Drew McIntyre returned to the WWE main roster after a four-year absence back on April 16.
But instead of diving into the singles division like many fans had expected, McIntyre was revealed as Dolph Ziggler‘s surprise new tag team partner. The two have been steamrolling tag teams ever since, but many have been wondering why the team was created to begin with given McIntyre’s recent run as NXT Champion.
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“The Celtic Colossus” finally shed some light on the team’s creation during an interview with Jim Ross on the latest episode of “The Ross Report.”
According to McIntyre, he didn’t know about the decision to pair the two up until he arrived at the building for Raw that night.
“I didn’t quite know what was going on,” McIntyre said. “Dolph’s somebody I go way back with. I was really looking forward to working with him.”
McIntyre said the WWE has some big plans for the team.
“People are asking a lot of questions,” McIntyre said. “A lot of people are jumping way ahead and I appreciate all the positive things everybody is saying, but let’s just remember there’s 52 weeks of TV a year. Let’s just take our time — introduce the casual audience who Drew McIntrye is now.”
“Trust me, we’re going to get there,” he added. “It’s going to be a fun journey.”
McIntyre made his original WWE debut back in 2009 and was infamously dubbed as “The Chosen One” by Vince McMahon on an episode of SmackDown before struggling in the midcard for several years. He left the company in 2014 and went on to drastically improve his look and in-ring ability working with Impact Wrestling and a number of independent promotions.
He made his return to the WWE at NXT TakeOver: Orlando in April 2017 when he was spotted in the front row of the crowd. He quickly rose up the ranks in NXT, winning the show’s top title in a match against Bobby Roode at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV in August 2017. McIntyre’s reign was short-lived, however, as he lost his first title defense against Andrade “Cien” Almas at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in November 2017 and tore a bicep in the process, leaving him out of action for several months.
Elsewhere in the interview McIntyre said he hopes to change the mindset inside the Raw roster’s locker room.
“I’ve been in the locker room with the Undertakers, the (Rey) Mysterios, Christian, even Ric Flair when I was 22, and I don’t know if all of them would be happy with the way the locker room is these days.”
