After coming up short again against Seth Rollins with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line, Drew McIntyre was at a crossroads. Would the Scottish heavyweight reconsider his plans, turning his attention to the Intercontinental Championship or seeking out a tag team partner to go after his former friends in Judgment Day? Or would he go for the turkey, hoping the third time is the charm instead of the effective death knoll of his time at the top of the card?

Well, as it turns out, all that losing had McIntyre thinking about hanging up his kilt and moving on to a greener territory, with one fortuitous revelation serving as the reason he was on that very RAW talking to fans about the future.

“Last week's match with Seth was all or nothing for Drew McIntyre; I didn't want that title, I needed that title, and as you can see, I don't have the title. I've been replaying the match over in my head, I remember I had the match won when I Claymored Seth, I pinned him, I was so overzealous, I put his foot on the rope and I cost myself the d**n match. I've been really thinking about this all week and maybe Seth has been right, maybe Sami has been right. Maybe the one person holding Drew McIntyre back is Drew McIntyre. And if that's the case, I need to get myself right, I need to get my head screwed on straight, I need to get my priorities right and I need to step away from WWE for a while,” Drew McIntyre told the fans in Portland on RAW.

“I've been feeling this over in my head, trust me, it's not easy to be feeling this way, it's been hard for me. But up until two days ago I was really feeling that way, and it wasn't easy feeling this way, this has been a lifelong dream, but up to two days ago, I really felt that way, and I kept replaying the match over and over but then it occurred to me, ‘Wait Drew, that's not true whatsoever. You didn't lose straight up, no, no, no! The better man didn't win, Damian Priest cashed in during the match and cost you the match.'

“Priest, why would you have cashed in during the match, why didn't you wait until the match was over? When I was the champion, and I had won, and I was weakened and I was an easy target. You didn't just screw yourself, you screwed me too you idiot! And between Priest and Seth, and Sami, and Jey Uso moving to RAW because Cody has magical political powers, and CM Punk making his return to wide open arms. Actually, maybe I should rethink this leaving the company thing, maybe I should leave for nine years, then I'll get a hero's reception when I return.”

Unfortunately for McIntyre, his statement was cut to an end, as CM Punk came out to try to cut him down to size. Fortunately, McIntyre has plenty in the chamber to shoot back a performer even as prominent as the “Best in the World” because, as it turns out, the “Scottish Warrior” knows all about skeletons in the closet.

Drew McIntyre declares himself WWE's locker room leader.

After listening to CM Punk run through his usual schtick, Drew McIntyre fired back at the “Best in the World,” reminding him that he's familiar with his games and isn't going to be intimidated.

“I'm one of the few people on this roster who traveled the world with you for years. I know the real CM Punk and I've seen what you're like and having so many things happen to me caused by you, I could go on for all night actually, but we've only got a three hour show, so maybe I'll go with the first thing that comes to my head. Remember when you were a champion, and you used to refer to yourself as a leader? You would actually walk into the locker room and say, ‘As the locker room leader' – because the leader has to announce that he's the bloody leader. Back then, I actually needed a leader, I needed somebody to help me out because I was in a real dark place,” Drew McIntyre fired off at CM Punk.

“Right now I'm not in a dark place, I've got some obsticles in my way, I'll kick them down, I'm Drew McIntyre, I've got it these days. And I didn't have it back then, I was just a kid, I had personal issues going on; I lost the closest person in the world to me, my career was in a tailspin and I could have done with a real leader to tell me it was going to be okay, to help me navigate this place but you saw me as a threat and that was never going to happen. I talked to Randy Orton about this and he said he couldn't helped me because of his demons but look at you, you're straight edge, you don't have any demons; you are a demond, a self-serving narcissistic succubus and I didn't need anybody to help me become a leader. Once I got fired, I figured it out, stepped up myself, and I became the man I am today. So after being gone for nine years, I'm your leader now, kid.”

Whoa, so while Seth Rollins remains CM Punk's ultimate air within the WWE Universe, it looks like his feud between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 40 might just be with Drew McIntyre, with a match at the Elimination Chamber having the potential to be incredibly compelling indeed. Say what you will about how McIntyre is being booked, but he's certainly getting opportunities to shine, even if he hasn't capitalized on them just yet.