Yaz Jung shares an inspiring conversation with Drew “McIntyre” Galloway about a young lad from Scotland who became the first ever British face of America’s $6 Billion-dollar World Wrestling Entertainment franchise, and the life-changing faces of a performer’s dreams.
(Interview edited for clarity and length)
Professional Wrestling is a much misunderstood art-form that draws upon the earliest traditions of Carnival, Vaudeville and Cinema. It is a multi-billion dollar industry that has spawned the biggest movie box-office attraction in the world, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and is broadcast in over 180 countries in 28 languages. It is a pantomime world of riches, heartbreak and fame, yet little understood. This year, a young man from Scotland, Andrew “Drew” Galloway, became the first British-born performer in the near one-hundred year history of the profession, to become the face of the largest wrestling entertainment company in the world, the $6 billion-dollar publicly traded, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Before he could do so however, Galloway had to endure personal and professional travails alongside a punishing schedule as a travelling performer.
Ever since the days of the first television networks in America, such as DuMont and Columbia, wrestling generated equivalent or better ratings than traditional first-run scripted programming, at a fraction of the production cost. Colourful and provocative characters such as “Gorgeous” George and Ed “Strangler” Lewis captured the imagination of viewers coast-to-coast. However, in 1985, the public and business perception of wrestling changed forever with the monumental undertaking of New York promoter Vince McMahon who wagered everything on the success of WrestleMania - an all ages live-entertainment spectacular held at Madison Square Garden. Gone were the days of smoke-filled bingo halls and dusty gyms as McMahon -harnessing the nascent youth-culture of MTV - featured appearances by the late Muhammad Ali, Cyndi Lauper and television hero Mr. T. WrestleMania reimagined pro-wrestling into an All-American variety show worthy of Dick Clark and American Bandstand, adorned with performances by the flamboyant Liberace and the Rockettes from Radio City Music Hall. For the first time, the general public began to see wrestling as a live entertainment that rested on the same contractual relationship as between theatre and stage.
Rendered as a complete arena production, with full lighting, music, and pyrotechnic effects, McMahon felt his product had evolved far enough from the traditional model of wrestling, that he classified it as an entirely new genre unto itself, christening it Sports Entertainment.
Meanwhile in Britain, wrestling was still presented as a bare-knuckles style contest governed by The Mountevans Rules - named so after their principal draftsman and the only officer to survive Capt. Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole - Admiral Lord “Teddy” Mountevans. Whether the violent “All In” bouts of Sir Edward Atholl Oakley Bt. (who went on to train the famous wrestling announcer ‘Lord’ Alfred Hayes) or the exhibitions of The Great Gama whom was once awarded the Silver Mace by H.M. King Edward VIII, Britain’s grappling traditions stretch far back to the origins of Lancashire wrestling, whose county patois “Catch-As-Catch-Can” (later abbreviated to simply “Catch”) originated in fairgrounds where contestants were invited to “Catch-a-hold-anywhere-you-can” in tests of strength to win prizes.
In Britain, the golden-age of Television Wrestling as a national past-time came in the late 1970’s with The Telegraph recalling how even H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were said to be avid fans, as ITV’s World of Sport propelled names such as “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, “Gentleman” Chris Adams, William “Regal”, “The Dynamite Kid”, “The Lancashire Lion” Marty Jones, “The Giant Haystacks” and educing his nom de guerre from Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - “Big Daddy” Shirley Crabtree.
However, by 1990, British wrestling had precipitated into a sharp decline. ITV’s domestic product was waning under the weight of the same tired-looking Northern venues with performers who couldn’t compare to the larger-than-life WWE aesthetic viewers worldwide were falling in love with - even if they did have just as much skill.
McMahon’s deal with premium satellite broadcaster Sky Television surpassed all expectations. Sky’s mainstream reach offered an unrivalled visibility to WWE, which was broadcast alongside some of the biggest Trans-Atlantic hit shows of the day, such as The Simpsons, Beverly Hills 90210, Full House, Due South, The X-Files, Nash Bridges, Friends, E.R. and Star Trek : The Next Generation. Something about positioning WWE at the heart of these glamorous American imports seemed to connect with audiences everywhere, invigorating Sky’s reputation as a premier broadcaster with an unmissable array of destination programming.
