Drew McIntyre Was Told To “Lose The Accent” By WWE
There have been some strange edicts in WWE over the years but a former writer has revealed that the company once wanted Drew McIntyre to lose his accent.
Speaking on his Wrestling with Freddie podcast, former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. gave his thoughts on Bianca Belair’s promo skills while also noting that fans are unlikely to hear much of anything from Belair’s Backlash opponent, IYO SKY:
“I have softened a bit on Bianca since she first won the title. I would have liked to see her and maybe she’s not given the freedom on the microphone but it still looks a little tight sometimes. And that’s either they’re making her stay on script, or she needs to stay on script.
I would like to see them let go a little bit with that or maybe just see her relax a little bit in her promos vs. IO SKY who they won’t let speak because English wasn’t her first language even though she speaks English. [They’re like] ‘There’s an accent. No one can understand.'”
Prinze Jr. then revealed that the company has even wanted English speakers to lose their accent in the past, pointing to Scottish star Drew McIntyre when he was first called up to the company’s main roster:
“Bro, they did it to English-speaking dudes like Drew McIntyre. So they did that with Drew McIntyre. When I first worked there, they called him up from FCW and they’re like, ‘You have to lose the accent.’ I was like ‘What? You can’t make him do that. He’s not a trained actor. He’s never worked on his voice. He is a big ass dude from Scotland.”
Drew McIntyre’s WWE future has been the subject of much discussion lately and it has taken another twist with the star removed from advertising for a major show later in the year.