When news broke that Drew McIntyre wasn't happy with the contract that has been offered to him by WWE and may end up leaving the promotion when his contract comes to an end, it left many fans across the wrestling world very confused.

One of the true babyface stars of WWE over the past half-decade, McIntyre put in a ton of work during the pandemic despite a lack of in-arena crowds and was just competing for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle last fall; a match where nearly the entire audience in Wales wanted nothing more than to see their hometown kid crowned the new champ.

Discussing the matter, Wade Keller of PWInsider provided some first-hand reporting on why McIntyre re-signing with WWE hasn't been a slam dunk and may ultimately not happen period, depending on how things shake out.

“We alluded to this that there’s been talk that he is unhappy with his current situation in WWE, and I’m hearing it’s kind of a mix of creative and money and what kind of offer he’s getting for a renewal,” Keller said via PW Mania. “It sounds like WWE is taking seriously the possibility that he is going to let his deal run out rather than agree to something that he believes is less than he deserves or less than he what he thinks he has coming.

“He was gonna be at SmackDown, and now he has been pulled, so I think that situation will probably, based on what I’m hearing, be decided pretty quickly one way or the other.”

Addressing McIntyre's absence from the SmackDown after WrestleMania 39, Keller noted that McIntyre might really be injured, but nothing has been made official either way.

“There’s a chance that he was pulled from SmackDown, in part because he is just really physically beat up from that match, and so just not having to travel and him getting a day off was sort of given to him either at his request or the medical team in WWE just said, ‘yea with what he’s been through, he should have some time off.'”

Will McIntyre ultimately re-sign with WWE and continue to be one of the top five or so babyfaces across RAW and SmackDown? Or will the two sides remain far apart and end up with a parting of ways, with the return of Drew Galloway to an AEW television program near you? For WWE's sake, let's hope the two sides can come to an agreement, as penny-pinching on a performer of McIntyre's caliber would be incredibly foolish.

Drew McIntyre discusses his relationship with Triple H.

Sitting down for an interview with the Daily Mail before WrestleMania – an interview that looks very interesting in hindsight – Alex Mccarthy and Lewis Browning noted to Drew McIntyre that he was brought back by Triple H, who is now in charge of WWE creative, after being dubbed the “Chosen One” by Vince McMahon during his first tenure with the team. Asked to assess the differences between the two leaders, McIntyre was strangely non-committal, suggesting that working for the two men might not be that different after all.

“For me personally, it’s not that different,” McIntyre said. “I have a great relationship with both of them. Every single week I make sure I get some face time just to make sure we’re on the same page with what we’re trying to achieve with the storyline that week, the character that week.

“Sometimes it can come from the top and go to the next person and Chinese whispers, and by the time you do it on screen, it’s not quite what it could be if you work as a collaboration and go straight to the top, and that’s been my mentality for the last couple of years.

“It’s exactly the same now as it was with Vince, I go straight to Hunter and see what he thinks, get his opinion, collaborate, brainstorm, and try and put on the best performance that night.”

While that doesn't sound particularly adversarial or anything, when viewed within the context of McIntyre's reported dissatisfaction with WWE Creative, it sure does make it seem like he might not have a particularly special relationship with either man, which is probably why he isn't looking to sign on a hometown discount. If WWE doesn't view McIntyre as a championship-caliber performer, there's a real chance he might jump ship and go elsewhere, as just about every other professional wrestling company in the world today would happily strap up “The Scottish Warrior” if he were to become available.