WWE News: Drew McIntyre talks about how his WWE release helped his career
What's the story?
Drew McIntyre is one of very few WWE stars who has been released from WWE only to be re-signed a few years later, but it seems that his WWE return was all part of a plan that the Scottish star had for himself.
In case you didn't know...
McIntyre was seen as a future prospect in WWE when he debuted as part of the company back in 2009 and it became well-known that he was one of Vince McMahon's favorites in the company at that point.
His career didn't go as well as expected and by 2012 he was part of 3MB with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal who became jobbers for a few years before he was released from the company as part of budget cuts back in 2014.
Drew returned to WWE after a three-year break back in 2017 and just four months after his first appearance he became NXT Champion.
The heart of the matter
The former NXT Champion was recently interviewed by SPORTbible where he talked about the plan that he had when he was released from WWE back in 2014 that ended up working out exactly how he thought it would.
"I saw being released as an opportunity, and thought 'Right Drew here you go, you can either be miserable or really show the world what you can do. Take everything you've [learned] and apply it.'"
This is obviously much easier said than done, so McIntyre explained what it was he did following his release that helped him become such a valuable asset.
"I applied everything I [learned] and traveled across the world, became the busiest wrestler on the entire planet," said McIntyre. "I built my brand and during that time I grew up a lot, as a man, but I also learned a lot as a professional – how to be a main event guy, how to conduct myself in every possible way and apply everything I'd learned in WWE. And by the time ICW got to the level it got to, everywhere I went to got to a level that it didn't need me anymore to keep growing. Everyone was ready, all the roster was ready, the company was ready and it was time for me to return home. So it was perfect timing and the perfect opportunity. And then I became NXT champion so it really worked out."
What's next?
It was revealed late last year that Drew McIntyre suffered a torn bicep in his match against Andrade 'Cien' Almas at NXT Takeover: War Games. It seems that this injury could keep him on the sidelines for another few months since he hasn't come into any of the conversations ahead of NXT Takeover: New Orleans in April.
Author's take
Jinder Mahal, Curt Hawkins, and even Shelton Benjamin were all also recently resigned to WWE as well but were sent straight to the main roster rather than going to the NXT brand. It seems that Drew has flourished throughout his time in NXT and it was a great move for WWE to allow him to have that time at the top of the brand, it will be interesting to see where he fits in now when he returns.