WWE’s Superstar shakeup didn’t help everyone who was part of the roster shuffle that took place last Monday and Tuesday night. The Authors of Pain, Andrade “Cien” Almas, No Way Jose and Ember Moon made have made their main roster debuts. The one former NXT star I am most interested in seeing back on WWE’s main roster is Drew McIntyre as this is his second run with the parent company.
During his first tenure at WWE, he held the Intercontinental and WWE Tag Team Championships once each, but both title runs were less than exciting. How WWE books the 32-year-old Scotsman could mean a run toward the main event in the future.
Drew McIntyre was once considered the “Chosen One” by Vince McMahon but was never given a proper push toward the top of WWE’s title picture. A program with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal as 3MB was ill-fated, more of a jobber faction that never picked up any steam. McIntyre’s talent was wasted, as he left the company and moved over to TNA, where he defeated Matt Hardy to capture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career, thus becoming the first-ever Scottish-born TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
By the way, tell me a former WWE superstar who doesn’t capture TNA gold upon his arrival in Orlando?
Now, after honing his craft in NXT, is McIntyre ready to take the next step in his evolution as a performer? Will his new alliance with Dolph Ziggler lead to a tag team title or singles run and feud with the Showstopper? Does McMahon still view McIntyre as a future world champion?
Can Drew McIntyre erase the past and forge a new identity?
When you look at McIntyre, you see a solid, rugged performer. He is part Barry Windham. Part Matt Morgan, part Al Perez. He can talk, he can wrestle, and he has a look of a champion. Unfortunately, he is also part of a Monday night lineup that features Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Braun Strowman. Fighting through the smoke to get to the main event will take time.
Question is whether WWE has the time to invest in Drew McIntyre, the new version of the wrestler?
I suspect McIntyre will play the role of heel with Ziggler at his side, which gives the former WWE world champion a new role with the company. McIntyre will either turn on his partner or vice versa. There is a solid chance McIntyre will win the Intercontinental Title once again and maybe the Raw tag tam titles. After that, it’s a guessing game. As long as he shows improvement over his last run in WWE, he should make it to the main event.
If not, it will be another wasted opportunity for Drew McIntyre, a wrestler who could be as big as Reigns or Strowman or Ziggler. He just needs the right program and right booking to be a superstar.