A run in NJPW was almost on the cards for Drew McIntyre.
Drew McIntyre’s first stint with WWE ended when he was released by the company on July 12, 2014. After a spell on the independent scene, McIntyre returned to WWE in 2017 as part of the NXT brand, although he almost followed a very different path.
Appearing on the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast, McIntyre revealed that before his return to WWE in 2017, he was preparing to join New Japan Pro Wrestling.
“In 2017, when I returned to WWE, I was ready to go to New Japan at that point. That’s where my head was at. I spoke to the right people to start having the serious conversations. And Regal told me, ‘You got to talk to Hunter first, got to talk to Paul first.’ And it was one minute into the conversation, I knew it was time to come back.”
-Drew McIntyre
During his time away from WWE, McIntyre competed under his real name, Drew Galloway, and captured world championship gold in TNA Wrestling, WCPW, Evolve, and ICW, among others.
Since returning to WWE, McIntyre’s list of accolades includes capturing the NXT Championship, becoming a two-time WWE Champion, and most recently winning the World Heavyweight Championship.
McIntyre is set to challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event on November 1 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on future plans for Drew McIntyre as soon as we hear more.
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