5 hidden gem Drew McIntyre matches you may not have seen

The boyhood dream has finally become a reality!

This past weekend at WrestleMania 36, Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to become the WWE Champion.

In doing so, he became the first ever UK-born world champion in the history of WWE. Despite it happening, sadly, in front of no fans due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it still represented a massive milestone in the career journey of McIntyre.

Back in 2014, he was released by WWE. Instead of dwelling on a potentially missed opportunity, he instead forged a formidable reputation across the worldwide independent scene.

Such was McIntyre's body of work during this time, he was back in WWE in the blink of an eye - less than three years following his release.

This near 36-month spell included some absolute gems of bouts you wouldn't have believed had happened - some of which we may never see again.

So here are five hidden gems of matches from Drew's spell on the indies.

#5 - vs. Cody Rhodes - What Culture Pro Wrestling - April 30th, 2017

Despite being Tag Team Champions in Drew's first WWE run, very rarely did we see McIntyre and Cody Rhodes face off on opposite sides of the ring.

By the time they eventually did, both men's careers had taken different paths. This early in 2017, Rhodes was only beginning to build his indie CV, which would ultimately lead to the formation of AEW, and arguably one of the hottest babyface runs in wrestling history.

McIntyre, on the other hand, was closing the door on this stage of his career, having re-signed with WWE/NXT. This match represented his final independent match-up.

Given that Cody and Drew are both friends outside the ring, this was a fitting finale to this chapter of the latter's career, especially when you add in the fact that another friend of McIntyre's in Stu Bennett/Wade Barrett was serving on commentary throughout the match.

He even makes a nice cameo midway through that many of his WWE fans will very much enjoy.

#4 - vs Aleister Black - ICW - April 26th 2015

Before he was Black Massing peoples heads off in WWE on a weekly basis, Aleister Black was a regular across the UK scene under the name of Tommy End.

One of the places he made his home was Scotland's ICW, where he was a former Tag Team Champion, as part of the Sumerian Death Squad alongside Michael Dante.

It was also here in ICW that he got the chance to square off with Drew McIntyre one-one-one, during the company's 2015 tour of England.

McIntyre was in the midst of what would be a year-long run as ICW World Champion. His match with Black in Sheffield would represent his 13th defence of that title.

This encounter featured all the characteristics of a typical ICW match around that time, which included both men brawling all the way from the ring towards the bar.

What we also saw was a completely different style of matchup from Black compared to what we are used to seeing from him in WWE.

He spent the majority of the match targeting the legs of McIntyre, going several times for a Single Legged Boston Crab to try and minimise the impact of the champion's larger frame.

In the end, it took not just one, but two Futureshock DDT's to put Black away, highlighting the threat he had posed to McIntyre's title reign.

#3 - vs Will Ospreay - What Culture Pro Wrestling - March 6th, 2017

Comparisons can be drawn between the careers of both Drew McIntyre and Will Ospreay.

Whilst McIntyre initially went to WWE in his early 20s with a bucket load of potential, Ospreay broke out in a different direction at a similar age. Less than one year prior to this match, he became the youngest ever winner of New Japan Pro Wrestling's Best of The Super Juniors tournament.

Whilst clearly still nowhere near the finished article that he is today, The Aerial Assassin still had the wrestling world at his feet when he challenged McIntyre for the What Culture Pro Wrestling Championship in early 2017.

Watching this match back reminded me of just how much Ospreay has changed his style over the past three years, as he showed a considerable lack of the muscle mass he now displays.

Not just that, but it also showed how good a seller McIntyre is for his opponents. Despite Ospreay being a substantially smaller man, McIntyre made him look like a million bucks here, making all of Will's moves look even more brutal.

Ospreay tried every trick in the book to try and get the better of Drew, including using interference from his girlfriend Bea Priestley, who received a Glasgow Kiss to the face for her efforts.

In the end, a ferocious swinging Futureshock was needed to put away the immensely talented Ospreay.

#2 - vs Rhyno - ICW - July 27th, 2015

One side of Drew McIntyre we don't often see is his ability to take it to the streets and brawl with the best of them.

It was that side of him we saw in abundance on this historic night in ICW history in the summer of 2015.

The company was making their return to their once spiritual home in Maryhill, a venue where McIntyre had first won the ICW Title nearly a decade prior.

On that same night, fans were treated to a surprise appearance from WWE and ECW icon Rhyno, one night earlier than expected. He had already been scheduled to face current NXT UK Tag Team Champion Wolfgang at the company's Shugs Hoose Party event the following evening.

He immediately challenged McIntyre to an impromptu match-up for the ICW World Championship, and the fight was on.

In images now part of the pop culture of Glasgow, the pair took their battle out onto the streets of the city - a surreal moment in hindsight given the heights Drew has achieved five years later.

Whilst the match is best remembered for their short foray outside the building, it also featured plenty of action inside the ring, including McIntyre kicking out from a vicious Gore that nearly resulted in the roof being taken off of the Maryhill Community Centre.

McIntyre got the win in the end, but it was a war he will never forget.

#1 - vs Grado - ICW - 15th November, 2015

Rightfully so, McIntyre's moment has been described as the greatest in the history of Scottish Wrestling.

To many fans, though, that honour previously went to the night of November 15th, 2015, when ICW held it's eighth annual Fear and Loathing event.

The show emanated from a packed Glasgow SECC, which sold out off the back of one match that featured zero imported stars from the US.

That match was the clash for the ICW World Championship between Drew McIntyre and Grado. McIntyre had run roughshod over the company for a full year, whilst Grado represented the comedy character who many couldn't see matching up equally to the former WWE star.

What we saw was Scotland's version of the famed WrestleMania 18 match between The Rock and Hulk Hogan, as the fans were in unison for their support of Grado.

To many fans of ICW, this still stands out as the pinnacle of the company's history, with the reaction when Grado got the 1-2-3 remaining one of the greatest experiences I've had the pleasure of witnessing as a wrestling fan.

Grado himself has stated that this match is his favourite moment in wrestling, where McIntyre presented him as his equal in the ring throughout.