Drew McIntyre has some unfinished business he needs to take care of on SmackDown.
This past Friday, October 1, WWE held its latest draft, and in the first round, Drew McIntyre was selected by SmackDown, ending his tenure on Raw. The former WWE Champion has been a mainstay on Monday nights ever since he made the move up to the main roster from NXT in April 2018.
Speaking with Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN, Drew revealed that he didn't have a preference of what show he was drafted to, saying that he'd be happy wherever. That said, he did admit that he has some unfinished business on SmackDown.
"I've thought about this a lot this past week," Drew began by saying. "When I returned to WWE, I returned to NXT initially but then Monday Night Raw, and over the past three years, Raw has been my home. I finally achieved my dreams, my goals when I became WWE Champion. I became the face of the brand. I have achieved so much, and Raw feels like home, so I can't imagine not being part of Raw. At the same time, sometimes it's cool to get a fresh coat of paint to get a change of scenery. I debuted on SmackDown in 2007 and re-debuted in 2009 with the “Chosen One” stuff. I have some unfinished business, so realistically I'll be happy wherever."
McIntyre signed with WWE in 2007 and debuted for the company in October of that year. After a short stint on the main roster, he was sent to Florida Championship Wrestling, where he remained until August 2009. It was then that re-debuted as Mr. McMahon's "future world champion." Things, as we know, didn't work out that way for McIntyre. He was let go by WWE in the summer of 2014 and was gone until his return to NXT three years later.
During the pandemic, McIntyre held the WWE Championship, capturing it from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36. Though he is proud of his reign, he acknowledges that he'd love the chance to rewrite his legacy on SmackDown. Not only that, but he would love to have a chance to stand toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns and challenge for the Universal Title. He said the following:
"I really do think that'd be the case. I'm very proud of everything I was able to do on Raw especially being champion at the height of the pandemic and leading the charge but at the same time working hard for everyone else to make sure everybody was entertained during those difficult times and be a leader. But if I did end up on Smackdown for me personally, there is unfinished business, so that could be very interesting. I'm torn right now...
I have unfinished business in a lot of ways just from a career perspective and things not working out when I was a kid on SmackDown. But at the same time, there's unfinished business there with Roman 100 percent. In WWE, he's the final boss, and I'm excited when the time comes for that story. Maybe it's not right now. Perhaps it's the future. But when it happens, it's going to be big."
Roman and Drew faced off at Survivor Series 2020, an encounter that The Tribal Chief won thanks to outside interference from Jey Uso. Drew says Roman is operating on a different level right now and wants to prove that he can take on and succeed against the very best the business has to offer.
"Personally and professionally 100 percent. He already was the top dog, the big dog, and now his evolution over the past year, he's operating at a different level. He's been unbelievable as a character in the ring and every aspect, and I want to be able to step up to that level, and I want to be able to put him down. So I'm excited to just like Randy Orton when I won the WWE title; initially, I knew I had to step onto his level as a character in the ring, on the microphone, to prove that I belong at the top of the mountain. Now that I've proved myself, I want to knock that tall guy off the top of the mountain and take his spot, and that's Roman Reigns," he said.
Drew will remain on WWE Raw for the next couple of weeks as the draft results won't take effect until October 22, one day after the Crown Jewel event.
If you missed anything from last night's episode of Raw, you can check out our live coverage and post-show review for a complete rundown of the action.
