Leaning heavily into the new era of WWE creative, Drew McIntyre has rewritten the playbook on heel work in professional wrestling.
McIntyre has done this over the course of many months while steadily building a blood feud for the ages with a not-medically-cleared CM Punk.
But the man ascended to another plane of heel work this past week when he shared a “real” photo of himself with AEW star Jack Perry, including “cry us a river” in the caption:
For those out of the loop, a quick summation of lore here: Perry was the wrestler involved in Punk’s second major backstage altercation in AEW that ultimately led to his departure. And Perry saying something to the effect of the title of a hit Justin Timerberlake song (Cry Me a River) into the camera is what sparked it all.
So McIntyre, a WWE Superstar who was speculated as a possible AEW signing if he hit free agency, linking up with an AEW star is one thing—snapping a photo with an AEW wrestler who played a hand in all of the real-life drama is a stunning blurring of the lines.
And to top it all off, McIntyre eventually deleted the tweet, and has apparently deactivated his social media accounts in the past, so that could be coming, too.
Real? Did WWE and/or AEW get mad about it and tell him to yank it? Or are all involved getting a hearty chuckle about the whole thing behind the scenes while fans get worked?
Either way, it’s the magnum opus for McIntyre, whose journey on this path started with that infamous “I prayed for this, and it happened” after Punk announced his serious injury, which cost him a WrestleMania match on his comeback tour.
An injury that, for the record, McIntyre himself seemed to cause in the Royal Rumble, on top of the fact there has always been speculation from fans that the two just didn’t like each other very much in real life–just like with Seth Rollins and Punk.
Since, McIntyre has been in expert troll mode and examples abound. He’s slammed Punk’s merchandise rollout, to name the one of many recent shots.
A famous one:
Yes, by the way, the man’s profile picture is currently a bloodied Punk after a backstage beatdown, too.
This has played into his character, too, as he’s made several miscues in spots where he used to be strategic, such as making it clear he would cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and later getting suspended for his post-PLE actions.
Punk has gotten his, too. He cost McIntyre a title at ‘Mania, then at Clash at the Castle in Scotland, then cost him his briefcase, spoiling the cash-in attempt. He’s mostly won the cat-and-mouse game on weekly shows when he appears, too.
Which is another point–McIntyre’s strong year-round heel work has enabled Punk to remain on weekly programming in batches that make sense. In the past, injured stars would just disappear until a surprise return. The work McIntyre has put into building up this feud and Punk himself means this feud doesn’t even suffer from one-half of it being on the shelf with an injury.
There is a possible caveat to all of this. One wouldn’t be wrong to suggest that perhaps McIntyre wouldn’t have caught fire like this if Punk had remained healthy. But without the Best in the World actually medically cleared for a match, he’s had to get creative on a weekly and monthly basis to drag this thing out.
Of course, it helps that we’re talking about Punk. When it comes to in-ring psychology, mic and promo work and sheer understanding of the medium, there are few doing it like him. Talk about a perfect dance partner.
Still, McIntyre deserves his flowers. He’s gone from seemingly having one foot out the door and headed for AEW after never getting his moment despite carrying WWE through the pandemic era to being one-half of what could be the best feud of the decade or more.
Heck, McIntyre’s gone from a fairly generic WWE trope–big guy with a mean streak but liked by fans, predictable promos, etc.—to a more modern-feeling, medium-defining presence.
McIntyre, more than most, clearly thrives in this new WWE creative that gives talent more wiggle room to be themselves and steer story and characters where they see fit. He’s become the ultimate troll, which is a compliment, is easily the Hater of the Year with no competition and is now trailblazing the way for modern heel work while crafting pro wrestling’s hottest feud in ages.
