Drew McIntyre on Takeover Brooklyn III, “Chosen One”, and WWE Return

The Sporting News had a recent interview with Drew McIntyre discussing his upcoming NXT Championship match at Takeover: Brooklyn III, the origins of the “Chosen One” gimmick, and his return to the WWE.

On the topic of his upcoming NXT Championship match against Bobby Roode, McIntyre stated he is very excited for this match and feels it will be the biggest match of his career so far.

“This is what, pretty much, my entire career has led to. So, no pressure. The 17 years, the 10 years of being in America, the past three years of building my brand and my return back home. It’s the biggest match of my life and I can say 100 percent I am ready for this. I’m excited to steal the show and have people talking about this match for a long time.”

On the topic of the origins of the “Chosen One” gimmick, McIntyre stated Vince McMahon saw something very special about him early in his WWE career to be worthy of the tag. He stated it wasn’t until years later he realized what that potential was seen by Vince early into his career.

“He saw something in me when I was younger that I didn’t necessarily see myself and maybe others didn’t see which is a pretty cool feeling. And finally, years later, after all the things I’ve been through and growing up, I think, finally, now it’s starting to materialize and everyone is starting to see what he saw back in the day. He had that kind of faith in me and saw something in me that he was willing to endorse me in that way and perhaps it just took a minute and took a few life experiences to actually bring out what he saw.”

When discussing his return to the WWE, McIntyre stated it was Triple H who contacted and wanted to bring him back to the company. He mentioned Triple H saw him as someone who could be very special and useful for the NXT brand.

“After I got off the phone with him, one, I was very honored that he wanted me to be part of his baby in NXT and two, my mind was made up. I knew I had to be in NXT. I knew that was the next step for me and my family. And walking in the door, seeing all the faces that I knew and faces that I didn’t know that I wanted to work with, I thought, wow, this is going to be something. We have something special here, and we really do.”