Drew McIntyre has hinted at the possibility of an future feud with former Three Man Band partner Jinder Mahal.
It’s been a wild year so far for the ‘Scottish Warrior’. McIntyre would challenge for the WWE Championship for the second consecutive year at WrestleMania 37, coming up short against current Champion Bobby Lashley. Drew’s chances of rescuing the gold were once again dashed at WrestleMania Backlash in another losing effort to Lashley, this time in a triple threat featuring Braun Strowman.
McIntyre is no stranger to the richest prize in WWE. Securing his first WWE Championship in a bout against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36, McIntyre would also defeat Randy Orton to begin his second reign as Champ on a June 2020 episode of Raw.
Although Drew McIntyre has firmly positioned himself as a main event player in WWE, things were not always this way. During his first run with the company, McIntyre would debut as Vince McMahon’s ‘Chosen One’, before gradually slipping down the card.
One of the most infamous instances of McIntyre’s declined was his inclusion in the the Three Man Band stable, alongside Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal. During this time, the group would be featuring more infrequently with a heavy loss record.
In time, both Mahal and McIntyre would be released from the company, only to return stronger with a main event push. Jinder Mahal would in fact capture the WWE Championship at Backlash 2017 from Randy Orton, becoming one of the most controversial Champions in recent memory.
During a recent interview on WWE’s ‘The Bump’, Mahal would criticise McIntyre’s Championship runs:
“My problem is not with Drew. My problem is with the idea that Drew McIntyre was celebrated as a Champion. He overcame such enormous odds, lets back it up. Me and Drew were part of 3MB together. Me and Drew got released the exact same day. I made it back to WWE faster, better, I became WWE Champion faster than Drew McIntyre. I wasn’t celebrated, I was called the experiment or whatever, you know […] Why am I not celebrated the same way Drew McIntyre is celebrated?”
Mahal would then follow up his thoughts with a definitive statement:
“I bet if I didn’t become WWE Champion then Drew wouldn’t have. You know why, because I showed him the way.”
The #ScottishWarrior@DMcIntyreWWE responds to @JinderMahal on @WWETheBump!#Bump100pic.twitter.com/osLyRKwklx
— WWE (@WWE) May 19, 2021
Drew McIntyre would appear on ‘The Bump’ a week later and during the course of the conversation, would address the comments made by his former partner:
“He is one of my closest friends in the world but he has been a little bit off. Since he got hurt, we haven’t talked to each other, seen each other as much. It’s interesting that that has been going on in his head.I guess technically he has a point, that we got fired on the same day. We didn’t quite go the same path you know. I instantly got out on the independent scene and reinvented myself, reinvented what it meant to be an independent wrestler outside of the radar.
And Jinder flew under the radar and got signed back to the WWE because of the brand split. They needed bodies who knew how to work television and he saw this as ‘This is my opportunity, I’m going to make this count.’ And he did […] I guess he does have a legitimate gripe but I’m quite surprised to see that. Honestly he’s been at Raw the last couple of weeks and he’s kind of been ducking me, so alright, I might need to find him this week and have a little chat. Seems like there’s a little bit of tension going on here.”
Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre last shared a ring during Mahal’s 2021 return to WWE, in which Mahal and The Singh Brothers would have Drew McIntyre and Indus Shear in a losing effort at WWE Superstar Spectacle. Mahal would make his return to the Raw brand on May 10, defeating Jeff Hardy.
Credit for Interview: WWE’s The Bump