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WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre knows all about the Irish wrestling scene, and he believes Belfast grappler Adam Maxted could be the next Irishman to make the breakthrough in the company.

The former Love Island finalist wrestled McIntyre in one of his last matches before signing back to the industry leader in sports entertainment back in 2017, and the Scotsman was very complimentary of him in the aftermath.

And speaking to Irish Mirror online this evening ahead of his return to Ireland for WWE Live at the SSE Arena Belfast on May 8th, McIntyre said that he believes Maxted will make it in WWE once given the opportunity.

"I'm sure it's inevitable that he'll get an opportunity on the big stage," he said. "He works extremely hard, he's very dedicated to wrestling and he has a passion for it, which you can tell just from talking to him.

"I was in the ring with him, and I'm a very physical guy, but he was bringing it just as good as he was taking it which said it all to me.

"And on top of that, if you can turn heads when you walk down the street then that's obviously going to help with people who aren't wrestling fans that wouldn't always watch the product.

(Image: ©WWE.com) (Image: WENN)

"He's got a very marketable look, which is certainly an asset on top of his passion."

The Ayr native, 33, wrestled under his real name Drew Galloway on the independent scene, and appeared twice in Irish promotion OTT Wrestling during his time away from WWE.

Speaking about working for the Dublin-based company, he added: "I couldn't believe the crowd reaction and the size of the crowd the first time I was there.

"I'd heard about OTT, I'd seen the video clips especially when Finn Balor showed up, but to actually be there and hear the reaction myself I got to see how far Irish wrestling has come.

"I used to wrestle there all the time before I got signed to WWE when I was around 19 or 20 and just to see the evolution of it was awesome."

WWE returns to Ireland next month, making a stop at the SSE Arena Belfast on May 8th and the 3 Arena in Dublin on May 9th, tickets are still available on Ticketmaster.ie.

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