By 1992, Sky elevated American wrestling far beyond what British traditions could have ever dreamed. WWE’s first ever UK shows were co-produced exclusively with Sky, live from the Royal Albert Hall and the then London Arena. Later, supported by full pay-per-view distribution, Sky helped WWE sell-out Wembley Stadium. This time, instead of the iconic Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant filling the Pontiac Silverdome, McMahon turned to Golborne Lancashire’s Davey Boy Smith and Canadian folk-hero Bret “The Hitman” Hart, to choreograph a performance that left Wembley on the edge of its seat.
Since then, Television Wrestling has continued to generate billions in pay-per-view revenue, worldwide broadcast rights, merchandising and live-events and it was this world of body-building, strength and pageantry that inspired Andrew Galloway, at the age of 15, to dream of becoming the first British World Champion in history.
“I started training when I was 15. I used to travel twelve hours from Ayr to the only wrestling schools, Hammerlock and the FWA, which was in Portsmouth, to learn to wrestle and started in the wrestling scene in Scotland when I was 16 with a few guys, and the goal was to get to America. No matter what, be the first ever Scottish kid to get to America. The deal with my dad was, to always stay in school. At the time it worked out amazingly because in my last year (of studies) I got signed and during the process for the VISA, which took 8 months, I was able to finish my degree and came to America just in time - I don’t necessarily recommend that - but it worked out exactly as I planned…”
Galloway read Criminology at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is disarmingly honest about remaining in higher-education to please his father but also regarding the advantages of being a graduate in making a well-rounded application to WWE
“It’s not the same as it, you know, used to be. People’s perception of wrestling has changed. It’s a more sophisticated audience and we don’t treat them like they’re not intelligent and do over-the-top cartoon characters anymore. When the guys do media, you want them to come across in a manner that’s gonna be positive for the business. That’s the kind of thing Vince looks for especially, people with a good head on their shoulders, cause then you can trust them. In a pubic business, especially corporate like WWE, you need people you can rely on.”
Galloway realised first-hand, the import of personal qualities in today’s industry. After a strong initial surge backed by the company, Drew’s success led him down a path which seemed to virtually end all faith in him. After striking up a relationship with fellow co-worker and former Playboy model Taryn Terrell, the couple enjoyed a shotgun wedding in Vegas, yet ended up in a blazing public row several weeks later after attending the annual Midsummer Eve party at the Playboy Mansion. The incident ended with Terrell being arrested and released from her WWE contract with the couple divorcing a few months later. There is an old adage in wrestling, that you can either “Make friends, or make money”.
”Well you can have both to be honest…” says Drew when I remind him of the old saying. “I don’t necessarily subscribe to that philosophy. I know it’s kind of a old- school way of thinking - but you know, I don’t think that’s necessarily the truth these days. Like, I get along with everybody, always have. Maybe in the earlier days of my career, I could have, been more like the old-school mentality and I probably would have got farther quicker, but I always stuck to my guns and you know things are working out for me now enough to keep doing it..”
By making the same mistakes as generations of performers before him, Galloway risked becoming a parody of himself and that’s exactly how WWE booked him. Instead of being allowed to perform in a serious manner, Andrew was given the character of a surf-rocker burn-out more reminiscent of Bill & Ted than a dangerous man who could cause believable harm. The incident in L.A. prior to WWE’s centrepiece stadium event of the summer, appeared to derail his career overnight. Like a series regular that falls-out with the show-runner, he was featured less and less on-screen until finally being written off TV. In 2014, with a career potential seemingly unfulfilled, Galloway was released from his WWE contract. Back then, unlike today, there were few other places to work. Sports Entertainment is big business under the WWE umbrella with Wal-Mart, Mars Inc. and Mattel, being just a few of the corporations global partners. However, outside this, there is a patchwork of smaller regional companies that cannot match the corporation’s production, market-share or remuneration. Although WWE finances extensive rehab programs for any talent past or present that may need help, several released stars have suffered from substance abuse, depression, and other mental health issues, believing they would never again make it back to the big time.
