When Drew McIntyre made his WWE debut in the fall of 2007, he had one big thing going for him: the presence of English veteran Dave Taylor.
One thing he didn’t have? A ring name.
It seems wild now to think that the two-time WWE Champion’s first steps in the WWE weren’t meticulously planned out, but he had previously wrestled only under his real last name. As he told Under the Ring host Phil Strum ahead of his eagerly anticipated Intercontinental Championship match with Gunther at SummerSlam in Detroit, the decision on what to call him was made at the very last minute and with the help of a unlikely if very familiar source.
“It was bizarre, because I had just gotten to America like three weeks prior and suddenly I was on SmackDown,” McIntyre said. “And I was in the Gorilla position, before you go through the curtain, and Stephanie McMahon asked me, ‘Is your real name Galloway?’ And I said yeah, and she was like ‘hmm … usually we switch the name.’ Kind of thought about it, had a quick conversation with somebody and said ‘yeah we should probably switch it.’
“So I had to run to Talent Relations with Michael Hayes, look up Scottish names on Wikipedia, and all I kept saying is it has to be three syllables, it has to be chantable when I try and do it one day.”
After dismissing McDonald since it was the name of a now deceased friend also in the wrestling business, he settled on McIntyre, and the rest, as they say, is pro wrestling history.
Check out Strum’s full discussion with the Scottish Warrior above for more from McIntyre on:
- His expectations for the SummerSlam showdown with Gunther
- Why he feels that Gunther has “no ceiling” in the business
- His unique relationship with Sheamus — and why he’s probably done making age jokes
- Where Europe stands as a talent pipeline to WWE and other major promotions
- What he learned while reinventing himself between WWE stints
- Who had the most actual musical talent in 3MB
Under the Ring drops new episodes every week, with Strum utilizing contacts gleaned from years of pro wrestling fandom and coverage to have an in-depth conversation with a wrestler or other notable personality. Recent guests have included NXT star Wes Lee, recently returned Impact Wrestling star Eric Young, and ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe.
To make sure you don’t miss an episode, subscribe to Under the Ring on Apple Podcasts or your podcast provider of choice, or check out the Under the Ring YouTube channel to see all of the interviews in video form.