WWE champion Drew McIntyre spoke with the New York Post to talk all things pro wrestling. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
On the Extreme Rules stipulation against Dolph Ziggler:
I know it’s going to be unique. I guarantee it’s something that we’ve never seen before because Dolph is a very smart person. He knows that he can’t match up to me physically, so he’s going to try to play those mind games. We saw it with bringing out Heath (Slater) to try and get inside my head. Whatever stipulation Dolph picks at “The Horror Show at Extreme Rules” is gonna be something that’s going to be really difficult for Drew McIntyre to overcome. If he picks a weapons match he knows already I am the weapon. He’s not going to pick a weapons match. It’s going to be something so outside the box that I got to be ready for it, and he’s probably not going to announce it ’til the night.
On teaming with Ziggler in 2018:
It was the perfect way to come back to “Monday Night Raw,” being in a team with Dolph. We have a lot of history together. We were in FCW together, we were on “SmackDown” together trying to figure things out when the youth initiative was starting and we were trying to get newer talent over. Dolph and I were trying to navigate the waters at the time. He’s been here consistently for about 15 years because he’s figured out how to navigate the waters of WWE during the good times and bad. So it was certainly a great learning experience, backstage kind of getting inside Dolph’s head and also on TV. We both think the same way, we both have a huge passion for this industry. I could not think of any better way to come in than with Dolph. And to be honest, I think we got it cut short. There was a lot more left with Dolph and I.
How important it is to establish himself as a worthy champion:
I’m very proud of that fact that I’m trying to elevate everybody that I work with. At the same time, I’m trying to establish myself as champion. I’m still building myself to try to get to that top, top superstar tier level. At the same time as I’m building and establishing myself as a top player, not just on Raw but in WWE, I want to be bringing everybody up to my level on the microphone, in the ring. And that’s cool that Lashley now is at that next level. He has MVP with him as well. That’s a perfect combination. With Dolph, he came over on a little bit of a losing streak, as I pointed out, when he came from SmackDown. But the past couple weeks, getting a chance to show our real history, for Dolph to be real and also bringing Heath to play those mind games using kind of a real situation. We got one more week of TV and I think Dolph’s going to come out of this match in a better place than he began. I want to keep elevating everyone that I work with until my goal is to get to Randy Orton, who is someone I’m going to have to work up to, and that’s what I’m excited about.
On wanting to face Randy Orton next:
He’s on fire right now, he’s firing on all cylinders. He’s giving it everything and he’s operating on another level and the true, true bad guy as well and being someone with so much equity, so established and so good, he’d bring up anybody. And for myself, I feel like if I’m the Batman and I’m kind of messing up all the top villains in Gotham City up until now, again things are going pretty well. Batman is my example because he’s kind of a flawed individual just trying to fight for right. But he’s my Joker. I think there is such a compelling story there, besides pulling me up perhaps in-ring wise and teaching me some lessons, working up to the level he’s at promo wise, just the story behind Randy and I. The paths we’ve taken both being so young and being chosen ones and he would mess up all the time. I’d mess up quite a lot. He was on another level talent wise, but also he was so protected. He had so many people cleaning up his mess as he walked along. Whenever he screwed up there were always people trying to defend and protect him and make sure he made it. On the other side, I necessarily didn’t have that. I was put off TV. Then I was in 3MB. Then I was fired. Again, my doing. But people were very much trying to make sure Randy was protected.