Former tag champ refused to return to WWE until Drew McIntyre persuaded him
Drew McIntyre is one of many WWE Superstars who returned several years after being let go by the company. In a recent interview, Heath Slater recalled how The Scottish Warrior encouraged him to make a one-off return shortly after receiving his release.
On July 6, 2020, Slater appeared on RAW despite being fired by WWE almost three months earlier. The four-time Tag Team Champion lost a 24-second match against McIntyre before his former 3MB stablemate saved him from being attacked by Dolph Ziggler.
Speaking on Rewind Recap Relive, Slater addressed why he was initially reluctant to participate in the episode:
"I kept denying it like, 'Bro, no. They fired me. I don't wanna come back. What the hell for? Blah, blah, blah.' I'm just like, 'No, I'm not doing it. No, no, no.' Of course, he [Drew McIntyre] talked me into it saying, 'Hey, man, just picture it. What if you get your job back? What if you're in the ring with me and this is the last time they see you, but then you go off on the indies and everybody wants to book you?'" [32:29 – 32:59]
WWE's higher-ups tried to rehire Slater after the impressive segment, but he rejected the offer because he wanted to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
Heath Slater declined Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre match opportunity
On July 19, 2020, Drew McIntyre defeated Dolph Ziggler at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules to retain the WWE Championship.
WWE's creative team wanted Heath Slater to feature in the finish to the Extreme Rules match. However, he refused to return another time following his previous appearance on RAW:
"It was supposed to be Dolph and Drew wrestling and then I had to come," Slater continued. "I was gonna screw Dolph so Drew could win type thing. Then I was gonna be out. But I told them, 'No, I'm just gonna do RAW and I'm out,' type deal. They just was like, 'Okay, well, you sure?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm sure, I'm just doing this thing with Drew and I'm out.'" [34:54 – 35:16]
In the same interview, Slater opened up about possibly returning to WWE in 2024.
Do you think Heath Slater should have accepted the offer to appear in the Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre match? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Rewind Recap Relive and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.