On 1 April 2017, Galloway, once again billed as Drew McIntyre, was shown on-screen sitting in the front row at . It was later confirmed in an exclusive interview with ESPN that he had re-signed with WWE and will perform in its developmental territory NXT. On 12 April episode of "NXT", McIntyre made his NXT re-debut as a face, with new entrance music and displaying mannerisms he had developed on the independent circuit, where he defeated Oney Lorcan. On 19 July episode of "NXT", McIntyre defeated Killian Dain to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship, earning the right to challenge Bobby Roode at . At the event on 19 August, McIntyre defeated Roode to win the NXT Championship. Following the match, McIntyre was attacked by Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and the debuting Adam Cole. On 4 October episode of "NXT", McIntyre successfully retained his title against Roderick Strong.