“Heath Slater opening Raw with a killer promo in a great segment with the WWE Champion” is not a scenario many people probably expected to see, especially after Slater was released by WWE in April. But that’s exactly what happened, and according to a recent interview with talkSPORT, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre pushed to make it happen.
Says Drew:
I played a big part in making it happen, and to be honest, Heath was a little bit against it. I spoke to my wife right before the phone call I made to Heath to try and convince him to come onto the show for the segment…she reminded me how I felt at the time when I was released and sure enough, he felt the same. He appreciated the opportunity with WWE, it was where he had made his name, but mentally he’s moved on.
The King of Claymore Country was in a very similar situation as his former 3MB teammate finds himself in now, when McIntyre was released by WWE in 2014. McIntyre went to reinvent himself on the independent scene before returning to WWE in 2017. Drew was done with WWE, but with some hindsight, he believes Heath’s appearance on Raw will only help his post-WWE career going forward.
The first thing I did outside of WWE was ICW and I showed my real personality and it caused a buzz and went viral on the underground, but if you get the chance to show your real personality on RAW that’s going to set you on the right course. I know he’s been working out hard, so people will get to see what he looks like now and it also advances our story – everybody wins. We finally got him on board and got him on the show – he absolutely killed it, like I knew he would.”
This is bad news for fans who were hoping Heath’s appearance meant he was sticking around and would be re-signed by WWE, but wherever he ends up next, the One Man Rock Band is sure to make an … impact.
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