ONE of Scotland’s greatest professional wrestlers, Drew McIntyre, is to be inducted into the Insane Championships Wrestling (ICW) Hall of Fame when he returns to his homeland tomorrow night for an appearance at ICW’s Fight Club at Glasgow’s O2 ABC.

The 32-year-old Ayrshire man has been involved with ICW since its earliest days, making it all the way to the pin-nacle of his sport, WWE.

“I’m very excited to come back home. And to be recognised by the ICW Hall of Fame is very special,” said McIntyre, who has spent the best part of the last year in America as part of WWE’s NXT division. “Most guys who go into the Hall of Fame are a bit older than me but I have been wrestling my entire life and I’ve been with ICW since the start – I was the first champion in fact.

“It’s been such a team effort with ICW and to see it grow like it has done has been just fantastic. And for me to be such an integral part of it is amazing. I don’t want this night to be about me though, I want it to be about the success of Scottish wrestling and I want it to be a great party.”

McIntyre’s past year in America was his second stint in WWE after his first a decade ago. With considerable exper-ience of both American and Scottish crowds, he says that although there are differences when comparing the scale of WWE to any other pro wrestling outfit, there are similarities, too.

“WWE is so big and there’s so many people involved but when it comes to NXT, it’s very similar to the UK scene,” he said. “The NXT fans are very passionate and that’s exactly the same as ICW fans – they’re part of the show and that’s why I wanted to be a part of NXT. I think the Scottish fans though are perhaps even more passionate than in America. They’re not shy to show their emotions and express themselves.”

McIntyre ended 2017 in disappointing fashion, tearing his bicep during a match which resulted in him losing his NXT Championship title. The injury resulted in a three-month lay-off,

and he cannot wait to get back out there.

“This is my first public appearance since I got hurt and I’m so glad it’s going to be in Scotland,” he said. “Three months is a long time to be out – this is the first time I’ve had three months off in the 17 years I’ve been wrestling. It’s not ideal because I lost my title but it also gave me time to sit down, refocus and re-evaluate. I’ve had some amazing epiphanies and I’ll be a different animal when I return. I’m absolutely itching to get back.”