I had the good fortune of watching WWE Network’s new documentary, WWE 24: Drew McIntyre: The Chosen One, a few days before it was released to the public. What I watched was every bit as good as I’d hoped it would be — and even better.
There is no doubt that WWE production is top notch; I know going in that the music, the editing, the structure of the documentary will all be top notch. Going back about five years, WWE really started going that extra mile in finding the people who could lend valuable insight into a WWE Superstar’s development — as opposed to just finding a few guys who didn’t have much to do at TV tapings. I’m not necessarily knocking some of the older videos; just pointing out how much better this recent generation of products have been.
It’s the intangibles that turn good documentaries into great documentaries — finding a Superstar with a unique story to tell, catching them at the most vital part of their career, finding the exact people to best tell the tale.
– Mick Foley
But it’s the intangibles that turn good documentaries into great documentaries — finding a Superstar with a unique story to tell, catching them at the most vital part of their career, finding the exact people to best tell the tale. Drew McIntyre: The Chosen One is undoubtedly a great documentary, and all those intangibles are fulfilled to their greatest potential. Drew McIntyre, at the peak of his career, has a mesmerizing and inspiring story to tell, and this new documentary more than does justice to his tale.
I was sad to see Drew McIntyre let go by WWE back in 2014, but I honestly felt like his very enjoyable run as part of 3MB was probably as high as he was destined to go. He would do the normal route of many former WWE Superstars, booking dates and making a decent living from his level of fame for however long he could make it last.
But a few months after his departure, Drew reached out to me on social media, saying he always respected my opinion, and wanted to know if I might look at some work he had done with Scotland’s Insane Championship Wrestling.
Well, when I was 12, I absolutely loved watching Lou Ferrigno in “The Incredible Hulk,” especially those moments when he would metamorphosize from Bruce Banner into the titular Hulk character. Almost 40 years later, I was just as excited about the metamorphosis I found to be almost equally startling — the sudden explosion of Drew McIntyre from enjoyable mid-carder to a future WWE main event Superstar. It was like watching a child become a man before my very eyes. I was so impressed with what I’d seen, that I reached out wherever I could — sending a text message to Triple H, touting this new Drew on the Stone Cold Podcast, letting the world know via tweet that it had not heard the last of Drew McIntyre.
This excellent documentary gives you an unparalleled look at the changes Drew made that have taken him to the top of WWE. What appeared to be almost a magic trick of sorts — that metamorphosis I mentioned — was the offspring of hard work, dedication and an unwillingness to settle for being anything less than the best he could be. Being good enough was simply not good enough for Drew McIntyre, and WWE does a fine job of letting those who witnessed Drew’s incredible maturation process tell the stories of how it came to be.
WWE 24 benefits greatly from very thorough photographic and video evidence of Drew’s process, as we get to see the boy who grew up as a super-fan live the dream, only to see that dream come crashing down upon him — and then rise from the ashes to become the brightest star in his chosen field. At the center of it all is Drew McIntyre — unfailingly humble, extremely likable; a man you will find yourself rooting for as he chases his dream.
I give this documentary a huge Foley thumbs up. Check it out when you can!
WWE 24: Drew McIntyre: The Chosen One is available to watch on demand exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.
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