"Bad dreams come true
I make them for you, I make dreams come true"
The past couple of months, we’ve seen Drew McIntyre walking around with a giant chip on his shoulder. For those around him, Drew is holding on to unnecessary baggage. For Drew, it’s all justified.
However, this change in demeanor of the Scot isn’t something that just happened overnight. No, this rage has been brewing inside him for years.
We can trace the start of it all to 2020. WrestleMania 36. Bagpipes sound through an empty and small arena. It’s the biggest match of McIntyre’s career. He earned the opportunity after winning the Royal Rumble to score the golden ticket of main eventing WrestleMania and he’s facing Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.
We’ve heard the story many times of Drew being picked as “The Chosen One” at 24, getting fired, transforming himself completely and coming back to WWE as the Scottish Warrior. This night was supposed to be his crowning moment. The moment that was supposed to make all those years of hard work, failures and sacrifices worth it.
And it was happening at an empty WWE Performance Center.
Around this time, Covid was just beginning to be taken seriously around the world, which meant WrestleMania that year would go through many card changes, take place without fans and also introduced the two night format.
Despite the circumstances, Drew still goes out and wins the title in 5 minutes. When he wins you can see the emotion on his face and it hits harder when you can hear every word, yell and cry clearly.
No one could have predicted truly how much Covid would have affected our lives the way it did. For WWE, it meant they had to continue running shows without fans. Drew would hold on to the title or at least be in the title picture for most of the pandemic era. This run showed he could step up to plate when needed and become someone the company could rely on to lead in difficult situations. But he didn’t get to have this run in front of fans. Sadly, he was champion in a time most people want to forget.
He wouldn’t get the chance to see how fans would react to him as a top face in person until the next year at WrestleMania 37. Drew versus the WWE champion at the time Bobby Lashley starts off the show and would be the first match in front of a crowd in over a year.
Lashley had MVP in his corner, which meant MVP was able to distract Drew so Lashley could trap him in the hurt lock and retain the title. Since then, Drew has failed to get that championship back.
He had other title opportunities, like a chance at the US title and even a world championship match against Big E, but he’d fail to get back to the top like he was in 2020.
However, his next big chance came in 2022 at Clash at The Castle. The circumstances were almost too perfect. He was in his home country with fans, family and friends in attendance who were one thousand percent behind him. It would be a tough challenge for sure as he was facing Roman Reigns who was (and still is) on an insane reign as champion, but if he was going to be the one to take him down, it was going to be here.
Before Drew comes out, a video of him set to his previous theme before leaving WWE, “Broken Dreams” plays. It shows Drew’s career from when he was just starting out as a wrestler, to coming in as The Chosen one to the man we see today.
The crowd is so behind him and so anti Roman I worry they’ll burn the building down if he doesn’t win. “Ohhh Drew McIntyre” they sing.
Like any Roman Reigns match, there are outside interferences, but they’re not Bloodline related so far. Karrion Kross is front row to play mind games with Drew. Austin Theory almost cashes in his MITB briefcase but fails. With no more distractions and no Usos in sight, maybe it is Drew’s moment.
After a claymore to Reigns, everyone is starting to believe Drew is really going to be the one to do it but then a mysterious hooded figure pulls the ref out of the ring. It’s revealed to be Solo Sikoa, brother of The Usos, cousin of Roman Reigns and new member of The Bloodline.
This interference from Solo costs Drew the match and the title. He’s lost another chance of being a champion in front of fans, but most importantly, he lost in front of his family in his home country.
Drew was never the one to complain, so he did what he did best and kept fighting to hopefully challenge for the title again one day. He’s had more career highlights since this match though, such as going after the Intercontinental championship and having a match of the year contender with Sheamus and Gunther at WrestleMania 39 but failed to capture gold.
But with the weight of disappointment continuing to pile on you with nothing to show for it, even the strongest of men would crack.
His breaking point came in the newest member of Raw: Jey Uso, the former right hand of the tribal chief Roman Reigns- AKA, The guy who would help beat down Drew. AKA, The guy responsible for keeping the title on Reigns most nights.
Now, Jey wasn’t involved at Clash at the Castle, but his mere association with The Bloodline was enough for Drew to hold a grudge against him. Plus, to make matters worse, an already agitated Drew was being pushed to his limits by his peers. Xavier Woods’ of The New Day had told Drew that he was just jealous of Kofi cause Kofi got his WrestleMania moment in front of screaming fans and Drew had his in an empty arena. It seems like what was supposed to be one of the happiest moments in Drew's career would turn into a low blow for others to use against him.
