In recent years, former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre returned to WWE and told Yahoo! Sports that Triple H was one of the people behind his return. In an interview with TalkSport, Drew McIntyre revealed it was a conversation with Triple that got him back to WWE.
“He’s the reason I’m back in WWE 100 percent,” McIntyre said. “My mind was set at the time when I wasn’t going to re-sign with IMPACT that I’m going to Japan. I was made up in my mind and nothing could change my mind, but then William Regal, who has always been a mentor, gave me a call and said, ‘Speak to Triple H before you make any decisions.’ That led to a phone call from Triple H. We spoke for about 40 minutes and my mind was made up in the first 10 minutes.
“Him telling me, ‘I’ve been watching you,’ and I’m thinking, ‘I appreciate that Hunter, but no you haven’t. You’re too busy, you’ve got too much to do. You’re not sitting watching Drew indie matches!’ But sure enough, the way he spoke about some of my matches and the way I’ve developed, I was like, ‘Wow, he really has been watching.’ Aside from the fact he was proud of how far I’ve come as a performer, it meant more to me how proud he was of how far I’d come as a man, and he made it clear to me that it was time to come home. I didn’t know it until I spoke to him, but then I knew it right away. I knew it was NXT, as well, somewhere I could make a difference. He had the same thoughts. We had an agreement and he stuck to it 100 percent.”
Former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre was a longtime fan of the idea of a match with Triple H, but he’s been taking it easy due to his recent retirement from wrestling. The idea for a match between them at WrestleMania has been long held by Triple H, but he’s retired at this point.
“I pitched at every opportunity I could,” McIntyre said. “‘How about us at WrestleMania? ‘What’s the story?’ He’d ask and I’d say, ‘What’s the story? We’ll figure it out, but what about you and me at WrestleMania?! How awesome would that be?’ We got in the ring together a few times during my first run, but when I returned, we did do a match in Japan with myself, Dolph Ziggler, and I can’t remember my other partners. But it was against The Good Brothers, AJ Styles, and Hunter. That was cool.”
