Before Vince McMahon officially pulled the plug on presenting McIntyre as “The Runway Man,” the Scotsman did extensive online research on how to walk like a model. To better look like one, he also lost about 35 pounds.

“Shane Helms, The Hurricane, described me as an avatar,” McIntyre said. “I used to have the ponytail at the time and Avatar was the big movie. If you painted me blue, I would have just looked like a giant avatar. I lost so much weight. It turns out I didn’t need to lose all that weight because I was coming in as an ass-kicking Chosen One when I thought I was going to be this runway man. I was practicing walking the imaginary runway backstage and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got two left feet. This is going to absolutely bomb.’

“Could have been a disaster,” he continued. “I wonder what I’d be doing in Scotland right now if I was a runway man because I would not have succeeded in WWE.”

In September 2009, McMahon appeared on “WWE SmackDown” to formally re-introduce McIntyre as “The Chosen One,” further describing him as highly intelligent, handsome, aggressive, and a future World Heavyweight Champion. Though the latter element wouldn’t truly materialize until 2020, McIntyre did capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship just three months after McMahon’s proclamation.

In the present day, McIntyre is known as “The Scottish Warrior,” often donning an edgy-version of a kilt, long dark vests, and a sword. 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “No-Contest Wrestling” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.