Former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre recently looked back on a pivotal moment in his career, revealing that a public endorsement from WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley was a key factor in his eventual return to the company. After being released from his first WWE run in 2014, McIntyre completely reinvented himself on the independent circuit, becoming one of the most in-demand wrestlers in the world. His hard work caught the attention of Foley, who praised McIntyre’s transformation on an episode of “The Stone Cold Podcast,” an appearance that directly led to Triple H getting in touch with “The Scottish Warrior.”
Speaking on the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast, McIntyre recalled the “surreal” moment and the conversation with Foley that set the stage for his comeback.
“Yeah, it was just surreal… Mick had told me personally afterwards, ‘I want you to be on a big platform. I saw the interview you did in ICW, your return, it was like a different human.’ And that’s literally what he said when he went on Stone Cold’s podcast. ‘Looked like a different human being. I texted Triple H,’ which he did. He said, ‘You got to keep an eye on Drew. He’s just not the same right now.’ And my first thought was, ‘I mean, I am. It was only a month ago I got fired, but maybe I just needed a kick in the ass.’ And sure enough, Hunter watched me that whole time and William Regal, especially keeping tabs, keeping him updated. Then in 2017, when I returned to WWE, I was ready to go to New Japan at that point. That’s where my head was at. Spoke to the right people to start having the serious conversations. And Regal told me, ‘You got to talk to talk to Hunter first, got to talk to Paul first.’ And it was one minute into the conversation, I knew it was time to come back.”
McIntyre also named his ideal four-man bar fight team: Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Haku, and Hornswoggle, whom he would “sacrifice” to the opposition.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription. Thanks for checking out this article. Make sure to follow Jeff Jarrett and all things GFE on Facebook.
