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Drew McIntyre has been the defining figure in WWE throughout 2020. From his Royal Rumble win back in January, his WrestleMania victory over Brock Lesnar, and then later his win over Randy Orton to take back the WWE Championship, The Scottish Warrior has carried the company during these testing times.
McIntyre has been one of the top Superstars in WWE throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and ended the year by joining Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin on his Broken Skull Sessions podcast earlier this week.
McIntyre, who was fresh off his TLC victory over AJ Styles and The Miz, was able to reveal some personal, yet interesting facts about his 19 years in the business. Here are just 10 things that the WWE Universe learned from his appearance.
#10 Drew McIntyre's response when WWE told him he was going to be signed
Drew McIntyre wasn't a Superstar who was signed to WWE straight off the bat. He had already worked in the business for six years before he landed a tryout and even explained that John Laurinaitis wasn't present. This meant that McIntyre's initial tryout didn't lead to him being signed, but when he was called back six months later, Laurinaitis was prepared to sign him.
McIntyre revealed that as part of that conversation with Johnny Ace, he tried to maintain his confidence so when Laurinaitis told him he was thinking of signing him, Drew responded with "I'm thinking of letting you."
#9 McIntyre wasn't prepared for WWE
Drew McIntyre was thrown in the deep end when he was signed with WWE since he noted that Howard Finkle told him over the phone that he would be joining SmackDown almost immediately.
This led to McIntyre making his on-screen debut but knowing very little about how wrestling for TV worked. McIntyre revealed that he was in the middle of a match live on WWE TV when he locked in a hold and the referee told him to work the hard cam.
This was when McIntyre looked around before responding "what's a hard cam?"
#8 Vince McMahon used to take WWE promo class
Whilst Drew McIntyre has admitted that he has learned a lot from several Superstars over the years, including The Undertaker and Randy Orton, he has also learned a lot from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
Back in 2009 when McIntyre was seen as The Chosen One, McMahon would take promo class for a select few stars on SmackDown and RAW. This would allow him to pass on some of his wisdom but it also saw Drew McIntyre scare the life out of McMahon in one class when he faked throwing a bottle of water at him.
#7 Drew McIntyre's mother's illness
Drew McIntyre's WWE career began to spiral out of control when he found out that his mother was battling cancer and that he was over at the other side of the world. The current WWE Champion revealed on Broken Skull Sessions that he didn't inform WWE about his mother's illness but it became clear that he was just going through the motions in the ring and this was when his career went on a downward spiral.
McIntyre's mother was one of his biggest supporters and it was heartbreaking for him to be away from her throughout her cancer struggle before she passed away in 2012.
#6 Drew McIntyre was originally set to wrestle Undertaker at WrestleMania 26
The Undertaker was Drew McIntyre's mentor throughout his early years in WWE which allowed him to learn a lot about the business from The Deadman. An interesting relationship was later developed between the two men and McIntyre revealed that Shawn Michaels actually told him that he was set to wrestle Undertaker at the biggest show of the year.
Instead, it was Shawn Michaels who wrestled The Deadman, and McIntyre himself admitted that the match wouldn't have been what he had hoped if it had been given away that early in his career.
#5 Drew McIntyre was scheduled to be WWE's Mr. Money in the Bank
Drew Mcintyre was slotted into the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 26 despite being the Intercontinental Champion at the time. McIntyre revealed on the Broken Skull Sessions that he was initially scheduled to win the match but WWE thought that it was too predictable.
In the end, it was Jack Swagger who lifted the Money in the Bank contract but now a decade on, McIntyre has gone on to become a two-time WWE Champion and still hasn't won the Money in the Bank contract.
#4 Vince McMahon didn't know that Drew McIntyre had broken his arm in 2012
Vince McMahon decided to give Heath Slater his own group back in 2012 after he had worked hard to put over several WWE legends. There were many names suggested for the group including Dean Ambrose and Fandango but McMahon chose Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre to be part of 3MB.
McIntyre was part of several backstage promos and filmed many segments for the group and admitted that at the time Vince McMahon didn't know that he had broken his wrist. This meant that when 3MB came to TV, he underwent surgery and couldn't step in the ring for six months, which hindered the group heavily.
#3 McIntyre would only return to WWE in NXT
Drew McIntyre was originally released from WWE back in 2014 and after changing the face of Independent wrestling in the three years that he had been away, the company came calling.
McIntyre noted that he was looking at New Japan but after talking to William Regal and then Triple H on the phone for 40 minutes, he decided that it was time to go back home but he would only go to NXT.
McIntyre said that the NXT audience understood who he was and was made up of die-hard wrestling fans which was why he would only return on that platform.
#2 Drew McIntyre was pulled out of Scotland by WWE back in March
Earlier in the year, WWE was forced to make a number of harsh decisions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in March when the world was being forced into lockdown, McIntyre was in Scotland and the company booked him a flight back at 1pm and told him he had to return to the United States.
Drew McIntyre was in his home country to shoot an advert for BT Sport ahead of WrestleMania and he still wanted to make that work, which is why he decided to wake everyone up at 5am to make sure the advert was made.
#1 Drew McIntyre forgot his promo when working with Randy Orton
Randy Orton is one of the stars who has helped McIntyre throughout his career and the two men were able to work together earlier this year when they battled over the WWE Championship.
McIntyre cut a promo on Orton back in August where he brought his mother's illness into the storyline and he admitted that it made him so emotional that he forgot his promo.
McIntyre noted that Orton wasn't the man who was in that position but the promo was about someone who was and didn't act the way they perhaps should have at one of the toughest points in his life.
