WWE Rumors on Drew McIntyre, 2023 Draft and NXT Star Eyed for WrestleMania Main Event

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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McIntyre Reportedly Out For at Least "A Few Weeks"

Amid speculation on his WWE future, Drew McIntyre's absence from WWE programming is reportedly expected to last a little while longer.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), McIntyre will remain off TV for "at least the next few weeks."

McIntyre last appeared on WWE programming at WrestleMania 39 when he faced Gunther and Sheamus in a Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship. Gunther retained the title by pinning McIntyre.

After WrestleMania, McIntyre blacked out his Twitter account, and a report surfaced that he had less than one year remaining on his contract, which led to questions about whether he planned to re-sign.

Per Meltzer, McIntyre still has "months" left on his contract, but he and WWE remain far apart on money.

McIntyre was originally with WWE from 2007 until his release in 2014, and after a successful run outside the company, he returned to WWE in 2017.

The Scottish Warrior developed into one of WWE's top stars, winning the 2020 men's Royal Rumble match and becoming a two-time WWE champion.

With Roman Reigns dominating the main event scene, however, it has been quite some time since McIntyre has tasted championship gold.

McIntyre and other wrestlers have plenty of leverage in contract negotiations now thanks to the success of AEW as a secondary promotion, and it seems likely that McIntyre will ultimately get a significant deal, whether it is with WWE or All Elite Wrestling.

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WWE Reportedly Held Off NXT Call-Ups for Draft

WWE reportedly had a good reason for not debuting any NXT Superstars on the Raw or SmackDown after WrestleMania 39.

According to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer (h/t Upton), WWE pushed back potential call-ups until the WWE draft, which will take place on the April 28 SmackDown and May 1 Raw.

The Raw and SmackDown after WrestleMania have traditionally played host to some big surprises, including NXT call-ups, but that wasn't the case this year, as the only surprise of significance was Matt Riddle making his return.

Coming out of NXT Stand & Deliver, several NXT stars seemed likely to make the leap to the main roster, including Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller and possibly even Roxanne Perez or Tiffany Stratton.

Another NXT name to keep an eye on in the draft is Cameron Grimes, who has been off WWE programming since losing a match to Joe Gacy on a November episode of NXT.

WWE has shown graphics of the WWE draft pool, and while the graphics have not included any NXT Superstars, WWE is almost certainly trying to keep them a surprise.

The draft episodes of Raw and SmackDown often haven't lived up to expectations in the past, but including some unexpected NXT call-ups should at least give the shows a redeeming quality to some degree.

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WWE Reportedly Wants Wagner to Be WrestleMania Main Eventer

WWE is reportedly hoping for some big things out of a much-maligned NXT Superstar in the future.

According to Meltzer (h/t Upton), WWE "want" Von Wagner to be a WrestleMania main eventer one day because of his size and overall look.

Meltzer added the caveat that Wagner will have to develop charisma to reach that level, however.

Wagner burst on to the scene in September 2021 when NXT transitioned to NXT 2.0 and began focusing more on developmental prospects than stars from the independent scene.

It was clear from the start that WWE saw something in Wagner, as he replaced an injured Kyle O'Reilly in a Fatal 4-Way for the vacant NXT Championship, which was won by Tommaso Ciampa.

Wagner teamed with O'Reilly after that before turning heel and feuding with O'Reilly until O'Reilly's departure from the company.

Eventually, Wagner took on Robert Stone as his manager, but he hasn't enjoyed much success recently, as he is in the midst of a lengthy losing streak.

On this week's NXT, Wagner opened up to Stone, telling him that he always wanted to be a WWE Superstar and that his father is a Beverly Brother, which is a nod to former WWE Superstar Beau Beverly (Wayne Bloom) being his dad.

Wagner still has a ton of developing left to do in terms of creating a character and cutting convincing promos, but from a physical perspective, he does have immense potential.

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