Drew McIntyre's results in the first part of 2025 did not live up to expectations, considering that the Scottish veteran had climbed the WWE hierarchy last season thanks to his sensational feud with CM Punk.
The former world champion made no secret that he expected to get more victories in the first months of 2025 and maybe compete for the world title again, but Triple H and WWE management had other plans and the British star had to settle for a secondary role.
Drew expressed his frustration, but he always had exemplary behavior both in and out of the ring continuing to perform despite his body being limited by some injuries. He took a small break from WWE after his match against Damian Priest, with the aim of fixing these issues and recharging his batteries ahead of the season part of the season.
Drew McIntyre is back
McIntyre made his in-ring return during the latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown, disrupting 'The American Nightmare' Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton who had faced off at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia a week ago (in the final of the 'King of the Ring' tournament).
The Scottish ace blazed both of these legends and introduced himself to the crowd as 'The Alpha', the one who returned to save the company. "The Alpha is back," McIntyre wrote on X.
The Alpha is back. pic.twitter.com/DTjbWndmnL
— Drew (@DMcIntyreWWE) July 5, 2025
The segment ended with 'The Viper' delivering a devastating RKO to McIntyre, before McIntyre asked the GM of the blue show Nick Aldis to be able to face Orton as soon as possible.
Their clash will be staged on Saturday Night's Main Event scheduled for July 12, the same event in which there will also be Bill Goldberg's retirement match. 'Da Man' will make the last match of his legendary career against current World Heavyweight Champion Gunther in Atlanta.