Undaunted, Galloway went out to seek his fortune once more, starting again from the minor leagues. Like Mickey Rourke’s eponymous character in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Wrestler’, instantly he went from performing for tens of thousands to less than a few hundred. The pay scale at this level was determined by television presence. At first, recently released stars command a higher guarantee because their immediately preceding screen exposure drives enthusiasts to independent shows. However, without sustained bearing on the airwaves, gradually star-power is thought to taper off, along with appearance fees. That is until Galloway helped redefine the economy of wrestling outside WWE
“When I was gone from WWE, I had a very clear mission statement in my head what I was going to do. Go back to the UK, and the way I was gonna set things up, I knew the power of social media. I just had a very clear business plan in my head and I wanted to set a new example of what somebody that’s been in my position can do. Most guys that have been let-go, they’ve flown under-the-radar, hoping to get re-signed one day or hoped to get signed somewhere else. I was the exact opposite. I spoke to a few guys. They told me (regarding the independents) ‘You’ll get paid a certain amount at first and you’ll do your WWE gimmick and then you’ll go down in wage, and down in wage and eventually you’ll make an amount you can live on or whatever..’ I said ‘That sounds terrible, that’s no way to live, that’s not my passion..’ and I thought, I’m gonna go out and make myself more marketable, more valuable than ever and its gonna be because I grew it, because of all the lessons I learned. The highs, the lows, everything in-between, that I’ve learned in my career, set me up to go on the journey I’ve gone on. My brother coined the phrase - You’ve become a verb, you’ve done ‘a Drew’ and to watch other guys go out there and just go for it - not necessarily do a Drew - but taking a chance on themselves - it’s really cool to see them believing…”
Galloway went on to hone his craft at two smaller companies that developed close relationships with WWE. Florida’s Evolve Wrestling was eventually purchased as a going-concern by the corporation and Scotland’s ICW was the subject of two highly successful BBC documentaries entitled ‘Fight Club’. Drew’s wrestling celebrity ushered both a new relevance, enabling them to benefit from content distribution through WWE Network’s approximately 1.5m paid subscriber base. However, helping achieve this required financial compromise.
“When it came to Evolve and ICW - I made a deal with Evolve, because I knew there was a talent there I wanted to work with. I knew they didn’t have the money to pay what everyone else was paying me. With ICW, it was people I grew up with. I like to help the company, so I did deals in certain places, because I always saw it as my job to get the title over.”
To prove himself as a leading man once again, Galloway had to successfully headline for this commonwealth of smaller companies. Wrestling’s leading-men are known as ‘World Champions’. Unlike athletics, the status of ‘World Champion’ does not connote a sporting prize, but is regarded as an industry-wide marque of technical and artistic proficiency, awarded only to the best story-tellers who combine athletic ability with an instinct to connect with the audience. That is why winning a major ‘World’ title symbolises something to performers and fans. It is akin to Counsel taking Silk.
From small towns across the United States, to the historic York Hall in England, Drew shouldered unrelenting tours for grass-roots fans in Australia, Mexico, Germany and Denmark, promoting each regional title to new markets and coverage.
“Being a larger guy - 6’5, 265 lbs.- I guess I look like the prototypical WWE guy of the past, but also I’ve got the mindset of a current guy, determined to have the best match on the card. To paraphrase J.F.K, you don’t ask what the title can do for you but what you can do for the title…” he offers, sharing his philosophy on championship belts as story-telling devices “It was always my goal to make the title. When I won the Evolve title, Evolve wasn’t as well known as it is now. I wanted to make the title. I was the champion for a year, then WWE bought-in. ICW - It was getting big in Scotland, I wanted the world to know. I wanted to make the title - take it to another level. It’s been a crazy journey, it’s been a crazy travel schedule…but the fact that I can go to a company and make it bigger and get more eyes on it across the world is very, very rewarding..”
Soon, Galloway landed a starring role back on television with Impact Wrestling. Though aired on an unassuming cable channel stateside and a fraction the size of WWE, Impact had long-term international presence in the UK on Challenge TV and Sony SIX across Asia. It was enough to arouse the interests of Billy Corgan, the seminal 1990’s grunge idol behind the multi-platinum Smashing Pumpkins. Driven by his own fascination with wrestling as a story-telling medium, Corgan was contending to purchase the company.
