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WWE 24: DREW MCINTYRE - THE CHOSEN ONE DOCUMENTS NOT JUST STARDOM BUT THE SEARCH FOR MATURITY & PASSION THAT FINALLY SOLVES THE RIDDLE OF DREW GALLOWAY

"I've said this before, I've said this to yourself in the past, my ups and downs prepared me for any situation and I feel the same regarding the current situation, so that kinda followed that story up to Wrestlemania. With the 24, you're going to see things that I promised myself you would never, ever see." - Drew McIntyre, PWInsider.com interview, September 22, 2020

The latest WWE: 24 documentary Drew McIntyre: The Chosen One debuts today and if you aren’t a fan of Drew Galloway, the person behind Drew McIntyre, you’ll probably walk away with a fully fleshed out appreciation for someone who was so obsessed with pro wrestling that he would travel 12 hours via public transportation just to train, then seemingly had all the breaks, saw the wheels fall off and then found redemption by once again becoming so obsessed with professional wrestling that he took on the most insane schedule ever, toured all over the world past the point of exhaustion, breaking his neck in the process, just to finally get what he truly craved for his entire life - to be the WWE Champion.

Of course, that’s the short version of the story, which traces back Drew McIntyre’s story all the way to personal VHS footage of his backyard wrestling promotion in Scotland, childhood photos and memories, rare independent wrestling footage of his first matches and brings us through the highs and lows of going from the “Chosen One” to the exiled one to redemption inside the vortex of COVID-19.

"It's in there, and it's going to be my closest friends and family, and I don't even know half the people they spoke to but I made it very clear - just don't hold back, I'm an open book, I don't want to lie to my fans, you know I've been in the public eye for so long, they've seen my ups, they've seen my downs, we've been through it together, that's why we have this connection, and it's going to be all the good times and the bad times, that it's going to get that detail." - Drew McIntyre, PWInsider.com Interview - September 22, 2020

McIntyre himself is incredibly blunt about his own shortcomings at different times in his life, recognizing that he was handed opportunities so quickly at the onset of his WWE run that he wasn’t ready for them, had heat from others who had been waiting longer for the same opportunities and then proceeded to blame everyone else for not getting the push and stardom he believed he deserved.  Whether he deserved it or not isn’t the story - the story is what happens when someone has become so complacent in their own career that they can’t own up to the fact that they have given up and in doing so, caused themselves to be trapped in the mid-card with no escape plan to get back on track.

If you've ever wondered why someone who looked white hot settled into the mid-card and floated aimlessly, this documentary expertly explains the symbiotic relationship between the talent's real life and their on-camera roles and how issues and stress on one side of the equation leads to a breakdown of the other.  McIntyre is certainly not alone in that experience in WWE but it's never been so bluntly, honestly addressed as it is during this WWE 24 presentation.

Indeed, at one point in his career, which seems to be so insane in hindsight even though it was less than a decade ago, McIntyre had all but lost his passion for the very thing that had driven him since childhood, content to show up and play mid-card idiot for the length of his time in the ring as a means to an end to hang out with his friends, do anything but care and talk about wrestling and go get smashed in the bar afterwards.

We know McIntyre gets released and when it happens, he has a moment of truth where he has to decide who the hell he is and whether pro wrestling defines who he wants to be going forward in life.  At the cross roads, McIntyre literally immerses himself in pro wrestling again, diving fathoms deep back into the original passion that he once had pro wrestling.  McIntyre takes that deep breath not just humble himself as he returns back to his place of origin, Scottish independent promotion ICW but to take on a modern day role similar to one the old NWA World Champion held, going anywhere and everywhere he can wrestle, as a top star.  He seeks not just to break the chains of his 3MB persona that defines his failure but to be the star that makes other stars as important as himself. 

While his Impact Wrestling run is ignored, it’s made abundantly clear that McIntyre’s return to being a true road warrior at every small, gritty venue that could hold pro wrestling was done with equal parts strategy and desperation designed to springboard him back to WWE as a better, improved version of the talent he used to be. By going backwards, Drew McIntyre plows forward into the future that once seemed well out of reach.

We know the end result of that story, but what we didn’t know before this documentary are the two women who balance out McIntyre and in many ways, both inspire and play guardian angel to him at the same time.  

Early on, we learn the story of McIntyre’s late mother, Angela Anne Galloway, who lived a life and carried herself with a work ethic despite every medical professional advising her against even having children to begin with.  As Drew explains how his mother handled household chores despite some debilitating health issues, it’s not hard to see where he inherited his drive.  

Later, when McIntyre’s professional life is obviously sending him head-long into personal oblivion, his then-girlfriend (now wife) Kaitlyn, at the end of her rope, grabs the reins and makes it clear to Drew and his entire family that this has to change, or else she’s done, because she’s not going to stand witness to self-destruction.  When a woman has  to breathe a sigh of relief over her future husband breaking his neck because it will give him a chance to slow down, reflect and repair parts of his life, you know that this woman has had the patience of a saint and the ability to ground someone who desperately needed to be saved from himself.

The reflections of McIntyre’s wife highlight an incredible collection of personalities from Drew’s life within and beyond WWE who help craft his story, including Sheamus, Nikki Cross, Jinder Mahal, Killian Dane, ICW’s Mark Dallas and McIntyre’s father and brother.  With the exception of Heath Miller, one would be hard-pressed to name other who could have provided additional quality insight that wouldn't have ending up bloating the project with meaningless opinions. 

Packed at 66 minutes, The Chosen One’s first 20 minutes break down the early part of McIntyre’s rise to prominence, the second 20 handle his release and the international grind to return to prominence and the last 26 start out covering his triumphant WWE return until, just like everyone else, McIntyre discovers the world becoming trapped in the COVID-19 vortex just as he’s about to headline Wrestlemania 36.  

"Chronicle basically told the story, leading to the situation we're in now, leading to the pandemic and you know, after all these years, like I'm going to have my moment in the stadium, you got to see me go through every emotion of anger, frustration, to acceptance, to realizing that it was so much bigger than my selfish moment, that we had a chance to take people's minds off such a difficult time and that's something that I'm most proud of, and that Wrestlemania moment means the absolute world to me, and you got to kind of experience that journey with me." - Drew McIntyre, PWInsider.com Interview, September 22, 2020

While his reaction is genuine and human, his introspection after his initial knee-jerk anger shows the growth of his maturity as a man and as a performer.  He’s been dubbed the Chosen One for years, but now, it’s his duty to step forward and not just fill that role but to attempt to raise everyone who follows him  and the company that has entrusted him alike above uncertainty and sadness.  As the documentary shows, it’s a role he’s still processing but one that his endless passion undoubtedly fuels.

If there’s one criticism of The Chosen One, it’s that certain aspects of McIntyre’s story were cut for time, which is understandable.  Still, as a stand alone project, it’s near perfect.  Paired with WWE Chronicle from earlier this year, it feels like something of a prequel to that excellent doc.  Certainly, more time to dive deeper, show more storyline-related content and bring in more subjects to give their thoughts would have been especially embraced by the most die-hard of the WWE audience, but in going that route, WWE could have also potentially lost the thread of the story.   

Instead, WWE kept it streamlined with the focus specifically on Drew Galloway the person and the highs and lows he’s dealt with personally and professionally and in doing so, proves that Vince McMahon’s prophecy that McIntyre would be the “Chosen One” was indeed perfect clairvoyance - and that Drew Galloway has finally solved the riddle within himself that allows him to embody the performer he always dreamt of being.

Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.

 

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