Despite recent bad booking, Drew McIntyre can still be redeemed with a babyface run on Raw

Drafted to WWE Raw in the first round, Drew McIntyre could be primed for big things as a babyface on Monday nights.

While far from “buried,” Drew McIntyre’s past six months in WWE haven’t exactly been ideal.

From falling short of beating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 35 to an underwhelming alliance with Shane McMahon that did more harm than good, McIntyre isn’t quite in the same spot current that he was one year ago.

Of course, getting hurt following his failure in the first round of the King of the Ring tournament didn’t help matters, but the time off may end up being a blessing in disguise for him. After all, it could pave the way for him to return to Raw as a babyface, the role he is ultimately destined to be successful in.

WWE doesn’t normally get it right with the NXT call-ups, but they did with McIntyre, even though he was previously a part of the Raw roster years earlier. He made an immediate impact upon his return to Raw in April 2018 by forging an alliance with Dolph Ziggler and winning the Raw Tag Team Championship a short time later.

After ditching Ziggler to embark on a singles run late last year, The Chosen One secured victories over Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. He eventually entered a rivalry with Reigns that didn’t end in his favor, and as previously noted, he’s been on the downswing ever since.

Thankfully, Raw picking him in the first round of the 2019 WWE Draft is a sign WWE still sees him as a priority. With a renewed push, it might not be long before he’s fighting for the Universal Championship.

With Brock Lesnar likely moving to SmackDown in Night 2 of the Draft, Raw will need a new lead heel going forward (assuming Bray Wyatt isn’t traded back to the flagship show at some point).

McIntyre could very well fill that void, but it’d be even better for him to be positioned as one of Raw’s lead babyfaces instead.

It really wouldn’t be that difficult to turn him, and seeing as how he’s been away from programming for the past two months, now would be the perfect time for WWE to start endearing himself to the audience.

McIntyre played a pretty convincing babyface in NXT, where he won the NXT Championship in a matter of months.

His above-average in-ring ability, superb mic skills and connection with the crowd make him easy to root for and far more likable than Raw’s current top babyface Seth Rollins.

It’s all but a guarantee that Seth Rollins will remain on Raw in Night 2 of the 2019 WWE Draft.

Unfortunately, he’s lost almost all of his appeal as a babyface due to bad booking, and if WWE wants to capitalize on the backlash his Hell in a Cell match with Bray Wyatt received, they should turn him heel sooner rather than later.

It then becomes a question of who could realistically replace him as Raw’s number one face. It’s too soon for Ricochet, too late for Rey Mysterio, and Roman Reigns is better suited on SmackDown for now.

Kevin Owens is an option as well, but McIntyre would make more sense than anyone considering he’s been ready for the main event spotlight for years.

It’s high time WWE pulled the trigger on him not as just a Universal Championship contender, but as a babyface.

If McIntyre’s NXT run as a face didn’t blow you away, seek out his work on the independent scene after leaving WWE in 2014, specifically in IMPACT from 2015 to 2016. His promos alone were enough to get fans to rally behind him and want to see him fulfill his destiny as a future world champion.

WWE has yet to tap into that passionate side of McIntyre, at least on the main roster. As believable of a heel as he is, he has more of an upside as a fan favorite, especially at a time now where Raw could use a babyface that fans can invest in.

Regardless of when he resurfaces on Raw, he should target Randy Orton and Bobby Lashley (two of Raw’s more prominent heels) before setting his sights on the red-leathered title.

From there, he can take his rightful place as the face of the flagship show and rekindle his rivalry with Rollins, this time with the roles reversed.