Drew McIntyre Reflects On Journey Leading To WWE Championship Win

WWE

Drew McIntyre has reflected on his journey to becoming the first-ever Scottish WWE Champion, and his most recent title win on January 9.

Despite now being a four-time world champion, the Saturday, January 10 WWE live event in Glasgow, Scotland was Drew McIntyre’s first opportunity to compete in front of live fans with WWE’s top prize.

With his first two title reigns coming during the COVID-19 pandemic, and his third lasting only a few minutes at WrestleMania 40, McIntyre relished the moment to compete in front of his home crowd at the OVO Hydro, and delivered an impassioned speech to them after defending his title against Shinsuke Nakamura.

Speaking to BBC Scotland ahead of that January 10 event, McIntyre discussed his journey from wrestling on the fledgling Scottish independent scene, all the way to becoming WWE’s figurehead.

McIntyre said:

“It’s all I ever wanted to do. Ever since I was a kid and I saw WWE for the first time, I was captivated, and I had two goals: I was going to play for Rangers or I was going to wrestle for WWE.

“When I first started wrestling in Scotland, the Scottish wrestling scene was dead and we had to start our own scene basically, and we were very lucky to get a farmer and a dog in attendance.

“I never lose that perspective of that young Drew, dreaming and pushing and everyone telling me ‘Come on mate, that’s an American thing you’re not gonna do that’, and achieving it. So every single day I feel so grateful to do what I’m doing because eventually it’s all going to be memories.

“I’ve had a couple of history making moments, like when I first won the WWE Title, I was the first ever Scot to win it – first person from Scotland or England. So I guess I am currently the best in the world.

“And what are the chances? What are the chances? I keep saying it over and over because I don’t believe it quite yet that the first match I’m going to have is back home in Scotland, where it all began.”

WWE’s decision to have McIntyre defeat Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship has reportedly caused changes to the company’s plans for WrestleMania 42 – click here for full details.

Drew McIntyre, from Ayr in Scotland, is the first UK wrestler to become WWE champion

See more stories from across Scotland: https://t.co/JI3AQNSBnI pic.twitter.com/IcMlCP3T9B

— BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) January 13, 2026

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