Drew McIntyre's lengthy absence from WWE generated a lot of headlines, but he's now back in the company and set to challenge GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam tonight.
We've heard that McIntyre is pushing WWE for better creative and it's believed the Scottish Superstar has yet to sign a new deal with the company before his current contract ends early next year.
Many fans want to see McIntyre turn heel, but in an interview with Stay Busy with Armon Sadler, the former WWE Champion revealed why he's in no rush to shed his popular babyface persona...at least not right now, anyway.
"I just want to make sure I get interesting and compelling stories," he says. "It's cool coming out and getting the cheers, people are happy to see Drew. But I always want to be in something interesting that gets you emotionally invested as well. I know there was a period where I wasn't doing that, and thankfully I got back into it when I got with Sheamus and leading into that triple threat."
"But I want to make sure we keep evolving, keep adding layers to the character, keep doing all the cool things I get to do outside the ring, and get that title reign in front of fans finally. The character itself, I'm willing to go any direction that's going to be interesting."
"I know people are calling for a heel turn, but I'm not willing to do that unless it makes perfect sense," McIntyre continues. "You know, we've got a lot of equity in McIntyre. When I show up at places like Special Olympics and see the effect WWE and McIntyre has on people, I can understand [John] Cena's perspective of not turning for so long. And he was on such a higher level and did so much outside the ring, but I can understand where he was coming from."
"But for the right time, the right moment, and if it was entertaining for the fans, I would be about that. One of my favorite runs outside the company was as a heel. And when that dark side comes out, it's pretty dark."
Something tells us WWE will do what's necessary to keep McIntyre in the company, and an eventual heel turn would be fun to see. Like he says, though, it needs to make sense and we're definitely enjoying seeing him as the babyface in this Intercontinental title feud with GUNTHER!