Drew McIntyre Says He Pitched Vince McMahon on Sword Angle

Drew McIntyre has revealed that he once pitched a rather extreme idea to Vince McMahon involving his signature sword, Angela — a pitch that included cutting off a fellow WWE star’s arm during an on-screen segment.

McIntyre discussed the idea during a recent appearance on Chris Van Vliet’s INSIGHT podcast, where he opened up about the history of Angela, the sword he carried to the ring for a stretch of his WWE run. The weapon was named after his late mother, giving the prop a deeply personal meaning beyond its role as a visual hook for his character. McIntyre used the conversation to explain both the sentimental backstory behind Angela and the reasoning that ultimately led to him phasing the sword out of his presentation.

According to McIntyre, one of the ideas he floated to McMahon during that run involved using Angela to sever an opponent’s arm as part of a storyline beat — a pitch that speaks to just how far wrestling minds will sometimes go when brainstorming shock value for a character. It’s the kind of concept that underscores the collaborative, often chaotic creative process that shaped WWE storytelling during the McMahon era, where larger-than-life, over-the-top ideas were regularly tossed around before being toned down, reworked, or scrapped entirely.

McIntyre has long been known for leaning into theatrical elements of his persona, from his Scottish warrior aesthetic to the sword itself, which became a signature prop during a notable chapter of his singles push. The fact that he was willing to pitch something as dramatic as dismemberment, even in a worked context, fits the larger pattern of wrestlers constantly searching for ways to make their characters feel dangerous and distinct in a crowded main event scene.

The discussion also ties into McIntyre’s broader explanation for why Angela eventually disappeared from his entrances and in-ring work. Props like weapons can be powerful character tools, but they also come with practical and creative limitations — from logistics on live television to how a company wants to balance realism with spectacle. McIntyre’s comments suggest that his decision to move away from the sword was deliberate, not incidental, and rooted in conversations about what the character needed going forward.

Stories like this offer a rare glimpse into the pitch meetings and creative back-and-forth that fans rarely see, reminding everyone that the final product on WWE television is often the result of far wilder ideas being filtered down. For McIntyre, a performer who has built his career on big, memorable character choices, the anecdote is one more example of how much thought — and occasional absurdity — goes into shaping a WWE Superstar’s on-screen identity.