“When it came to winning the Impact title, I was in Germany Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Then, on the Monday, the traffic was terrible and they messed-up getting me to the airport. I missed the flight and had to pay $3,000 of my own money to get to America. When I got there and they told me I was winning the title, I was like ‘Oh OK.’ They were like expecting me to be jumping around and I was like ‘You’ll see my reaction when I’m out there, I’m just a bit worn down right now’. Then, when I won it, I didn’t get a chance to celebrate, cause all I was thinking was - What’s gonna make me different? How am I going to stand out as champion? How am I going to elevate this title? And instantly - I was like - I’ve travelled the world. I’m gonna be the first travelling World Champion since Ric Flair. That’s gonna be my goal. So I went to Billy Corgan and told him ‘You can tell everybody right now that I’m taking this belt with me, I don’t care what anybody says..’
We smile as I remind Galloway of the now infamous TV moment where he told the fans at home, that the mythical front-man of The Smashing Pumpkins was buying Impact Wrestling just because of him
“Well I went straight in - but that wasn’t part of the script…” - Grins McIntyre “..But Yeah I went around and just made it clear ‘I’m taking this title’ Because the only way I can separate myself from everybody else, is do what I do, and that’s be the most travelled guy in the world. I go to all these companies, and I’m taking this belt with me. I’m gonna elevate this belt. I’m gonna make people care about this belt. Because if they see me defending it and if I was the best match on the show as the champion, then the grass-roots, everywhere I go, are gonna care about the company and the title.”
The art of wrestling lies in creating the illusion of a test of strength between competitors using balance and acrobatics. Performers attempt to hook the audience into suspending disbelief through perilous live stunts designed to cultivate uncertainty in the spectators mind. The sheer blunt impact forces even the most hardened sceptic to momentarily question their disbelief. It is creating that moment of doubt that wrestlers live for.
“I work for the dads who are only here because of their kids. Because my matches are so physically violent and aggressive, it’s not necessarily a performance. On the mic, in the ring, I make it very believable in my style, so the sceptical dads go ‘Right, I don’t know about some of that show, it was entertaining and I enjoyed some of those flips - clearly not real - but when that Galloway was beating the crap out of that guy, that guy’s a badass..’ - That’s the guys I work for. I know I can get the mums, I know I can get the kids (to suspend their disbelief), I know I’ll work my ass off to give everyone an entertaining match - but I work for those dads that don’t want to be here, that don’t believe the athleticism is real, and I’ll send them home talking about it.”
In truth, the physical toll wrestling exacts appears heavier than any other form of sports or entertainment including Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Almost every single marquee star in the world of wrestling has suffered life-changing injuries in pursuit of creating the illusion it rests upon and much like the NFL, WWE now follows a rigorous concussion and wellness protocol. Still, many do not understand why performers go to such grave lengths in pursuit of realism when audiences are aware the outcome is pre-determined. It is the same reason actors risk on-set injury to capture the integrity of a shot that looks and feels real. It is the same reason musicians sacrifice their well-being to give fans a series of unforgettable concerts. The rush of creating is the same across every performance art.
“Taking your time and working the cameras, is something WWE taught me. Not rushing through things, and getting your face across - even though I’m a bigger guy, I will make sure to structure my match in a way that people would be able to recognise my face walking down the street. They’ll recognise my opponents face walking down the street. Vince McMahon always says, ‘It’s your face that gets you over’. That’s what people remember. That’s how you make your money. I subscribe to that, but I also believe you should be having a good match. You should be covering all facets of wrestling. You should be telling a story in the ring. The audience should be losing their mind on the near-falls. You should be killing-it facial-expression wise, storytelling-wise. If you excel in every single area, then you’re pleasing everybody and most importantly you’re pleasing yourself, cause you’ve got that creative freedom. Be creative, be different, don’t phone it in. If you’re not delivering and connecting with the crowd and getting every single one of them invested, you’re not doing your job.”