Drew did get a match with Jey a few weeks after he had joined RAW. Drew ended up winning that bout but after, The Judgment Day jumped Jey. The Scotsman didn’t help either side but instead, just watched.
Kofi and Xavier point out the Drew they used to know would have helped Jey despite their differences. The Drew they used to look up to wouldn’t have been a coward. Drew responds why didn’t they help Jey then? Why didn’t anyone else come out? Why did it have to be him, and why in the hell would he be responsible for Jey? Something that’s gonna be a common thing in Drew’s reasonings is that he’s not technically wrong.
He’s got a point; anyone else could have come out to help Jey such as The New Day.
Drew would fall into this tweener-like role where you really couldn’t cheer for the decisions he made, but you could see why he did things the way he did.
Drew and Kofi have a much needed match to help resolve their issues which Drew wins. After, Ivar from the Viking Raiders attacks Kofi and Drew does the same as he did last week and just looks on. The next week Drew cuts a promo to explain to everyone he doesn’t need to explain his actions.
“...What's going on Drew? Why have you changed? You’re not the same guy. Explain yourself. I don’t have to explain a damn thing to anybody in that locker room… The only people I answer to are my fans.”
To Drew, if you’re a fan or someone who’s been following him, you should get why he is doing what he is doing. You should understand completely.
Drew then says he is going to “stop being the savior” and stop interfering in fights that don’t involve him anymore. “And between my own business, everyone else's business, my responsibility outside the ring- I am showing up and fighting at less than 100 percent and I’m done with it.”
There have been many reports of Drew working sick or injured. He’s always been one to show up, no matter what though. Plus, he’s always out representing the company and giving back by attending things like Make a Wish, The Special Olympics and other similar events- and sometimes going when he was on break.
In the ring, he was the guy to stand up for those who needed it. But one guy can only be stretched so thin. Why should he look after a locker room that’s constantly told him to “get over” being cheated out of the greatest moments of his life?
This new character angle with Drew has done really well in mixing real-life situations with questionable kayfabe decisions to create the perfect anti-hero that's divided fans.
After weeks of racking up wins, Drew confronts the current World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. He tells him he wants him at one hundred percent and that he wants him at Crown Jewel. The match is made official and Drew is acting like his usual self here and even jokes that if you see him out tonight to buy him a pint.
However, before Drew gets to leave, Judgement Day’s Damien Priest jumps Seth from behind and Drew looks on again. Then Dominik Mysterio runs out to give Damien his briefcase to cash in and Drew stops him and flings the case away.
This wouldn’t go unnoticed by Seth as he goes backstage to confront his future opponent. Drew didn’t come to the aid of Seth despite claiming he wanted him at one hundred percent but when he was about to get cashed in, then he suddenly cared enough to help. Drew says he meant what he said last week; if it doesn’t involve him, he’s not getting involved. He doesn’t want a repeat of The Bloodline having all the power, so that’s why he stopped the Judgement Day tonight. Again, technically not a bad stance to have.
The plot would thicken as on this same night, in a backstage segment unrelated to Drew, in the far background, we see him and Rhea having a conversation.
Seth thinks this means Drew is inlisting the help of The Judgement Day but Drew tells him not to worry about that but instead worry about him taking the title. He says he doesn’t need anyone to fight his battles despite having a history of being screwed over; every big match he lost was because of outside interferences such as mist to the eyes, low blows, and The Bloodline. Seth then screams at him to "shut up about The Bloodline already”.
This angers Drew. “...Get over it? You like being world champion, don’t you?” He screams, “Having thousands of people scream for you, sing your song every week, yeah?... That was the dream. It was my dream too. And when I achieved that dream in the main event of WrestleMania, when I beat Brock Lesnar in five minutes, there was nobody there. It wasn’t just a tough time for the company. We were in a worldwide pandemic and we needed someone to step up and Drew Mcyntire stepped up. And missed moment after missed moment, by the time everyone was back the moment had passed but I captured lightning in a bottle a second time in the U.K. one on one with Roman Reigns over 50000 where it all began and who screwed me over? The Bloodline! So I’m sorry for not getting it over so quickly.”
Every big moment from Drew has been either tainted or taken away from him. And while some say to just be happy he even got this far, Drew just wants someone to get where he's coming from and feel a little empthatic.
