Drew McIntyre
Drew Galloway  | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 6, 1985 Ayr, Scotland |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Drew Galloway Drew McIntyre |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) |
| Billed weight | 253 lb (115 kg) |
| Billed from | Ayr, Scotland |
| Trained by | FWA Academy BCW Staff |
| Debut | 2001 |
Drew Galloway (born June 6, 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), wrestling on it's SmackDown! brand as Drew McIntyre. Galloway is also a male model and is pursuing an undergraduate degree in criminology.[1]
Career
Galloway began training for pro wrestling at the age of 15, taking several training camps with England's FWA Academy, under the tutelage of Justin Richards, James Tighe and Mark Sloan until February 16th 2002 when Scotland's Scottish Championship Wrestling gave Drew Galloway his debut...although Drew lost that match to his opponent Conscience, his star had begun to rise.
Then after British Championship Wrestling opened in Scotland where Galloway would sharpen his skill with Colin McKay, Carl Conroy and Spinner McKenzie.[2] While in BCW, Galloway first associated himself with Charles Boddington who, during a show on December 5, 2003 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, declared Galloway BCW's heavyweight champion after stating that the previous champion, Spinner McKenzie, had been fired. However, Galloway lost the title the same night to Stevie Knight. Galloway would later win the championship for a second time, defeating Colin McKay in an I Quit Match in Kilmarnock.[3]
In 2005 Galloway went to Ireland to compete in the Irish whip Wrestling (IwW) promotion, where he was joined by his manager Charles Boddington. During his time in IwW, Galloway would feud with Mad Man Manson, and on August 27, defeat Sheamus O'Shaunessy for the promotion's top title in Balbriggan, Dublin, ending O'Shaunessy's year long title reign to become the youngest champion at the age of 21.
During this time, Galloway also competed in All Star Wrestling in England. Competing in several tours with All Star in-between his studies in Scotland.[4] On October 15, 2006, Galloway competed in Insane Championship Wrestling's debut show "Fear & Loathing" defeating Darkside and Allan Grogan in a Triple threat 30 minute Iron Man Match to become the first ever ICW Champion. He lost ICW title on July 22 to Darkside in a 5 man elimination match involving, Darkside, Jack Jester, Wolfgang, Liam Thomson and Drew Galloway.
Later in 2006 Drew was offered a Developmental deal with WWE, it was said that Galloway respectfully turn this down as he had no yet finished his degree.
The growing interest of Galloway on the British independent circuit would cost Galloway his IwW International Championship when he was stripped of the title by the promotion who deemed him unable to defend it due to him missing several title defences because of overseas commitments.[5]
In May 2007 Galloway signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment. He left Scotland on September 17, and will be reporting to Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky. Galloway's last match in the UK was against Martin Stone in August. His final appearance in the UK (in a non wrestling capacity) was on September 15, at Premier British Wrestling's Maximum Impact show where he guest refereed the number one contender's match between Lionheart and Darkside.
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Drew Galloway made his debut in OVW on September 26, 2007 defeating Paul Burchill in a dark match. He debuted on OVW TV on October 3, 2007, he defeated Dirty Money.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Drew Galloway debuted for WWE on the October 12, 2007 edition of Smackdown as Drew McIntyre. According to several sources, the reason for the last name change was for trademark purposes. In his debut match, Galloway, accompanied by Dave Taylor, defeated Brett Major with a roll-up.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Thee Move (Cradle belly to belly piledriver)
- Facebuster#Complete shot
- Ego Trip (Swinging side slam spun out into a sitout facebuster)
- Spike piledriver
- Grapevined Boston crab
- Big boot
- Nicknames
- "Thee" Drew Galloway
- Managers
- Charles Boddington
- Dave Taylor
Championships and accomplishments
- British Championship Wrestling
- BCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times, current)
- Insane Championship Wrestling
- ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, first holder)
References
- ^ LA Muscle (2005). Sponser profile. Retrieved 16 October, 2006
- ^ Schwan, Brett (2006). "Ten Questions With... Drew Galloway". WrestlingClothesline.com. Retrieved October 16, 2006.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (2001-2006).BCW Heavyweight Title History. CageMatch.net. Retrieved 16 October, 2006.
- ^ Plummer, Russell (3 October, 2006). All Star Grapplevine. BigTimeWrestlingUK.com. Retrieved 16 October, 2006.
- ^ Posted on BritWres.com by Phil Jones. IwW: Galloway Stripped Of Title. Irish Whip Wrestling Press Release. Retrieved 27 January, 2007.