, and they gradually began
10:24to get together and gel together.
10:26They served as comedic relief and performed impromptu concerts to entertain the audience
10:31and taunt their opponents.
10:33The team faced numerous opponents and was involved in the WWE tag team title picture.
10:38Seth lost almost all of their matches.
10:40They were treated as enhancement talents and were used to really just maintain other superstars
10:46who were more over at the time.
10:48Any credibility McIntyre had when he broke into WWE, he was just another guy on a roster.
10:54In June of 2014, he was fortunately released from his contract.
10:58The damage was so severe that WWE thought it was better to maybe just part ways and
11:04figure something else out.
11:05According to McIntyre himself, his attitude problems led to him plummeting down the card.
11:11On My Love Letter to Wrestling podcast, he said the following,
11:15I wasn't giving it my all.
11:17I wasn't being honest with myself and looking at my weak areas where I could improve.
11:22Further stated that getting fired was essential for him to become what he would become.
11:29This started a new, truly redemptive chapter in his career.
11:33He began wrestling on the independent circuit, which was blowing up at the time.
11:37And he had to drop his given WWE stage name, came back to the name people knew him at.
11:42When he started his pro wrestling career on the independents, Drew Galloway.
11:47He didn't just have a chip on his shoulder.
11:49He had a mountain of discontent coming out of WWE.
11:52He wanted to fight it all, stealing the show in promotions like AAW Pro.
11:57He was very different than the way fans saw him in WWE.
12:01The clean cut look was gone, replaced with a beard.
12:05It gave him more of an intimidating presence.
12:07His physique transformed as well.
12:10He embraced more of a muscular look and his attitude changed.
12:13His in ring bell to bell was much more finesse.
12:17He was elevating his game across the board.
12:20He was no longer held back by WWE's very specific format.
12:25He had an opportunity to truly be creative and recreate himself.
12:29He moved all around the world.
12:30Wrestling for companies like ICW, Evolve, TNA.
12:33And he competed against some of the best in the world.
12:36From rising stars like Tommaso Ciampa to veterans like Cody Rhodes,
12:39who is now also out of WWE, and John Morrison.
12:43Along the way, he captured several championships and
12:45became one of the hottest stars in wrestling.
12:48Suddenly, he had a superstar aura about him that was always there.
12:53He became the face of TNA Impact by winning the Impact World Championship in 2016.
12:59And had one of the biggest wins of his career against Kurt Angle.
13:03He held the title for a few months before ultimately dropping it to Bobby Lashley.
13:08Although he never regained the title, it didn't matter.
13:11McIntyre, along the way, transformed his image and
13:15the perception of who he was in the eyes of the fans and
13:19locker rooms across the wrestling landscape.
13:22He was no longer a failed WWE superstar.
13:25He proved that getting released by WWE was the best thing that ever happened to him.
13:31WWE was obviously watching him, and in 2017, he was called back.
13:36But this time McIntyre kept his intimidating presence.
13:39The company treated him like a real wrestler,
13:42like a real badass who could beat anyone.
13:45He jumped into NXT, which was red hot at the time in its black and
13:49gold era, won the NXT Championship.
13:52He did not have a long time to reign with the title as he was ready for
13:56the main roster.
13:57The NXT title reintroduced him to WWE fans who may have forgotten about him.
14:02Finally, he returned to the main roster in 2018,
14:06aligning himself with a true showstopper in Dolph Ziggler.
14:10This unexpected alliance immediately caught the attention of WWE fans.
14:14You would think that aligning with Ziggler,
14:16who also struggled to find that established, unfeathered,
14:20unfiltered main event stardom throughout his career, would be maybe a bad decision.
14:26But it was great, it worked.
14:27Ziggler's connection with the fans and
14:29McIntyre's loose, invigorated persona complemented each other perfectly.
14:34It didn't have to do much, it did what it was supposed to do.
14:37Just had to stand in the ring with Ziggler and blood menacing and
14:40then ring the bell and let these guys go to work with Ziggler doing the talking.
14:44Remember Roman Reigns from the Shield?
14:46McIntyre had a similar vibe with Ziggler.
14:49He helped Dolph win the Intercontinental Championship from Seth Rollins,
14:53then got involved in a few of the TV and United Shield.
14:56And just a year after his return, he was working with top stars like Roman and
15:01Seth in a spot he always belonged in.
15:04He also won the Tag Team Championships with Ziggler.
15:06WWE believed in him and booked him in scenarios designed to highlight his
15:11strengths and talents, taking the role and running with it.