But to Seth these are just a bunch of excuses and now with Drew saying he doesn't like The Judgment Day but he's seen talking to Rhea, what can be taken as the truth anymore?
A very serious visionary tells Drew, “I am going to beat you at Crown Jewel and I promise it will be the best thing that will ever happen to you because for the first time in a long time you will have no one to blame, but yourself.”
At Crown Jewel, the two have an awesome bout where it’s so close, but Drew loses yet again. And he loses clean too. The emotions on his face are almost unreadable, but you can sense frustration building inside him as he realizes he's lost.
Two weeks after losing to him, Drew shakes Seth’s hand and says he’ll do as he always does and fight back to the top to be able to challenge for that title once again. There were no outside interferences, and Drew knows he can’t blame anyone this time.
However, during that night’s main event of champions Damien Priest and Finn Balor versus Cody and Jey for the tag titles, Drew comes out to deliver a claymore to Jey and helps give Judgment Day the win. As he reaches the top of the stage, Rhea Ripley comes out and the two shake hands.
Around this time, there was a huge feud that consisted of Judgement Day and the top baby faces of RAW: Seth, Cody, Sami, and Jey. War Games was announced to help settle this war and now Drew was added as the 5th member of the Judgment Day’s team.
Drew’s reasoning for teaming up with Judgement Day, despite not liking them at all is because Rhea gave him what no one else could; Jey in a cage. His revenge on Jey isn’t done just yet. First he costed him winning a title, just like The Bloodline did him and now he’s gonna pummel Jey in War Games. Maybe then we’d see Drew go back to his usual ways when he’s able to put this Bloodline stuff to bed.
And it looked like that was going to be the case too as the RAW after War Games, Drew comes out to interrupt Seth mid promo. He says he’s ready to put Jey in the rear view and focus on better things. He’s gone on and won more matches since their encounter at Crown Jewel and now feels he has earned a rematch for the title.
Seth says he does deserve a rematch, but perhaps there are other people who deserve it more than him right now. He has a title match next week and Drew asks who he is facing.
Seth replies, "Jey Uso."
Seth tries to explain but gets met with a head butt. Drew reaches for his forehead and touches blood. He rag dolls Seth and then kneels down to him and screams at him. “Is this personal against me? Jey Uso!? You know I beat him two weeks ago. You know I’m ahead of him in the line!”
Every week we see Drew snap more and more. He’s become more aggressive, unforgiving and cold.
But, even in this instance, you can still see his point.
No matter how you feel about what he did here, he did beat Jey twice. Why is Jey getting the match and not him? He might have gone about it wrong, but his reasoning is technically right whether we’d like to admit it or not.
The next week Sami comes out to confront Drew but Drew doesn’t take too kindly to him as he’s been the main one who’s been campaigning for Jey.
“...I’ve got something to say to you and as usual from Drew; it’s the truth." Drew tells Sami, "You’re the one person in the world who deserved to get screwed over by The Bloodline… You were part of The Bloodline. You were their little lap dog, their errand boy, you joined them cause you were running away from me every single week and then what did you do? You screwed them over. What the hell did you think was gonna happen? I thought you were a smart guy. You deserved it.”
It gets harder and harder to defend the things Drew says. What he’s saying here is cruel. Yes, what did Sami expect getting into Bloodline business? But does it mean he deserved it though?
To quote Taylor Swift, it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero.
Sami then responds he has overcome The Bloodline by main eventing WrestleMania and beating The Usos for the tag titles. He's gotten over it. “So I got redemption. I got to make my family proud. Do you think you’re making your family proud?” Sami asks the agigated Scott.
With gritted teeth Drew says “One of us is not walking out here tonight,” and demands their match to start.
In the match, Sami hurts his leg and can barely walk but Drew shows no remorse and targets it to win. Backstage he attacks Sami and goes after his leg again. He screams to Sami about his family. Sami has clearly touched a nerve.
Drew wasn’t done this night either. After Jey and Seth had their match for the title, Drew attacks both men and puts Jey through a table.
“The truth will set you free,” Drew screams over a helpless Jey as Raw goes off the air.
This isn’t a matter of what’s right and what’s wrong anymore. What matters now is Drew feels what he’s doing is right, and how could that be wrong?
No, Jey didn’t cost him the title at Clash at the Castle. But his brother did. His family made his life hell and Jey was involved in those beatdowns.
