Drew McIntyre, babyface
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Is Drew McIntyre Set Up for Massive Babyface Turn?

After being one of the most hated names in WWE, Drew McIntyre could be turning over a new leaf. Although he is still quite menacing in the ring, knocking fellow wrestler's heads off with his Claymore Kick, McIntyre has incorporated a "3-2-1" countdown, and does it in a way that the fans join him. Over the past few weeks on WWE Raw, McIntyre has plowed through competition, including Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, and most recently, No Way Jose. Despite continuing to compete against babyface WWE superstars, the Scottish psychopath could be teasing a babyface turn himself.

McIntyre made his return back to the company via the WWE NXT brand in 2017 on the episode following WrestleMania 33, defeating Andrade. This was the first time McIntyre appeared on WWE television since his release in 2014, while he was a part of the 3MB stable with Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater. McIntyre won the NXT Championship just a few months after debuting, defeating Bobby Roode at the NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III event. He retained the title for three months, before losing to Andrade at the NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Drew McIntyre's WWE Main Roster Debut

After seven months recovering from a torn bicep, McIntyre made his main roster debut on Monday Night Raw, aligning himself with Dolph Ziggler. Throughout 2018, McIntyre continued to dominate on Raw, in both singles and tag team competition. As a singles competitor, McIntyre picked up big wins against names such as Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and even Kurt Angle. As a tag team with Dolph Ziggler, they were able to win the WWE Tag Team Championships by defeating the B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel).

McIntyre has continued being one of the biggest villains in all of pro wrestling, being one of only a few WWE stars on Raw or WWE SmackDown to elicit boos from the crowd. However, Vince McMahon could be taking him in a different direction.

A Raw Brand with a Weak Babyface Presence

Currently, the Raw brand is devoid of a strong babyface who is available to face Lesnar. Kevin Owens, Ricochet, and Randy Orton are really the only names right now who are top babyfaces, with Samoa Joe being added to that list following his return a few weeks ago. However, each of them are tied up with in a storyline; Orton is feuding with AJ Styles, Owens and Joe with Seth Rollins and AOP, and Ricochet still having bad blood with United States Champion Andrade.

On Raw, Paul Heyman stated that WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will enter the number one spot at the WWE Royal Rumble match. McIntyre also announced that he will be a part of the match as well. While the announcement of Lesnar entering the Royal Rumble as champion was a surprise to many, the reason was rumored to be due to WWE still looking for an opponent for The Beast at WrestleMania. In a recent interview, McIntyre expressed that he is eager to feud with WrestleMania, which could lead to a babyface turn for the first time since returning to the main roster last year.

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