15:15His partnership with Ziggler ended when they gradually imploded.
15:18McIntyre would beat the show off in a steel cage match.
15:22This marked the beginning of McIntyre's journey to establish himself
15:25as a true singles competitor.
15:28Around this time, Roman Reigns announced he was suffering from leukemia and
15:32had to take time off.
15:34When he returned, his first feud was with Drew McIntyre.
15:38Another sign of how WWE saw McIntyre as a true mechanic to make stories move,
15:44and the overall picture of WWE with some of the biggest names.
15:48Drew destroyed Roman's Shield brother, Dean Ambrose,
15:52made it personal with Reigns talking about his wife and kids.
15:56At WrestleMania 35, he faced Roman Reigns in a one-on-one match, but couldn't win.
16:01That wasn't the point, it wasn't about winning or losing.
16:04Reigns was coming back from this awful real-life issue,
16:07he needed to rally around the baby face and
16:10play your heel role on the biggest show of the year.
16:14Wasn't gonna lose to McIntyre, but he was the perfect opponent for the job.
16:18Having a match with Reigns at WrestleMania is a huge deal, and
16:21it showed that WWE had faith in McIntyre in a way that maybe they didn't have
16:26during his first run.
16:28For the rest of 2019, McIntyre feuded with Reigns and
16:32aligned himself with the money, money, money of Shane McMahon for
16:36a short period of time.
16:38He was also involved in a very special tag team match where he teamed up with
16:41Shane McMahon to take on Roman Reigns and The Undertaker.
16:45Which would be one of The Undertaker's final matches and
16:47performances in front of a live audience.
16:50After his association with Shane McMahon,
16:52WWE gradually began turning him into a fan favorite.
16:57He was getting cheered.
16:58Yeah, none of those days of crowds going three, two, one, Claymore him in the face.
17:04Yes, late 2019 to early 2020, McIntyre embarked on a win streak.
17:10By this time, fans were Claymoring for him to go to that main event level.
17:16At the time, Brock Lesnar was the WWE Champion,
17:20vowing to eliminate every single wrestler and win the match.
17:24This was an interesting scenario,
17:26as it would be the first time a standing WWE Champion was entering the Rumble match
17:31without the WWE Championship being up for grabs.
17:35Lesnar's goal was to prove his dominance by outlasting 29 competitors.
17:40As the first entrant, Lesnar showcased his dominance
17:44during the early stages of the match, one by one.
17:47He eliminated every single opponent who stepped into the ring,
17:51racking up a series of eliminations.
17:54He single-handedly cleared the ring multiple times, making it look effortless.
18:00The air was being sucked out of the stadium.
18:04It felt like a foregone conclusion.
18:06Lesnar dominates, he suplexes, he wins.
18:11Would there be any light in the dark reign of the beast?
18:15The tide, though, began to turn when a young high-flyer Ricochet
18:19entered the match at number 15.
18:22He had an issue already with Lesnar.
18:24Next was McIntyre, who walked toward the ring with a real air of electricity.
18:30Someone who could do it, people thought it was him.
18:34As he entered the fray, Ricochet delivered a low blow
18:38that momentarily incapacitated Lesnar.
18:41This opened the door, a double team, if you will, for McIntyre
18:44to deliver all of the weight of his body, flying like a jet missile in a Claymore
18:50kick, sending the gigantic Lesnar over the top rope and out of the ring
18:56with it, all of the air of every hand.
18:59Shocked.
19:00Quickly, they would erupt.
19:01Everyone wanted to see who would eliminate Lesnar.
19:05How would he be able to get rid of the beast?
19:07But it was McIntyre who did it, and it was truly special.
19:12Riding that momentum from eliminating Lesnar, McIntyre went on a rampage,
19:17eliminating every single other competitor.
19:19Went on to win the Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Roman Reigns,
19:25truly tying up another loose end there.
19:28On the following episode of Money at Raw,
19:30he announced that he would challenge for the WWE Championship
19:33against Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
19:37In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 36,
19:39the intensity between Lesnar and McIntyre escalated.
19:43WWE utilized face-offs, promos, confrontations to build the storyline.
19:49It was basic, but it felt very big time.
19:52However, as WrestleMania 36 approached,
19:55that COVID-19 pandemic forced the world to change in WWE with it.
19:59They decided to air the show from the Performance Center in Florida
20:03with no fans.
