5 WWE Superstars who benefited from having their push canceled by Vince McMahon
There have been numerous stars in WWE history through different generations who were once slated for a big push, only for it to be canceled. To get pushed by Vince McMahon, the WWE Chairman needs to be a fan of said superstar.
However, there have been fewer cases in WWE and wrestling history where a wrestler having their push canceled turned out to be beneficial in the long run. THereare five WWE stars from different eras who benefited from having their push canceled by Vince McMahon:
#5. Drew McIntyre -- A prophecy fulfilled in WWE over a decade later
A Year Ago Today @DMcIntyreWWE captured his second WWE championship from Orton #OnThisDayInWWE #OnThisDay #WWERaw https://t.co/PqhUffDMj2
On the September 25, 2009, episode of SmackDown, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon personally introduced Drew McIntyre to the world as a future world champion.
It wasn't McIntyre's debut, but becoming "The Chosen One" seemed to mean that success would inevitably come during his WWE tenure even if it took far longer than the Scottish star would have expected.
The story of Drew McIntyre's first WWE run is well-known. He went from being WWE's hottest young talent to a low-card superstar and an enhancement talent. It was a huge fall from grace for McIntyre, who many considered a future world champion
However, Drew McIntyre's push getting canceled and his WWE release may have been the best thing that happened to him at the time. He quickly worked his way up the independent scene and became one of the hottest free agents, eventually enjoying a successful run at Impact Wrestling before jumping ship to WWE again.
His run in NXT was brief and he also held the NXT title for a short while before he lost it to Andrade 'Cien' Almas and took half a year away due to an injury. When he returned, it was straight to the WWE main roster, where he made a huge impact on his re-debut.
Battle ready ⚔️
#SmackDown https://t.co/2Ly21LaBHl
After a slow and steady 2018, things would pick up by 2019, and by the summer, WWE began to slowly push and protect Drew McIntyre. This is normally what WWE does for Royal Rumble winners to keep their momentum alive while also not making it too obvious that they're set to achieve a career milestone.
By 2020, McIntyre was the face of RAW and helped carry WWE through a large chunk of the pandemic/Thunderdome era. He looks like he will be a main event star for WWE for years to come, and he benefited from his push in the early 2010s being canceled, as it allowed him to explore his character and improve himself into the world championship superstar that he was destined to be.