Drew McIntyre has revealed the advice Bobby Lashley gave him after the two-time WWE Champion took part in a try-out match for the company.
McIntyre joined WWE for the first time in 2007. After briefly appearing on the main roster shows, McIntyre was sent to WWE’s then-developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling. While in FCW, McIntyre held the FCW Title once as well as the FCW Tag Team Titles with Stu Sanders.
Before getting to WWE however, Drew McIntyre took part in tryouts to achieve his goal of joining the company. It was after one of these, that the Scotsman remembers getting some words of advice from his now rival, Bobby Lashley.
Writing in his new book, A Chosen Destiny, Mcintyre said:
“After we got out of the ring, Bobby Lashley paused to give us some advice. He reassured us our match was very good and told us to maybe just slow it down, calm it down.”
McIntyre then recalled what happened after his conversation with Lashley. Unfortunately for him, at this particular tryout, the man that decides who to hire wasn’t even present. If he had been, WWE agents are convinced Drew McIntyre would have been hired there and then.
McIntyre explained:
“A few minutes later, I was pulled aside by WWE agents Steve Keirn and Dean Malenko. ‘Wow, Drew, you’ve done a great job and you would be signed today if John Laurinaitis were here, but he’s not,’ they said. ‘Oh, so who do I talk to?’ ‘Nobody. We’ll see you in six months.’”
McIntyre was, of course eventually signed by the company, with his first WWE run ending in 2014. After spending time on the independent scene in the US and UK as well as IMPACT Wrestling, McIntyre returned to WWE as part of the NXT brand in 2017.
The Scotsman will face Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania Backlash. The two men who faced off at WrestleMania 37 will be joined by Braun Strowman for a Triple Threat match.
A Chosen Destiny from Ebury Publishing is available online and from all good book shops.
If you use any of the quotes above, please h/t Inside The Ropes and then link back to this article. You can also check out our full review of A Chosen Destiny here.