Tag: Drew

By Cameron HawkinsJan. 3, 5:23 pm UTC • 8 min

In “-30-”, the finale of the heralded Baltimore drug series The Wire, a collection of traffickers known as the New Day Co-Op meet to discuss their future plans, with several members having recently been killed, jailed, or forced into retirement. Seemingly out of nowhere, Slim Charles, former Barksdale Organization enforcer and one of the few universally respected characters in the series, guns down his associate Melvin “Cheese” Wagstaff, announcing that it was in retaliation for arranging the murder of Slim’s former boss (and Cheese’s uncle) Proposition Joe. While the killing made waves with the other members of the Co-Op, Cheese was brash, annoying, and selfish, and likely would have caused more problems for Slim the longer he was around. Like the man who stood with Avon Barksdale and Joe until their demises, WWE’s own towering, respected enforcer, Drew McIntyre, has also taken it upon himself to dole out justice where and when he sees fit. Drew turned “not liking the guy” into a mantra, a motivation, and a lifestyle, making 2024 the most rewarding year of his career. And he has no intentions of changing up in 2025.

“I never thought it’d be a point in my career where I said, ‘Currently, I don’t care about the world title,’” McIntyre says, looking back over a year when he won and lost the World Heavyweight Championship in the same night. “I don’t care about my legacy like I used to, because inevitably, people are just going to forget.” What fans don’t forget are the emotions you bring out in them, and McIntyre’s dedication to letting his frustrations explode through words, hands, and feet provided some of the best moments of WWE television in 2024. “I got more of an emotional response from anybody [than] I’ve ever gotten in my entire career, be it on TV, online, to live crowds,” he says. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster for Drew McIntyre this year, and in the end, that’s what our industry is all about, is making you feel.” As Raw shifts away from its decades-long home of traditional cable over to the streaming giant Netflix next week, McIntyre figures to be one of the brand’s biggest attractions, continuing to make his truth sound better than whatever the actual truth might be. 

In 2024, no one’s family, friends, or legacies were off limits, as Drew tortured and taunted everyone who crossed his path. McIntyre spent the year reaching Frank Grimes levels of both stating the obvious … and then asking why no one else would do the same. McIntyre’s motivation for spending 2024 terrorizing WWE was the Clash at the Castle in 2022. That night, he challenged then–Universal WWE Champion Roman Reigns for the title in Wales, seven hours from his native Scotland. He nearly put Roman away, but lost due to interference from the Bloodline’s then-newest member (and current leader), Solo Sikoa. “Take away the biggest moment of my life, my career, right in front of my family, the ones who truly have sacrificed, given me up for 17 years. That was going to be our night,” Drew remembers. He took offense to Reigns, Jey and Jimmy Uso, and Sami Zayn in particular being cheered in 2024 after all the beatings they put on people during their time on top. “No, that’s not how life works.” He started to air these frustrations in late 2023, refusing to accept Jey as “one of the good guys” after Jey left the Bloodline. Drew was the reason Jey and Cody Rhodes lost the Raw Tag Team Championship that November, and would team with the Judgment Day to face Cody and Jey’s squad at Survivor Series: WarGames later that month.

Drew and the Judgment Day went on to lose that match, but someone who wasn’t even in the contest that night would truly set the stage for McIntyre’s 2024. After the match, CM Punk made his surprise return to WWE, and the locker room was just as surprised as the fans. Drew left the arena frustrated, as the two have unresolved issues. “I’ve never really gone into the details, and maybe I will eventually,” Drew says, hinting at a conflict between the two that “has adversely affected my career. It stems from a real personal place.” Personal issues aside, it was an on-air jab that lit the fire for McIntyre. It’s possible Punk hadn’t been paying attention to Drew over the past few years, but at that point, he was a full-fledged, do-it-all talent, both in the ring and outside of it. “The first interview we had [when Punk returned] I was able to look him in the eye to let him know I’m not the same kid I once was. He made the one comment” about Drew not being known for talking. “You can see the look in my eye. ‘All right, I’ll show you. Things are getting different around here.’ I can feel it, and I feel myself being like, ‘I’m going to say whatever the hell I want 1735954566. I’m not going to go off on a tangent with story parameters, but I’m going to shred you.’” From that point on, Drew would do exactly that. 

