Drew McIntyre is an established name in the WWE. He has been fortunate enough to have not one, but two spells with the company. The first was, of course, that of the “Chosen One” (2009-2014) – the hand-picked-by Vince McMahon superstar who was to become the next big thing. Things did not work out, however. Initially booked to be a solid, Intercontinental Championship level heel, he gradually fell from grace and became one component of the cult favorite, 3MB (with Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater). Cult favorite that they were, they were also a comedy faction with an impressive losing streak. Fast forward to 2021 and Drew is in a far greater position. Since returning to the WWE in 2017, a reinvigorated Drew has captured the NXT Championship and has also become a two-time WWE Champion – the first coming with a huge and dominant victory over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36. Since then, he has largely been positioned as the face of the company. Despite all of this, the current direction of the Drew character is highly questionable and quite concerning. Let’s explore why.
He Needs to Have a Break From the Title Picture
This one goes without saying. Ever since winning the Royal Rumble at the beginning of 2020, Drew McIntyre has been synonymous with the WWE title picture. Whether he is holding it; whether Randy Orton is holding it; whether The Miz is holding it or whether Bobby Lashley is holding it, McIntyre just can’t help himself. In many ways, the constant exposure to McIntyre in this role is both irritating and, frankly, exhausting. This isn’t to take away from Drew, either; he is very good in his role as a top babyface. The constant involvement at the top of the card – even when he isn’t in line for a title shot – makes his character, in many ways, unlikable. It is a throwback to the height of the John Cena era – where he, too, was involved with the title constantly. Remember when John Cena was booed constantly? Or Roman Reigns, during his run as the top babyface? Drew’s fate will be similar if WWE creative continues in this direction. Give the man a break from the WWE title picture. Return to a non-title feud with Sheamus. When the time is right, he can return to the WWE Championship picture both fresh and ready to resume his role as champion.
Kofi Kingston is Currently Outshining Him
Unless the long-term plan is for Drew McIntyre to turn heel, it makes no sense to keep him so close to Kofi Kingston during Kofi’s challenge for the WWE Championship. Whereas Drew is very likable, Kofi is on another level. The highs of KofiMania – and many are calling the current run “KofiMania II” – is a level of fan affection towards a worker which only Daniel Bryan can rival. In recent weeks, Raw‘s creative has been revisiting KofiMania in his battles with champion, Bobby Lashley. By forcing Drew into this story as a reluctant ally of Kofi only makes Drew look worse, as anyone can see that the intention of Drew is to again become champion. If he is on this personal mission at the expense of Kofi Kingston during such a run, Drew is going to be the one subjected to negative reactions. On this week’s Raw, during their confrontation, Kofi even made reference to Drew’s seemingly unlimited amount of title opportunities. Now that the WWE itself is mentioning this fact vicariously through Kofi, fans are going to take notice. Kofi is someone who lost the WWE Championship to Brock Lesnar in 2019 and has been kept out of the title picture ever since. Who is the babyface here? It’s not Drew. Fans will turn on Drew if creative continues down this road.
Drew McIntyre Has Suffered Within the Thunderdome
Another fact that must be mentioned: Drew McIntyre has suffered within the WWE Thunderdome. Through no fault of his own, losing the live audience was a gigantic blow to Drew’s momentum in 2020. When Drew won the Royal Rumble, and in the weeks following, every single fan in attendance was behind him. Why wouldn’t they be? He was someone who had been released – some might argue unjustly – just a few years prior. Someone who then honed their craft; physically transformed and rebuilt their name on the independent circuit (remember Drew’s run in Insane Championship Wrestling?) to return to the WWE and become the “Chosen One” he was supposed to be. That guy was the ultimate babyface. When the pandemic hit, Drew was arguably the most affected. He was being positioned as the “face of the company” and fans were fully behind him. Without them, it just did not quite feel the same. Yes, he is still great and yes, he is still fully deserving of his spot. Over the past year, though, that quickly, naturally developing connection with the audience has been cut off. We will have to wait until July to see if the fans are still with him. If Raw’s creative keeps forcing him into the title picture when everyone understands that he is not in contention, however, the growing fear is that the fans will have moved on.
He Is Easily Fixable… For Now
Right now, it would be easy to fix Drew McIntyre. The damage is not yet terminal – people still like the guy and want to see him succeed. All Drew requires to recover from the current directionless booking is simple: his character needs direction. That’s it. Instead of feuding over a title which he is not in contention for, he needs a proper feud; someone who takes him out of the title picture for a few months, keeps him occupied and then when the time is right, Drew returns to the title scene once again reinvigorated. There is the ready-made feud with Sheamus sitting at the WWE’s doorstep. Sheamus, right now, is enjoying one of the best runs of his WWE career – his work is as great as it has ever been and he deserves all credit for that. With the story between the two Celts which desperately needs revisiting, plus their ability to work a well-crafted, stiff “big man” match together, this could just well be what Drew needs to refresh. Sheamus is also an established heel – fans seemingly love to boo the man. This helps Drew in standing out as the top babyface he is positioned to be. People want to see Drew succeed and whereas he almost certainly will, the road need not be so bumpy. Tread carefully and Drew McIntyre will be the top guy once more.
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