Major Update on a Former WWE Champion Potentially Leaving the Company

By Connor Casey

Drew McIntyre's future in WWE remains a mystery. Shortly after taking part in the Intercontinental Championship triple threat with Sheamus and Gunther at WrestleMania 39, "The Scottish Warrior" was pulled from WWE TV in order to recover from a nagging undisclosed injury. It was around that same time that PWInsider broke the news that McIntyre was in the final year of his current WWE contract, and his decision to black out his social media profiles suddenly called his future with the promotion into question. Dave Meltzer then reported in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that McIntyre and WWE officials were not close to completing a new deal and that the two-time former WWE Champion believes there's a decent chance he won't re-sign. 

Sean Ross Sapp then dropped a report on Fightful Select shortly before Saturday night's Backlash pay-per-view, shedding some more light on the subject. McIntyre was apparently working through injuries for a while but was "adamant" about pushing through until WrestleMania so he could work with both Sheamus and Gunther. His current contract ends in 2024 and Sapp's report stated, "While it's been reported that he's leaning towards not staying with WWE, we're told that it's more accurate to say that he doesn't know."

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Sapp also recapped McIntyre dealing with a few backstage miscommunications. That includes him being left out of the loop on where he was going to be drafted in the latest WWE Draft (he was moved to Raw). It was then noted that there have been pitches made for McIntyre to return as a heel once he's back on TV, though he's expected to push back on the idea unless it makes sense from a creative standpoint. 

McIntyre was one of the leading forces that helped carry WWE through its first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, main eventing WrestleMania 36 inside an empty WWE Performance Center and holding the WWE Championship twice. However, McIntyre has yet to win a championship in front of a live crowd since fans were brought back to WWE events in the Summer of 2021. Stay tuned for further updates as they become available.

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