Instead of regarding leaving WWE as the loss of a chance, McIntyre persevered to develop himself with a resilience rarely seen in any performance or art. After severely fracturing two vertebrae, Drew resumed training harder than ever, flourishing in the creative and artistic freedom offered by smaller stages around the world
“All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to be myself in the ring and on the microphone. Unfortunately, (at that time) in WWE and the nature of the product, it’s not always possible that everybody can do that. With the exception of a few guys, and perhaps now with a three hour show - a few extra guys - can actually have some substantial time in their matches and they seem to be a bit more lenient with the characters being closer to themselves. All I’ve ever wanted my whole career is, let me go out there, do MY thing and if it gets over, it’s on me and if it doesn’t get over, it’s on me. I’m working my whole life to learn to do this job. I feel like I know it pretty well. I know ME very well. I know what I do well and what I don’t. If it doesn’t work, I like to be held accountable and it if it does, you can take all the credit, I don’t care…as long as I feel creatively satisfied…”
A generation prior, it was creative satisfaction that drove a homeless Canadian runaway of Highland descent, to become a household name. Consonant to how everyday people who had never seen The A-Team or WWE had still heard of Mr. T and Hulk Hogan, the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper played the role of an unhinged violent sociopath so well, that the character became part of modern Pop-Culture. Next to his colleague, Sgt. Slaughter, Roddy Piper became only the second ‘real’ person to be inducted into Hasbro’s multi-billion dollar G.I.*Joe franchise and went on to star in John Carpenter’s cult-classic They Live. When WWE sold-out Wembley stadium in ’92, he legitimately performed Scotland the Brave with the Balmoral Highlanders. I ask Drew what he remembers about those sunny days
“I was so devastated when I found out he wasn’t really Scottish..” reminisces Galloway, who has since named one of his beloved rescue cats Piper after the fabled star “After that, I just assumed everything he did was not real, so I thought Piper (actually playing the bagpipes) was a rib at first.” We laugh at Drew’s loss of wrestling innocence. As an industry legend, Roddy had once requested to work with Drew calling him “A real good kid”. Today, alongside Piper, McIntyre is now the most famous wrestler to ever be billed from Scotland “Well you can throw Grado in there as well if you’re in the UK…” he adds, as a nod to the diminutive comedy wrestler who has won hearts everywhere “I’m very proud to be the first ever Scotsman to go to America, I’m very proud to represent my country wherever I go.”
Like Piper, Drew is highly self-critical and serves much time contemplating the nuance of his profession. He speaks reverently of Darren Matthews, who has performed for decades under the name William Regal. Like Galloway, Matthews began training in his early teens, bloodying his teeth on the coarse Blackpool fairgrounds before journeying to America and becoming one of the most well-known British wrestlers of all time. Since then, Regal has devoted the majority of his life to scouting and nurturing successive generations of talent, as well as counselling younger stars against the mistakes he made early in his career.
“Mentor-wise, critique-wise. I always ask Fit Finlay or William Regal. Those are the kind of guys I go to right-away for advice. My biggest critic is myself. I always challenge myself to be better but Fit and Regal are the guys I speak to on the phone if I have a question about anything cause they went through the same journey as me.” Would it not be fitting, I ask, if Matthews were in some way recognised one day in his home country, perhaps for ‘Services to Wrestling’ ? “Absolutely…” enthuses Drew “I’d love it if he got an MBE or something, he’d probably just p*ss himself.”
We laugh as Drew evokes the slapstick comedy Regal mastered in his career. Life on the road is severe. A certain sense of humour is needed to survive it. Another star revered for his sense of humour, was the late Curt Hennig. Known for his exceptional athletic ability and natural charisma, Hennig exemplified countless professional traits that have since engraved an indelible benchmark for performers everywhere. Even in a sometimes treacherous landscape, where praise can be enviously subdued, Hennig’s irresistible craftsmanship in the ring was considered so flawless that his own peers accorded him the sobriquet “Mr. Perfect”. Alongside Bret “The Hitman” Hart, “The Dynamite Kid” Tom Billington and Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle, “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig is universally regarded as simply one of the finest western wrestlers to have ever graced the ring (Japan and Mexico enjoy their own pantheon of master-craftsmen). I ask Drew if he ever studies past masters such as Hennig
“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to watch any tapes, but absolutely, he’s one of my favourite guys. He was considered a smaller guy back then, but really, he was a big guy. The way he moved around, his footwork, it was incredible to watch. He was the one who was raising audience expectations because they were so used to a particular style at the time and when someone like a Bret Hart was in there with Mr. Perfect - they have the great wrestling aspect and they also have the great athleticism that I haven’t seen from anyone else except for Shawn Michaels - just blowing people’s minds. That’s like the equivalent today of Ricochet and Will Ospreay. They were taking it to the next level because the crowd weren’t educated in that kind of style yet.”
