Drew McIntyre beat Brock Lesnar in the main event of April’s PPV, beginning his first run with the WWE Championship.
It’s something that has been a long time coming too. A decade before pinning The Beast, McIntyre was tipped for greatness.
So, why are we telling you this now? Well, June 6 happens to be the Scottish Psychopath’s birthday, so it gives us the perfect excuse to celebrate all he’s achieved in WWE.
Hailing from Ayr, Scotland, McIntyre arrived in Florida Championship Wrestling in 2008 after working the independent circuit for a number of years.
The Brit quickly graduated from WWE’s developmental territory, making his SmackDown debut 12 months later.
It was in 2009 that Vince McMahon introduced McIntyre as ‘The Chosen One’ and a ‘future world champion’ – no pressure, Drew.
Sadly, his early career didn’t quite pan out that way. After varying degrees of success on his own – and as part of the 3MB stable – McIntyre was released in 2014.
No doubt that would have been a devastating blow for anyone and it was one that nearly ended the Scotsman’s career – he even watched WrestleMania 31 from a nightclub in Glasgow.
But rather than give up, McIntyre got back to work, building back up his reputation on the independent circuit with spells in ICW, IMPACT Wrestling and Evolve.
After three years working the indies, he returned to WWE, debuting in NXT in April 2017.
Within four months he won the championship and defended it against the likes of Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and Roderick Strong.
Despite suffering a serious injury in November, McIntyre was called up to the main roster within 12 months of re-signing with WWE, appearing on RAW after his layoff.
From then on, he didn’t look back. Gold came in the form of the Tag Team Championships and feuds with Finn Balor, Elias and The Shield propelled Drew into the main event.
By 2020, the stage was set. McIntyre’s incredible comeback story was complete when he won the WWE Championship against Lesnar, soon after winning the Royal Rumble in epic fashion.
He’s already proving to be a fighting champion too, successfully defending the title against Big Show and Seth Rollins in his first few months.
WWE’s first British champ has all the momentum right now and hard to see him slowing down anytime soon, especially after working so hard to get into this position.So with that all said, and McIntyre’s incredible story told, there’s only one thing left to say: Happy birthday, Drew!
