WWE superstar Drew McIntyre was a recent guest on the Rasslin’ with Brandon F. Walker program to discuss a variety of topics, including how it felt to perform in front of fans at WrestleMania 37, and who he thinks his best feud has been with thus far. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Comments on Bobby Lashley praising him behind the scenes and telling the roster to step up:
“I never knew he said that, so it’s pretty cool that he said something nice about me. But, yeah. I’m always challenging our roster to step up, and I had been since before I won the title. But my big thing was not directly telling everybody, you know, do as I say, not as I do. I tried to lead through my actions and I made sure every single time I was in the ring, and I always wrestled this way, but in particular now the WWE Champion is out there and he is laying everything in and he is bringing this believable style. And if you’re in the ring with him you have to be able to step up to his standard, because if you don’t step up to my standard in that ring then I’ll eat you alive, quite frankly, inside that ring.
How challenging people backstage really brought out the best in them:
“And it has brought the best out of a lot of people that I have wrestled. It’s the same when you’re watching a Sheamus match, a Lashley match, a Drew McIntyre match, you know we’re going to bring the fight. Especially in that Performance Center when there are no fans there to kind of cover up some superstars whose games were not exactly on point. There was some daylight between other holes that you had to make sure all of your stuff was effective, snug, and believable for the people who watch wrestling in general, but especially for the new fans who are watching boxing and UFC, and they turn on WWE for the first time and it’s in the Performance Center. You better have your stuff down really well, and turn it up. Because realistically also, you’re only wrestling one day a week now. It’s not four days a week, 52 weeks a year anymore. You get time to recover. You’re two grown ass men. Go out there and make them believe. That’s my mentality, and if it trickled down from the top then that’s fantastic, and it’s really cool that Bobby said that.”
Talks having fans at WrestleMania:
“Unbelievable. Obviously you mention the buildup to it was interesting. We almost got rained out at times and I was trying to keep myself motivated and in the right frame of mind. But at the same time, just seeing the weather going on, and people being asked to leave the stadium [then to] come back inside, oh my goodness. Last year I’m fighting for the title and there is a worldwide pandemic, and this year I’m fighting for the title and we’re about to get rained out, there must be some kind of jinx. And as it gets closer to showtime and finally we start on time, we’re on the stage and I was actually supposed to be at the front of the stage, but somebody was standing in my spot. And I went, ‘Yes, perfect. I want to blend into the background.’ So, I kind of hid during the anthem as best as I could, because I didn’t want to look up and didn’t want to feel the crowd until it was time for my entrance, because I knew I was the first one walking out. So, I was very conscious of staying as small as I could at 6’5” legit, in the background and all I would do is look up and watch the anthem. I didn’t look at the crowd, obviously I could hear them, and the people around me were excited, the fellow superstars were jumping around and making noise. But I tried my best to drown everything out. Because I was like, ‘Nope, nope. I’ve waited one year, one month, and one day, and I’m the first one out here. I’m not experiencing it until I walk out for my entrance.’ So, I head to the back, I’m the first one through the back, and I hear, ‘Drew, there is a 40-minute delay.’ That’s when everyone is walking past me, fist bumps all-around, you know, ‘Start them off right big man,’ and, ‘Let’s do this,’ you know, ‘You’ve earned this moment,’ and, ‘Kill the show.’ Just person after person, and through my head and my fist is up, just anger in my eyes, [thinking], ’40-minute delay…’ So that was interesting, that 40 minutes.”
Calls Randy Orton his best feud to date:
“Thus far I think it’s Randy Orton. We spent four months with each other and that was my ultimate test of, ‘Can I step up to Randy Orton’s level on the microphone, in the ring as a storyteller, and can I hang with the best in the game?’ And that was such an important development and stage for me, keeping up with Randy and proving myself, and cementing myself at the top of the mountain. But Lashley and I are so similar and are at similar levels, and are trying to pull each other up through our work. And every time we get in there together it is easy. We know we can lay it in to each other any way we want. We can make people question do we like each other. And at times, we don’t. You can tell just by watching our matches sometimes on Monday Night Raw. You know, you can put us in there with not as much time as a WrestleMania, but you know you’re going to get a hard-hitting and exciting match for the duration of Lashley vs. McIntyre together. And keeping that storyline progressing, and adding wrinkles, like Braun Strowman, in keeps things interesting.”
(H/T and transcribed by Wrestling Inc.)