WWE star Drew McIntyre achieves ‘dream’ as Unholy Union eye hometown gold rush

WWE is set to host a Premium Live Event for the first time in Scotland this coming weekend as it is set to bring its Clash of the Castle event to the Ovo Hydro.

Tens of thousands of fans are set to descend upon Scotland’s largest city, and with a massive Euro 2024 opener for the country against Germany at the same time, it’s safe to say walking routes up and down the River Clyde will be filled with plenty of excitement.

Central to the hype surrounding Clash is hometown hero Drew McIntyre, who is set to challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Title in the main event of the show against Damian Priest of The Judgement Day.

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On top of having the chance to achieve the ultimate goal of any sportsperson in winning that sports top prize on home soil, but the trip started off with an extra bit of reward for Drew as he was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame for Scotland.

The ceremony, which took place on Thursday, saw McIntyre become the 11th inductee, as well as the first active wrestler to be included – and was held at a venue close to the Scottish Warrior’s heart as an avid Rangers fan inside Ibrox Stadium.

Despite being the most well known Scot to compete in the world of professional wrestling, Drew was pretty humbled to achieve such an prestige at this point in his career.

Speaking to Daily Star at a WWE Press junket pre-Clash, he said: “I spoke to Bradley (Craig) who is in charge of the Scottish wrestling Hall of Fame and nobody really gets inducted into that unless they’ve made some serious contributions to Scottish wrestling or international wrestling specifically, and certainly not until they retire.

“It’d be mentioned to be down the line to go in one day, but it got to a point where you’ve done so much and achieved so much, and we’re bringing this big event to Glasgow, it’s time to become the first ever active guy to go in. For them to then tell me that it was happening at Ibrox, it brought both of my childhood loves together. To come back all these years later and anything to come full circle, and achieve something of that level in my wrestling dream at Rangers stadium, I just need a poet to write the word for me.”

Unlike previous WWE shows that have taken place across the UK in the past. McIntyre isn’t the only star from these shores to be featured in a prominent spot at Clash, with Piper Niven set to challenge Bayley for the WWE Women’s Title, and Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn being involved in a triple threat for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Being part of the biggest show to ever take place in Scotland is a far cry from the days all three of these women spent building up the independent scene in the country from the small shows in community halls, to massive nights in front of thousands for Insane Championship Wrestling at the SECC and the Hydro.

When it comes to Niven, her contribution to the scene is often overshadowed by McIntyre, as she repeated a feat he accomplished years prior by turning the ICW Women’s Championship into a world title by defending it round the world.

In regards to her contribution to the scene, she said: “I’m sometimes guilty of not tooting my horn enough, and that is something I’m genuinely so proud of.

“Not to take anything away from Drew as what he did was spectacular, but I took the ICW Women’s Title and made it a legitimate world title, and I didn’t have any of the notoriety of being a former WWE superstar. Or being six foot tall or six foot wide. I didn’t have any of that name value but I still went out and did it off my own back purely out of sheer will and determination.”

Being home also brought back a sense of nostalgia for Fyre, as she added: “Sometimes so much happened on these weekends it feels like a bit of a blur. Then someone mentions them and they come back so much more clearly now.”

Dawn, who hadn’t been competing as long as her two compatriots as she acknowledged she was a fan in the crowd the night Drew famously returned to ICW and Scottish wrestling, was quick to praise how the local scene helped make them the wrestlers they are today.

She said: “Those small shows. As much as they weren’t as glamorous, we wouldn’t be here without the community halls, and the family and friends shows that took place in gyms with just 10 people.”

Fyre and Dawn, also known as the Unholy Union, first a tough task this Saturday as they need to attempt to dethrone a juggernaut team in the form of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, the former of which competed in the opening match at the previous Clash at the Castle back in 2022 in Cardiff.

Unlike that night where she firmly had the crowd on her side, she comes into this one knowing that her and Cargill may have their work cut out for them with a fierce crowd backing their opponents.

At the same press junket, she told us: “Just going and defending the titles in a tag team match is enough. On top of that, now they’ve made it a triple threat, so we are going up against two teams with one of them being the hometown heroes.

Walking in we know the crowd is going to be amazing but they are going to be huge favourites. We are just going to have to put that out of our mind, know what the bigger goal is and that’s walking out as champions and hopefully not break too many hearts here in Scotland.”

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