The last time that WWE fans saw Drew McIntrye in the WWE, he was part of the ridiculous faction 3 Man Band, who along with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal, lost to just about everyone. It was a huge fall from someone who was supposed to be a main event talent when he signed with the WWE. However, something happened and McIntrye went to the indies after leaving the WWE and reinvented himself, someone he told The Scottish Sun was important when it came to returning to the WWE.
Drew Galloway on the indies
When Drew McIntyre left the WWE he started using his real name of Drew Galloway and went back home to Scotland, returning to Insane Championship Wrestling, winning their major heavyweight championship belt.
While the WWE made him a jobber in a joke group, Galloway proved he was still a legitimate superstar back home. He worked hard and developed a tough guy reputation over there before making his way back to America and becoming one of the most successful former WWE wrestlers to work on the independent scene. In 2014, Galloway started wrestling for Evolve, which was a huge move since the WWE has a working relationship with the company and could see what Galloway was doing in the indies. He actually won the Evolve championship from Chris Hero (Kassius Ohno) in his first appearance. He also held the tag titles with Johnny Gargano (from NXT tag team DIY) and Dustin, and the Open the Freedom Gate Championship, who he won from Gargano.
He also made a stop in Impact Wrestling where he won their world title as well as their Grand Championship.
The return of Drew McIntyre
After so much success outside of the WWE as Drew Galloway, he had a tough decision to make. Impact Wrestling offered Galloway another new contract and had plans to make him the new world champion for the company again.
However, Galloway said that they waited too long and didn't sign the new deal. It seemed a strange statement about the timing but Impact Wrestling moved on and brought in Alberto El Patron instead to play that role that they planned for Galloway. Now, it looks like the reason that it was too late is because Drew McIntyre is returning to the WWE.
In the interview, McIntyre claimed that he could have gone to "Monday Night Raw" or "SmackDown Live" but he chose to go to NXT because that seemed most exciting and he has his eyes set on the NXT title. It opens a lot of possibilities, including reviving relationships with Johnny Gargano or fighting familiar foes like Kassius Ohno and Aleister Black. It also allows him to reestablish himself as a main event talent in the WWE and erase the 3 Man Band era forever.
