WWE Raw Winners and Losers: Chad Gable Scratched And Clawed
By Tim Sherry
Photo Source: WWE.com
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Make no mistake, no one single person did more to improve their stock Monday night than Drew McIntyre. The former Intercontinental Champion and once Vince McMahon-proclaimed “future world champion”, McIntyre had a horrific fall from grace during his first WWE tenure that spanned 2010-2014. Once seen as the future of the WWE, McIntyre-fever never really caught on with the WWE audience, and what once looked like such a promising young career at just 23 years old upon his debut, looked pretty depressing when at 27 he was released from the company.
However, upon his release, McIntyre went back to the indy circuit where he went on a stirring run that saw him capture 12 championships across five countries in less than three years, culminating with a world title win on Impact Wrestling as well as that company’s Grand Championship. So with his stock rising higher than ever, the WWE pounced and brought him back in where he captured the NXT Championship in short order. And after an injury cost him that title and landed him on the shelf for six months, McIntyre made his return to RAW last week, teaming up with Dolph Ziggler to attack Titus O’Neill and Apollo Crews to a massive applause.
McIntyre, now 32, looks like a completely different wrestler than he did during his first WWE run. And on Monday night after dismantling Crews and O’Neill along with Ziggler, the Scot took to the mic and absolutely undressed the superstars in the back. He took aim at his fellow roster mates in a scathing promo, accusing many of them being “soft”, having “no fire”, “no ambition”, and just there to “collect checks”. McIntyre also described himself in the promo as “dangerous” which may be the understatement of the night and what was most likely supposed to be a heel promo got a massive ovation from the audience in St. Louis.
If this is the new Drew McIntyre, the rest of the WWE should be on alert. Because this time around he’s bigger, better, and on the hunt to restore order on a lackadaisical roster. What a perfect way to return.