Drew McIntyre Believes He Can Be WWE’s Top Guy

Both literally and figuratively, Drew McIntyre was once the WWE‘s Chosen One. The on-screen pick of Vince McMahon was on his way to superstardom before getting lost in the WWE mid-card shuffle and leaving the company in 2014. After re-working his character on the Indy scene and in TNA, McIntyre is getting another shot to fulfill his potential in NXT.

In a recent interview with The UK Mirror, McIntyre said he believes that his time away has prepared him to eventually be the top superstar Vince McMahon envisioned him to be.

“I always have, 100%, I’ve never changed my opinion since I said that. He didn’t say the things he said for his health, he has done a lot with this business because of his eye for it. I wasn’t necessarily the guy he was looking for back then in a few different ways, but he certainly saw that raw talent and potential. I’ve been lucky that I’ve got myself through various opportunities and platforms and people believing in me, my wife helping in a lot of different areas, and growing up a lot, I’ve shown I am ready now to be a top guy, to hold that position for the company and show what it is to represent a giant, publicly traded company like WWE. There is so much more than just what you do in the ring and what you do on the microphone. As a kid I didn’t quite comprehend that, but now that’s something 100% I’m ready for. I’ve represented many people as the face of the company, proudly and I do it with joy and I do it with respect and make sure I elevate everywhere I go. I came to NXT to elevate it and I came back to WWE to fulfill the prophecy.”

McIntyre also revealed how he felt about his former 3 Man Band teammate, Jinder Mahal, winning the WWE Championship.

“I made the loudest noise in the world backstage when he won that title! I think I almost punched the roof I jumped and punched the air so much. Just to watch his turnaround is the biggest thing for me. I remember about a year and a half ago having a conversation with him. The second I was gone from the WWE, as you know, I started to write my mission statement, I just kept going, there was nothing else I was going to do. I had a clear vision and thankfully it just came out. With Jinder he went out, he wasn’t too sure what he wanted to do, and he talked about this on Chris Jericho’s podcast so I’m not speaking out of turn. He got himself out of shape, not wrestling so much. He wasn’t really sure what to do and we had a conversation when he wasn’t too sure about his future and was talking about opening I think it was a Subway franchise he was leaning towards and he’s got a couple of houses and real estate. Wrestling was pretty much off the table. Then one day he made a decision, ‘no, I’m going to get back in shape’. He started taking it seriously again, got back in shape, got the call from WWE, continued his path, worked hard, gave up alcohol, made these positive changes in his life and just started working his arse off. To watch him go from that conversation when he was out of shape to where he is today, the most in-shape guy on the roster and one of the hardest working guys, I’m very proud of my brother for earning that. That was a big moment for him and I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

You can watch Drew work his way back up to WWE stardom on NXT every Wednesday on the WWE Network.