WWE Hall of Famer Made Sure WWE Kept Tabs on Drew McIntyre Following 2014 Release

Drew McIntyre is unrecognizable from his first WWE run. After getting released in 2014, McIntyre hit the independent scene, wrestling under his real name of Drew Galloway. Within his first couple of months, it was evident that this iteration of McIntyre was a far cry from the air-guitarist that fans had seen on WWE TV not long ago. Similar to what Cody Rhodes would do a couple of years later, McIntyre went on this indie odyssey that saw him compete for promotions like ICW and WCPW while also holding a spot on the TNA roster, giving him an outlet to maintain television reps.

It took just about three years for McIntyre to get back on WWE's radar. Come 2017, McIntyre found himself in the sports-entertainment giant again, and by 2020 he was headlining his first WWE WrestleMania.

Mick Foley Helped Drew McIntyre Stay on WWE's Radar

Mrs. Foley's baby boy knew Drew McIntyre would be something special.

Speaking on his Foley is Pod podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley reflected on his time briefly sharing a locker room with McIntyre in Scotland's Insane Championship Wrestling. McIntyre made such a strong impression on him that Foley immediately made sure WWE still kept tabs on him.

"Drew will admit that there are times to go out there [on the indies] and be that guy from WWE, but when it really counted, like with Insane Championship Wrestling — people need to know, just from the onset, I rarely text the powers that be and in this case, I texted Hunter (Triple H) after Drew sent me something," Foley recalled. "I wasn't close friends with Drew by any means, but I liked him, and he sent me something. 'Hey, I know you're busy, but I'm working on something different. I did something for ICW in Glasgow. Can you take a look?' He'd only been gone like a month, I texted Triple H and said, 'I know you just released him, but you need to keep your eye on Drew McIntyre. He's like an entirely different person.'"

Those early days wrestling for ICW eventually led to McIntyre becoming the company's world champion. He reigned with the ICW World Title for over a year, notably feuding with fan-favorite underdog Grado. At ICW Fear and Loathing VIII, Foley appeared in Grado's corner when he beat McIntyre for the prize.

"Sometimes you just need to go there," Foley continued. "You may find out by betting on yourself that you're only as good as WWE told you you were, but man, the two dirtiest words in the English language [are] 'what if?'"

McIntyre challenges Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship this Saturday at WWE Crown Jewel.