Like method actors, wrestlers closely study fighting disciplines from around the world to gild their stage-combat with verity and depth. From High-flying Lucha Libre or Mixed-Martial Arts approaches, to traditional Olympic and Greco-Roman styles, performers inhabit a method and know how to fight for real should they ever be tried. Yet, the annals of Sports Entertainment abound with workers who could complete breath-taking stunts but did not always possess the personal magnetism to inspire a crowd. The reverse is also true. There are those, who despite a limited repertoire, can electrify onlookers with a few simple steps. The vast majority never make it to WWE, let alone become the face of the corporation. So how did Drew produce a well-layered character that connected with audiences everywhere?
“It’s not always necessarily about just the in-ring stuff. It’s about getting good at everything. To be able to get yourself over, eloquently, adequately, to be understood. I used to have a strong accent. I taught myself not to anymore, so people around the world could understand me better. To get my point across while also being convincing and telling the story with my face, voice and inflections. Then you’ve got to work on the in-ring product. Your presence and everything. You just have to tie everything together and you can have it all. Don’t focus so much on the ‘Oh I’m working so hard in-the-ring, I’ve done ‘this’ move really well, why am I not getting a chance? - Well maybe part of your game has to be brought up. Maybe they’re not gonna tell you why. Maybe you had an opportunity and it got taken away to test you and you flipped out and swore at them or talked sh*t and they heard about it and they thought ‘Well we can’t trust this guy, he’s a bit of a hot-head. What happens if something big comes up at a TV Station or a live interview? What’s he gonna do? Cuss them out and embarrass the company?’ So if you want to be a top guy you have to learn how to do that.”
While Sports Entertainment shares many characteristics with Film and Television, one distinguishing aspect lies in the general lack of a script. In this sense, wrestling has more in common with An Evening at the Improv than it does with Cinema. Due to the unpredictable nature of injuries and the often capricious tastes of the promoter, wrestling takes place in a fluid space where the last minute re-blocking of scenes is commonplace. This improvisational nature is both a strength and curse. While it ensures the show always goes on, it often occurs at the sacrifice of narrative structure, which affects audience investment. However, Drew believes it is a fundamental part of every performers professional tool-kit to quickly realign with any eleventh-hour amendments
“No other art-form has that kind of script-change, but that’s what makes wrestling, wrestling. It’s just, you come in to it - you have to know that. We used to do promo classes with Vince McMahon himself, learning how to do that on the fly. If you want to be at the top level you have to be able to adapt. Maybe if you can have it the day before it might be easier! But on the day, so many things can change. It’s the nature of wrestling. It’s always been the nature of wrestling. Like my promos and everything are done on the day. Sometimes, I’ll get to the building and get handed it right before the show. It seems crazy to people…but if you’re in wrestling, you’ve got to know that’s just the way it is and if you want to be at the very top level, you’ve got to be able to learn to do that.”
Doesn’t this cause strain and pressure for performers? How must they feel?
“When it comes to the segments changing and your television time and story-lines changing - I used to have it happen to me. I used to let it get to me. I didn’t act probably the way I should have. I was young. I didn’t know any better. But as I got older and started to learn the nature of the beast and understand, that the world of WWE didn’t necessarily revolve around me - it might have eventually - but they’ve only got time for (whatever) the top storyline (is) at that particular time and everything else can change. I know it’s frustrating, but then you have to realise, that there’s a lot of people who are in the same spot as me, hoping for a shot. That are good enough to get an opportunity, or have had it taken away. There’s only so many hours of original content a week, that they’re not gonna be focused on one particular person or thing. You can either let that drive you crazy - which I’ve done - or you can understand that, and when it comes, you’ll make it count. If it gets taken away and you’re frustrated, just suck it in. Say “No problem. When my time comes I will knock it out of the park.” Go to the gym. Don’t get angry at the gym. Keep it to yourself. Don’t talk sh*t backstage. Don’t put a boo-boo face on. Don’t sell it to them, because at the end, that’s not the kind of guy they want as their top guy. They want someone who is rough, tough and has been through it all..”
