Nearly three months after he was fired by WWE, Heath Slater made a surprise return on this week’s Monday Night Raw and delivered a show-stopping promo at the beginning of the show. He was brought out as part of the storyline with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, chastising the latter for not being there for him in April like he was for Drew when he was fired back in 2014. This led to a match, which McIntyre instantly won with a Claymore, and the two signed off by embracing after chasing Ziggler away.
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Slater’s stellar work on the mic left fans wondering if he was coming back to WWE. However in a post-show interview the former tag team champion made it clear his days in WWE were over (at least for now).
“It was just something that had to be done,” Slater said. “You know, me and Drew, we go way back. He is a brother of mine and he promised me something, you know, and I wanted it, so I confronted him and thank God it happened. But then again, you know, he’s the man, he’s the champ, he’s my best friend. A brother inside and outside the ring. Pretty sure he still loves me after he helped me up he gave me a hug. I hope anyway because he’s a bad dude. But no, this was a nice closing of a chapter. So let’s see what the future brings for me.”
Both McIntyre and Slater took to Twitter after the segment aired.
Heath is my brother, something I now realize you never were Dolph. I took pity on you at first, but after that stunt tonight I’m going to severely hurt you. Extreme Rules can’t come soon enough pic.twitter.com/nYtNmggUiX
— Drew McIntyre (@DMcIntyreWWE) July 7, 2020
I love you all. Thank you my friend my brother @DMcIntyreWWE pic.twitter.com/xkMW4Njlsd
— HEATHXXII (@HEATHXXII) July 7, 2020
Slater’s 90-day “No Compete” clause expires next week and based on teases he’s made on social media and references Rhyno has made on television, it’s possible that the “One-Man Band” is heading for Impact Wrestling.
WWE’s next pay-per-view, The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, takes place on July 19 at the WWE Performance Center. Check out the full card (so far) below:
- WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler
- Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
- Wyatt Swamp Fight: Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt
- Eye for an Eye Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins
- United States Championship Match: Apollo Crews vs. MVP