The ensuing months of sharp exchanges and vicious insults and actions made the universally recognized feud of the year about more than wins and losses. He told Punk that he’d prayed for the triceps tear Punk suffered at the 2024 Royal Rumble, and he wore a shirt featuring himself Photoshopped in front of a gravestone that read “CM Punk’s WrestleMania Main Event: 2024-2024.” After defeating an overextended Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL, he continued to dance on Punk’s metaphorical grave, mocking and taunting him until Punk (who was at ringside on commentary during the match) swept out Drew’s legs, providing the opening for Damian Priest to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and take McIntyre’s title. Punk continued to cost McIntyre championship opportunities throughout the summer, interfering at Clash at the Castle on Priest’s behalf. This would only strengthen Drew’s hater’s resolve, doubling down on his efforts to upset and undo Punk. He’d attack Punk backstage in his hometown of Chicago, stealing a fan-made bracelet featuring the names of Punk’s wife and dog. After Punk cost Drew a title shot at Money in the Bank, the two finally faced off in a match at SummerSlam in Cleveland, which Drew won thanks to unintentional help from Rollins, another one of Punk’s real-life rogues. While appreciative of the assist, Drew doesn’t have much interest in beefs that aren’t his own. “Whatever incident had happened one time when [Rollins] was a kid, [Punk] wouldn’t train him, I guess,” Drew explains. “I don’t care about all that crap.” 

Drew lost their next battle, falling to Punk in a strap match at Bash in Berlin. Then, in possibly the most brutal contest of both of their WWE tenures, Punk defeated Drew in Atlanta at Bad Blood in a Hell in a Cell match that truly lived up to the title of the PLE. Punk dug into McIntyre’s skull with a wrench, struck him headfirst multiple times with a loaded toolbox, and baited Drew into missing a Claymore and landing with the small of his back on the steel steps. For all the sacrifice, for everything Drew put on the line, their match was the show opener, leading Drew to question the moment’s worth. “[WWE is] so gigantic and we’re nonstop that when you’re gone, you’re gone,” Drew reflects. “It doesn’t matter if you’re myself or Stone Cold or the Rock when he shows back up or whatever. People just move on. They’re focused on what’s there in front of you. And I had to have that epiphany when I was out injured [after Bad Blood]. And I was that badly injured, 16 staples on my head, smashed my back on the steps.” Drew says that while he could have returned that Monday on Raw, he was dealing with personal issues. “I had that realization when I was out, like, ‘Man, people really do move on that quick.’”

What may come across as apathy is more about personal artistry. Drew McIntyre’s been the biggest, baddest guy in almost every room he’s ever entered. He had the world promised to him, being christened “The Chosen One” 15 years ago. He’d be released five years later, going from future main eventer to low-card comedy act in that time. He worked his way back to prominence across the independent scene, making his way back to WWE and proving he was exactly what was advertised, winning both the NXT and WWE championships. So now, under a regime that rewards those who can go off the cuff, Drew’s ready to create the moments he can look back on and appreciate. “With the new management, the way things are now, they’re very much like, ‘If you know yourself, go for it,’” Drew says, explaining that at one point he felt like he was holding back too much in fear of being fined or fired, although obviously things have changed. “I think I’m at that place where I’m like, ‘Screw it. I’m going to go all the way, and I’m willing to deal with the repercussions,’ just to get the best possible result for myself, for the fans, and in the end, for the company. And if I get smacked a few times along the way, that’s sometimes what it takes to set the standard.” Part of setting that standard seems to be leaning even harder into the “me vs. everyone” mantra.  McIntyre has every intention of continuing to remind everyone that he neither forgives nor forgets past indiscretions. Recently returning to Raw, he immediately set his sights on Sami Zayn and Jey Uso, the first two members of the original Bloodline to attempt to reconcile with the rest of the roster. “I’m going to take and take and take,” Drew declares. “I’m going to focus on what matters to me at that exact moment, and what matters to me right now is beating up everybody that’s ever screwed me over.” 

In the closing montage of “-30-,” Slim Charles is seen meeting with “The Greek,” the series’ international drug kingpin, making him one of the few significant dealers to actually end the series better than they started. Slim was fierce, loyal to those loyal to him, and made sure that if there was a debt, it was paid at the right time. Drew McIntyre spent 2024 getting back at everyone he felt owed him, and plans on keeping that same energy in the new year. “I’m going to take them out one by one, and they’re not going to know when I’m coming.”

Cameron Hawkins

Cameron Hawkins writes about pro wrestling, ‘Blade II,’ and obscure ’90s sitcoms for Yahoo Sports’ Uncrowned and Complex.