Drew’s words proved unspeakably prescient. Shortly after we spoke, he formally returned to the WWE, in a rapid ascent which saw his character become the first British World Champion in history. Yet the biggest script change was still to come. Instead of achieving this career milestone before some 70,000 screaming souls at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the match was re-scheduled to be filmed on a closed set at WWE’s elite Performance Center facility in Orlando. The rush of the crowd is how Drew had always envisaged his moment of professional recognition, yet with equanimity and composure, he carried the company without more. Outside, it was celebrated throughout the globe, with the British press reporting footage of pubs up and down the country erupting in joy.
Entrusting the top spot to Galloway was a seemingly unbeatable villain played by former UFC champion Brock Lesnar. As the UFC Championship is a pure MMA combat-sports title, won by true Knock-Out or Submission, Lesnar’s performances are punctuated with a gravitas unique in the world of Sports Entertainment. It was one leading man passing the torch to another, on whose star-power the company now rests. Another leading man that has performed opposite Drew to help him reach new heights, has been long-time WWE headliner Randy Orton. In time, Andrew will pay these favours forward, just was as they were passed to him. It is a time-honoured tradition amongst wrestlers to help make new stars, each champion going out on his shield to advance his successor in the best possible light.
Galloway’s efforts have presided over a restoration of British wrestling. His resolve has helped create talent opportunities unseen in the UK for decades. In 2018, The Guardian reported how after nearly 30 years off-the-air, ITV re-launched World of Sport wrestling, for some summer nostalgia. That same year, WWE accelerated plans for their own NXT UK league based in Enfield to provide more British talent heretofore unimaginable world-wide exposure. As for Billy Corgan? Instead of purchasing Impact, inter alia, the legendary song-writer chose to re-activate the heritage American NWA brand, installing East Anglia’s Nick “Magnus” Aldis as his standard-bearer. British WWE star Stu “Wade Barrett” Bennett has starred in action movies opposite Vinnie Jones and even Drew’s old colleague from ICW, Nicola Glencross has featured atop the WWE Women’s division as the uncertain Nikki Cross.
With ESPN mentioning the possibility of a twin open-top bus parade in London and Glasgow to celebrate his historic achievement, Galloway’s natural warmth and generosity (not to mention marriage to Dr. Kaitlyn Frohnapfel) keep his feet firmly rooted to the ground. The articulacy of his expression belies his hulking frame. When I mention he is much larger in real-life, he flashes a cheeky Scot’s grin and tells me perhaps I need a bigger TV. In meeting Drew, I am reminded of his old hometown bard from Ayr, Scotland’s most celebrated poet, Robert Burns - whom once so movingly wrote about giving shelter to others in O, Wert Thou in The Cauld Blast. After helping BBC Bitesize home-school British children during lockdown, on behalf of the company and millions of fans around the world, Drew went on to present his fellow countryman, the 100 year-old army Captain, Colonel Sir Tom Moore, with a custom made honourary WWE World Championship title belt to commemorate the over £33 million ($40m) he raised for Britain’s National Health Service during the Coronavirus crisis. Behind-the-scenes and to little fanfare, Galloway continues committing his time and effort to good causes, no doubt, he hopes to one day match the longevity and spirit of Captain Tom. Back in the early dark of the winter afternoon we met, I asked him how he wished to be remembered
“Just a guy that followed his dreams. A guy that was told : ‘Just because no-one’s ever done it from your country before, what makes you so special?’ and not letting any of that get to him. A guy that had some ups and downs that he had to go through, but figured it all out in the end. He got the job of his dreams, married the girl of his dreams and was a very happy man. It’s clear to me now, but I’ve had to go through it all at the highest level to learn. I’ve been told what to do, and what not do, and I still did it all. Everything that happened to me, has made me who I am today. I fly the flag for Scotland but for the UK also. I’m proud I was the first guy from Scotland to do it but I’m doing it for the UK too. I’m just a guy who followed his life’s dream.”
Well with his first WWE World Championship firmly in the history books, he has certainly done that.
