Drew McIntyre pulled off the biggest win of his career on Sunday night when he won the 2020 Men’s Royal Rumble match. On top of earning a world championship match at WrestleMania 36, the Scottish star managed to end Brock Lesnar’s rampage during the Rumble by booting “The Beast” out of the ring with a Claymore kick. McIntyre broke out the move once again on Roman Reigns in the final moments, knocking “The Big Dog” out while he was running at full speed preparing for a Spear. Of the many wrestlers who congratulated him after the fact, one major name stood out — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
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#TheGreatOne has spoken.#RoyalRumble @TheRock @DMcIntyreWWE pic.twitter.com/0L42fByW94
— WWE (@WWE) January 27, 2020
The Jumanji star has spoken highly of the “Scottish Psychopath” in the past, and McIntyre has previous shown his admiration for “The People’s Champ.”
In all the conversation about the biggest movie of the Summer, I appreciate such high praise from The Great One. We could all learn a thing or two from his work ethic, “All it takes is all you got” @TheRock #HobbsAndShaw https://t.co/c8sJs6DCYZ
— Drew McIntyre (@DMcIntyreWWE) July 31, 2019
McIntyre’s road to the main event took longer than most fans expected. Way back in 2009 Vince McMahon personally crowned him as “The Chosen One,” saying he’d be the WWE‘s next big star. But McIntyre floundered on the midcard after that, and it wasn’t until he left the company in 2014 and reinvented himself on the independent circuit that fans truly got behind him.
After a noteworthy stint in Impact Wrestling, McIntyre returned to WWE in 2017 and had a strong run in NXT as a babyface. He spent most of 2018 working alongside Dolph Ziggler on the Raw roster, then continued his heel run the following year by feuding with Ziggler and aligning himself with Shane McMahon. But over the past month McIntyre gradually turned face while getting to show more personality in promos.
Meanwhile Johnson recently lost his father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, to a sudden heart attack. Johnson took to Instagram on Jan. 19 to thank fans for all of the messages they had sent him following Rocky’s passing.
“You have lifted my spirits in ways that I hope you can imagine,” he said. “All your messages — your lengthy messages, your deep messages, all the stories you’ve shared with me — I’ve read as many of them as I possibly could,” Johnson continued. “The quality that it has provided me during this time has immeasurable and invaluable and I thank you guys and I love you for the support.”