Forgiveness is a big part of Drew’s revenge tour. He’s angry that everyone has been so quick to forgive Jey. Seth, Cody, Sami- even Randy Orton, who was almost put out of action by Jey- everyone has just forgiven him and Drew just can’t do the same. Especially when he hasn’t received an apology himself.
Drew and Sami have had almost the same exact storyline. Both had a chance to defeat Roman Reigns in their home country, in front of their people, friends, and family. Both were inches away from winning. Both had The Bloodline stop those dreams.
However, Drew and Sami took separate paths after.
Sami chose to be more forgiving and understanding. Perhaps it’s because he saw firsthand the abuse Jey went through and he valued the relationship he had formed with him.
Drew wasn’t spiteful right away. It festered inside him. Sami chose to face his demons head on. Drew never followed up on his. He let everything stew away in him, and he’s been hungry to finally win a title to make it alright again.
But he has yet another chance. At Day 1 he gets Seth again for the championship.
Seth and Drew have one last face off before their title match. In this segment we get the real reason Drew has been acting the way he does pretty much spelled out for us.
“World champion, you get to go home, spend it with your family and that’s been the case for you for years and recently I’ve been doing a lot of reflection, I've been talking a lot about my family and the sacrifices they’ve made because I had a chance to go home. Not long ago, I started to see things I didn’t like so much. I started to feel a certain way. I started to feel guilt. I started to see my family members getting older. I started to see my dad getting older and after 16 years for the first time ever I questioned, “is this all worth it?”...You know man, I wish I could make this wedding back home but there’s a big show coming back and I can’t let the fans down. And then the difficult conversations when a family member gets sick. When a parent gets sick. My mom. Her dad. And all we want to do is be by their side and hold their hand and be there for them when they’re going through it. But they tell us, don’t you dare come home. You keep chasing that dream and you make it happen and that’s exactly what we did, but then suddenly they’re not here anymore.” Drew's voice quivers at the end.
At this point, Seth can’t even look Drew in the eyes.
“... I don’t want your title. I need your title. I need that validation. I have to know all these sacrifices were worth it. I have to know the hurt that I caused them was for nothing. And I’m willing to hurt you for everything. I will do whatever it takes to take that title from you…”
After spilling his guts, trauma and grief, Seth tells Drew he doesn't know if he can believe him because his actions don’t line up recently. “...You need to look yourself in the mirror and face the hard reality that the only person keeping Drew McIntyre from being world champion is Drew McIntyre… I don’t hate you, I pity you.”
As Seth goes to leave, Drew tries to attack but Seth is able to catch him. The two start brawling outside the ring. But Drew is able to get the advantage.“Do I look like a man that looks your God damn pity!?” Drew screams and then delivers an Alabama slam to Seth on the steel steps.
The Bloodline isn’t and has never been the root of Drew’s delima. Sure, it’s part of the problem, but it’s not the entire picture. The past few weeks have shown it’s not about The Bloodline or anyone else making him lose, but him losing in front of his family and having nothing to show for it.
In that promo with Seth he hints he feels guilty. "I have to know the hurt that I caused them was for nothing. And I’m willing to hurt you for everything." He's missed out on so much to make this dream of his and his family a reality. He wants everyone else to feel the hurt he's feeling and that he feels he's caused upon his family. Drew bared his soul and all Seth could say was he pitied him. For Drew, it was worse than a slap in the face. A direct dismiss on his trauma. Why doesn't anyone see that him but him?
At Day 1 it might be Drew’s last chance to accomplish his goal of being a champion in front of fans, but most importantly it’s his last chance to show his family, and himself it was all worth it. Missing weddings, birthdays, family emergencies- was it all worth it? That’s what Drew is obsessed with.
Two things can happen at Day 1. Drew becomes world champion and can show his family back home he’s done it and he can finally get the reign he’s always wanted in front of fans.
Or he loses. We’ve seen Drew at his lowest these past few weeks. Can he go lower? Will he be able to face the fans, his peers or his family if he fails?
Whatever happens, Drew's done a brillant job of portraying this morally grey character and has done some of the best character work of his career. The emotions on his face are real because it is clear he feels it. When he speaks about his struggles, it's his reality. And that's what made this storyline so investing.
At Day 1, it’s sink or swim for Drew. It’s time to make broken dreams a reality.
"And I dream broken dreams
I make them come true
I make them for you"
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