In the two years since he returned to WWE in 2017, Drew McIntyre has arguably made the most out of his second chance with the company. Currently booked as one of Monday Night Raw ‘s top heels, the 33-year-old Scotsman is getting a much better push than he did toward the end of his first WWE run, which saw him as one-third of Three Man Band, or 3MB, a stable of comedy jobbers who lost far more often than they won. And as he sees it, there are some WWE superstars who need to step up their game instead of taking to social media to rant about their lack of exposure or lack of a decent push.
In a recent interview with Springfield, Illinois, publication The State Journal-Register , McIntyre looked back on his first WWE stint, which lasted from 2007 to 2014, and how he had stopped appreciating the fact that he was “living [his] dream.” He admitted that he wasn’t giving it his all, “especially outside the ring,” and suggested that his lack of maturity at the time was partly to blame for his failure to build on his initial promise. As he further recalled, it was only when he was released by WWE in June of 2014 when he realized that he needed to grow up and start applying himself to the fullest.
After rejoining WWE via its developmental ranks two years ago and going on to win the NXT Championship, Drew McIntyre returned to the main roster in 2018, where he has since found a regular role on the Monday Night Raw brand. He admitted to The State Journal-Register that he’s gotten to a point where he can call out wrestlers who “remind [him] of his younger self” and have similarly “lost perspective.”
Drew McIntyre Fires Off On WWE Superstars Who Vent On Social Media https://t.co/CW2PPieGhi
— ??PWM – WWE & AEW News & Rumors?? (@prowrestlingmag) April 20, 2019
“They’re perhaps tweeting about how upset they are and their lack of opportunity instead of bettering themselves or working harder outside of the ring,” said McIntyre. “They’re clearly not going to the gym and they don’t have that fire anymore, and I understand it because I was there. And I can spot it because I was that guy.”
McIntyre added that whether he’s in or out of character, he feels that it’s his responsibility to “get rid” of wrestlers whom he feels aren’t giving it their 100 percent.
While McIntyre did not name any specific wrestlers, his comments came on the heels of multiple reports documenting Sasha Banks’s alleged attempt to quit WWE after the company’s recent decision to have her and Bayley lose the Women’s Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 35. As noted by Wrestling Inc . , Banks also posted a “cryptic” tweet during the Raw after WrestleMania , where she wrote about wanting to recapture the “magic” and wanting to “feel like [herself] again.”
Similarly, a number of WWE superstars, many of them barely featured on WWE programming at the time of their requests, reportedly asked to be released from their WWE contracts earlier in the year. According to WrestlingNews.co , some of these wrestlers, including Tye Dillinger and Hideo Itami, had their requests granted, while others, such as The Revival and Mike and Maria Kanellis, are still with the company.
