Top five Drew McIntyre matches in WWE

The mega force that is Drew McIntyre. He certainly is a powerhouse and one that proved that falling to rock bottom isn’t at all the end of one’s rise to the top. He fell and fell hard, but he proved that rising from such depths is not only possible but can lead even further to greatness.

He was the ‘chosen one’ at one point early in his career; being called up from FCW, then WWE’s developmental territory, and he was called up much sooner than many others were, and all because Vince McMahon saw something quite special in the man from Ayr, Scotland.

What followed were years that would show a decline both in direction and story development on WWE’s part and in his own right as well, his falling to personal demons. All of this would lead to a release from the company.

But he wouldn’t let that stop him. With a return to his native Great Britain and a return to the promotions and circuit he started on (specifically ICW based out of Scotland), he went and rebuilt himself into what we now see him as today (gaining quite a wee bit of muscle in the process)…and that is a force that will hopefully one day reclaim his place at the top of the company….

But before he could return to WWE, he would have runs in TNA/Impact and when returning to WWE, he would start in NXT, have an incredible run there and soon he would dominate on the main roster as well.

Many of his fans hope even that he can eventually take that top spot from Roman Reigns, and claim the coveted Universal Championship.

Now that Karrion Kross has been dealt with, he defeated his recent nemesis at Crown Jewel in a steel cage match, perhaps he can set his piercing blue eyes on the aforementioned Head of the table after all…maybe with a little help from an old friend, but more on that a bit later…

Today, we’ll be taking a look at McIntyre’s 5 best WWE matches since he’s been back in WWE…and yes, we’ll include some of his epic battles in NXT as well.

Drew McIntyre vs. Kurt Angle – Raw / November 5th, 2018

We never got Kurt Angle vs. Bret Hart, but this is one dream match we did get in WWE. Angle had made a triumphant return to WWE earlier—a Hall of Fame return—and along the way had some great matches on the way to his eventual retirement. One such match was with a very hungry Drew McIntyre.

The match is a physical one and really shows McIntyre’s dominance in the ring…going head to head with the likes of Angel and making him tap out was indeed quite the statement to just where this man was going in WWE.

McIntyre once had some very powerful words to describe the legendary Kurt Angle while speaking to Sports Illustrated a few years back:

"“Kurt is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time…To have Kurt Angle say, ‘I never knew how good you actually were in the ring until we wrestled,’ that just blew my mind. Then we had our second match in the U.K., and Kurt wanted to put me over and pass the torch. That’s Kurt freakin’ Angle, so it was unreal.”"

Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade – Raw /April 13th, 2020

I feel that the entirety of the WWE roster stepped it up during the pandemic. I mean there was no audience to play off of and for them to go out there and still have entertaining matches is definitely something they should be commended for.

These two men really pulled one out here; the match is very physical, well paced and they told the story well, which in the end, is utterly important…especially when there’s no one to play off of, as stated.

Andrade has proven time and time again that he’s great at this; add McIntyre to the mix and you have a work of art on the canvas…which is what happened here.

Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar – WrestleMania 36

And to stick with the pandemic, how can I overlook this masterpiece? The event is still one of my favorite Manias in the last 5 years, and there’s a very good reason for that…everybody stepped up big time. Many great stories were old at WrestleMania 36.

These two men definitely did tell one, and the win by McIntyre was the start of something special. I feel it was short-lived and should have lasted longer—his reign. My personal opinion is that he deserved the lengthy run that Roman Reigns has enjoyed, but hopefully, that will be the case one day. Hopefully sooner rather than later; he most definitely deserves it.

Drew McIntyre vs. Adam Cole – NXT /January 3rd, 2018

Now talk about a man who knows how to expertly tell a pro wrestling story. Call the man Stephen King of the canvas I will, and that’s deserved. We haven’t seen much of him in AEW as of late due to injury, but he is sorely missed.

Add to that the power and equal storytelling ability of Mr. McIntyre and you’ve got a recipe for yet another masterpiece. Here there’s the added bonus of the special guest referee…Mr. HBK himself, Shawn Michaels.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus – SmackDown (Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook Match)  /July 29th, 2022

A newer one, but a definite great one. These two to me are this age’s British Bulldog and Owen Hart. Every single time they get in that ring together it’s something special indeed.

The story, pacing, physicality, entertainment, athletics, power…it’s all there, folks. It definitely deserves that number-one spot. And they of course go way back…to their humble beginnings in the UK, their training for WWE in FCW, their rise amongst the ranks…and quite obviously beyond.

As per last week’s episode of SmackDown, now it seems as though they’ll be working together to stop The Bloodline, with Butch and Ridge Holland along for the ride. This should be very interesting, dear readers.