20:04Despite the lack of a live crowd, the match still delivered
20:07under the circumstances, the promised intensity,
20:10the high stakes of a championship, and a special moment for McIntyre.
20:14McIntyre delivered a series of Claymore kicks to Lesnar
20:17and won the WWE Championship in an intense but brief match.
20:2113 long, arduous years up and down through the peaks and valleys
20:27coming to this point in WWE.
20:29Drew McIntyre finally realized his dream, a bittersweet dream
20:34in front of no fans.
20:35Yeah, imagine what that pop would have got
20:40if he pinned Lesnar in front of what was supposed
20:42to be a big stadium in Tampa, Florida.
20:45It would have been huge.
20:47I would have been there.
20:48I would have loved it.
20:49But it didn't happen that way.
20:51And does anything happen the most ideal way?
20:55Regardless, he is now a certified main event talent.
20:59And he has carried the company on his back
21:01throughout the rest of the pandemic moving on from that point.
21:04He successfully defended the title against challengers
21:07like Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley, before briefly losing it to Randy Orton
21:11and then reclaiming it.
21:13He also successfully defended his championship
21:15at Elimination Chamber 2021 against AJ Style, Jeff Hardy, Kofi
21:20Kingston, Orton, and Sheamus.
21:22However, the following grueling victories Lashley
21:25gave him a brutal beating, allowed Miz to cash in the Money in the Bank
21:29contract and win the title for a second time.
21:32It was the end of his reign as WWE champion.
21:35Did not lose any momentum as WWE kept him strong,
21:39booked him as a main event player.
21:40He was now certified at that level.
21:43At the Clash of the Castle 2022 event in front of a huge audience
21:47in his home region of the United Kingdom in Wales,
21:50Drew McIntyre entered a true colossal titanic hero of the people,
21:56challenging the evil dark figure of modern WWE, the tribal chief Roman Reigns,
22:02for the WWE Universal Championship.
22:05The feeling was electric.
22:07People felt this was the perfect opportunity for McIntyre
22:11to get what he missed at WrestleMania 36.
22:14With that moment in front of a real live audience, he was the guy.
22:18It was the right place.
22:19It was the right time in his homeland.
22:21It'd be the fitting occasion.
22:23But he lost.
22:24Yes, he lost yet again.
22:26Solo Sakala made his debut and helped Roman Reigns win and cheat to win the match.
22:31You know, Roman Reigns cheated for like a majority of his world title matches,
22:36even though people say he's been the best champion.
22:38That's a different video.
22:39Many would argue that Drew McIntyre would have won that match,
22:43but Reigns was in the middle of his reign and they had to keep that going and keep him champ.
22:47This did seem to deter Drew a little bit, but after WrestleMania 39,
22:51where he faced fellow Europeans Gunther and Sheamus for the Intercontinental Championship match,
22:56yes, a triple threat match that some feel is one of the best triple threats of all time,
23:00he came right back on track at an interesting time when reportedly his WWE contract
23:05was nearing an end or was in some state of flux.
23:08A year later at WrestleMania 40, he got his moment in front of fans in Philadelphia
23:14with WWE roaring under the success of a new creative regime.
23:19He defeated Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship.
23:23It seemed surreal.
23:25It was another incredible moment lasted only for a brief time.
23:29A bittersweet twist as Drew McIntyre would once again have the money in the bank
23:34cashed in on him by Damian Priest after he physically got into a scuffle with CM Punk at ringside,
23:41a moment that was alluded to for quite some time.
23:45Recently, The Rock, a member of the board of the TKO management over WWE,
23:49announced that Drew McIntyre had signed a new deal with WWE and gave him a gift.
23:54In a social media post, the final boss wrote,
23:56as you know, I wanted to personally hand deliver this gift to you at your meeting with Nick Khan.
24:02I had to warm some cheat meals, chill the tequila, and it was waiting for congrats again, brother.
24:07Cheers to hunger, passion, climbing that mountain and always entertaining our fans.
24:13A sword gifted to a true warrior from another warrior.
24:18A sign that WWE and its now new ruling class saw McIntyre as one of its true main event players for the foreseeable future.
24:29When The Rock goes out of his way to mediate your contract,
24:32it's a clear sign that Drew McIntyre is a valued superstar in the industry of pro wrestling
24:38and maybe one of the top names in the business overall.
24:42What do you think of Drew McIntyre? Let us know in the comments below.
24:45Is Drew McIntyre bound for a true revenging moment, winning the world title in the UK, in Scotland?
24:52Let us know about that too.