Greeting Jabronis,
Every once in a while, when the planets are perfectly aligned or something, a young, exciting and talented worker debuts in the WWE and is deservedly sky rocketed to the top of the mountain. Their wrestling prowess, natural talent and the fan reaction they generate make it impossible for the bookers to anything but with them. Kurt Angle was one of these. Brock Lesnar was another to an extent. And of course, there was Randy Orton…
If rumbling rumours were to be believed (which I guess they weren’t necessarily, otherwise they wouldn’t have been called “rumours”), Drew McIntyre was gonna be the next standout star who would capture the attention of the wrestling audiences and find himself at the peak of the roster in breakneck speed… But in recent weeks it’s become blindingly obvious that this isn’t to be it. The kid just doesn’t have the gifts of the aforementioned performers. So, where has it go wrong for young Mcintyre?
McIntyre made his debut in the WWE back in August of last year to much hype. Not only had he received the endorsement of Vince McMahon and HHH (not just in storylines, folks – Vinnie Mac and his super son-in-law both bigged up the Scot to anyone that would listen) but also sound appraisals from locker room veterans such as HBK and Chris Jeriho surfaced online. There was no mistake about it – McIntyre was a big deal.
Feuds with (and wins over) Finlay and R-Truth quickly established McIntyre to the wrestling audiences as someone they were supposed to take seriously – and inevitably an IC title reign quickly followed when he pinned the Shaman of Sexy (very dodgy nickname) John Morrison on PPV. WWE did everything they could to establish their golden child as the next big thing – even going as far as having him verbally declare it himself week in, week out, and allowing him to namedrop the McMahon endorsement. But there was one factor they couldn’t and can’t ever force – a fan reaction
Fans have given a lukewarm reaction to his monotone and lifeless promos, and his non-flashy wrestling style – with an arsenal that, thus far, boasts no unique wrestling moves (although, admittedly, his entrance is pretty cool). McIntyre’s look certainly doesn’t make up for his lack of natural wrestling ability. His long ponytail, bland trunks and average (by WWE standards) physique scream out “mid-card act”… He’s bizarrely reminiscent of one Hunter Hurst Helmsley from back in the early 1990s.
Recent storylines have only served to increase the murkiness of Drew’s ability. He found himself stripped of the IC title (which fuelled a bunch of wellness failure rumours that proved false) only to have the title handed back to him via the orders of Vince McMahon (so he lost and regained the title without ever actually defending it… does that make him a 2 time champion?! …Who cares, right?). Then he was booked to lose the title again a few days later to Kofi Kingston. What point did any of that serve? Not only was it confusing and pointless, it also cheapens the title (if it is indeed possible to cheapen the IC title any further) and presents McIntyre as someone who’s unable to work big matches.
If rumours are true, it seems the whole pointless debacle could be linked to Mr McIntyre finding himself in the dreaded WWE doghouse… And why does he find himself sitting in this doghouse? Because, allegedly, his behaviour backstage has been somewhat nefarious of late – and he perceives himself as somewhat of a “big shot” if you will…
Soooooo, Vince McMahon fully endorses the guy and declares him a future WWE champion… HHH and HBK also identify him as the most talented youngster on the roster and he also finds himself fast-tracked to the IC Title… and then he’s punished for behaving cocky?! To me, it seems he has every right to be a tad cocky! HHH and co can’t genuinely be asking where a high opinion of himself may have originated from?! But hey, nobody has ever claimed that backstage wrestling politics are simple to comprehend.
So McIntyre now finds himself title-less and back in the flow of his rather meaningless feud with Matt Hardy. (I’ve nothing against Hardy, but picking up a win over him means very little on WWE TV these days). If the WWE bigwigs were still genuinely keen on establishing McIntyre as a main player, then he surely would have been the replacement for the injured Undertaker in the upcoming Fatal Four Way, but instead the safer option of Rey Mysterio received the thumbs up.
Perhaps had he not been saddled with so much promise, McIntyre wouldn’t be perceived as such a letdown at this point in his career. We expected so much, but, to be completely honest, there really is nothing to differentiate him from the likes of fellow rising stars such as Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler – which leaves me genuinely puzzled as to why he was singled out for greatness in the first place. It would seem the “chosen one” status has done him more harm than good, because it has placed a more intense glare upon him that has inturn exposed the shallowness of his act.
I’m not for one moment saying that Mcintyre’s career is over before it had a chance to really blossom as he will inevitably get further chances down the road, and there is every possibility he will deliver at least some of the potential that others saw in him.
One thing McIntyre certainly does have on his side is youth. At 24 years old, McIntyre is but an urchin in the WWE right now. I mentioned his uncanny likeness to a 1990s Triple H above – and we all know what happened to that perennial midcarder come the dawn of the Attitude era. So maybe McIntyre can brush off the backlash and surprise us all yet. Or, failing that, he could just get a McMahon pregnant…
