Drew McIntyre Returns to Monday Night Raw

The former Chosen One has come home.

On Monday Night Raw former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre returned to the WWE main roster, aligning himself with Dolph Ziggler and turning heel in the process.

The segment on Monday Night Raw started with Ziggler arriving and revealing himself as the latest trade from SmackDown Live to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake-up. As he began to cut a promo Ziggler was cut off Titus Worldwide, who had come to the ring to offer him a spot in the faction.

Ziggler responded by saying he hadn’t come to Raw alone, and Apollo and Titus O’Neill were blindsided from behind by McIntyre.

McIntyre first joined the WWE‘s developmental program back in 2007 and by 2009 he had made his way to the main roster and was infamously dubbed “The Chosen One” by Vince McMahon. However McIntyre struggled to live up to that name, and by 2012 he was a member of the 3MB jobber trio alongside Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater.

He left the company in June 2014 and spent the next three years reinventing himself on the independent scene. His stock rose as he became a headliner for Evolve and United Kingdom promotion ICW, then became a world champion during his tenure with Impact Wrestling.

McIntyre returned to the WWE fold in 2017 as part of the NXT brand, and became NXT Champion by defeating Bobby Roode at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. He held onto the gold until NXT TakeOver: WarGames in November, where he dropped the title to Andrade “Cien” Almas and tore his bicep in the process. He reappeared during the preshow for NXT TakeOver: New Orleans back on April 7, saying he was ready to return.

McIntyre and Ziggler join a stacked list of wrestlers who made the jump to Monday Night Raw during the Superstar Shake-up. Some of the other wrestlers include Jinder Mahal (who lost his United States Championship to Jeff Hardy in his first match), the Riott Squad, Natalya, Bobby Roode, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbun, the Ascension, Chad Gable and the Breezango.

The Shake-up continues on Tuesday night during SmackDown Live. The Blue Brand alerady picked up one star on Monday night as Kurt Angle announced the Miz is head back, where his former rival Daniel Bryan will be waiting.