Photo from WWE.com

Drew McIntyre is too good of a mat wrestler and too good of an athlete to spend the rest of his WWE career as a punchline.

WWE needs its comic relief characters, and for some, a role in 3MB would be ideal. Getting squashed by big stars and playing air guitar regularly on TV is better than perpetually sitting on the proverbial bench. Yoshi Tatsu would be a blast as a 3MB member alongside Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal.

McIntyre, though, isn't particularly funny and would be far more effective if allowed to show off his full range of wrestling ability.

For a glimpse into his full potential, one has to go back to his days wrestling for British Championship Wrestling and Irish Whip Wrestling, back when he was known as Drew Galloway. For example, take a look at this match against PAC, who now wrestles as Adrian Neville in NXT.

McIntyre's heel tactics are top-notch, from a sneak attack on Neville to spitting water in Sheamus’ face when he was sitting ringside.

McIntyre also shows off a far more varied moveset than WWE fans are used to seeing from him.

He delivers a hip toss more vicious than one would think that move could be. He hits a mid-air cutter on Neville after throwing him up in the air. He performs a gorgeous hangman variation that has Neville crashing onto the ropes.

His ring work is smooth and believable, and McIntyre has a burning intensity about him. Where is that McIntyre now?

It's hard to impress in the ring when you're only asked to be in the ring for a minute or two and you take more punishment than you dish out.

In this match against Randy Orton on WWE SmackDown, for example, McIntyre only gets a few strikes before the bell rings. He, along with his partners, then becomes Orton's punching bag.

WWE doesn't need anyone with much talent to play that role, to be a faceless victim in a flurry of RKOs. Why waste McIntyre here when anybody willing to take a bump can do this for the company?

The answer may be mostly that WWE doesn't know what to do with him.

He's not big enough to be a monster heel. He's not a high-level talker. He's not a high-flyer on the level of Kofi Kingston or a healthy Rey Mysterio.

Minus a distinctive gimmick, McIntyre doesn't stand out, despite being one of the company's better mat wrestlers. Ask Antonio Cesaro how far just being a good wrestler takes you.

This video of McIntyre highlights displays just how quick, how athletic and how compelling he can be when unleashed. We don't see nearly enough of his high-flying skills, and apparently he's asked to leave half his in-ring toolbox at home.

WWE can be a crowded place, one where everyone has to fight for position. Maybe there's no room for McIntyre in the world title picture, but there has to be a better fit than having him play a faux rocker. He's wasting away in that spot.

Higher spots on the ladder are going to bigger guys like Big E Langston and Ryback. It would take some creativity to spice up McIntyre's character, but the talent is there. WWE just has to find a way to showcase it best.

3MB is not that way.

Keeping McIntyre in that group is like shoving a warrior into a clown car. The acrobats do their best work on the wire, the barkers do their best work in front of the tent, and men like McIntyre belong in the arena with the other gladiators.