Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Drew McIntyre: Robbed Of His WWE Title, CM Punk Hatred, Nick Aldis Match, WrestleMania, Jacob Fatu

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

Drew McIntyre (@DMcIntyreWWE) is a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Nashville, TN to discuss his shock WWE Championship win in Berlin and bringing the title home to Scotland the next night, a possible match with SmackDown GM Nick Aldis, why he faced The Big Show at WrestleMania 36 after defeating Brock Lesnar, not getting a singles match with John Cena on the retirement tour, being in The Undertaker's final live match, and more! Please support our sponsors: HELIX SLEEP: Flash sale! Go to https://helixsleep.com/cvv for 27% off sitewide! COZY EARTH: Go to https://cozyearth.com/CVV for up to 20% off! BEAM: Go to https://shopbeam.com/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT for up to 40% off Beam’s Dream Powder DELETEME: Use the code INSIGHT to get 20% off your DeleteMe plan at https://joindeleteme.com/INSIGHT FACTOR: Get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year with the code INSIGHT50OFF at https://factormeals.com/INSIGHT50OFF PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/cvv SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount NORDVPN: Exclusive deal! https://nordvpn.com/cvv Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! PRIZEPICKS: Download the PrizePicks app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 bonus credit in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. Follow CVV on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet! What's the Starbucks order? The Starbucks order today is a little nitro cold brew with almond milk. Did they spell your name right? I went through the drive-thru this time. Generally, they spell it wrong. How can you spell Drew wrong? I don't get drooping on it usually.

Yeah, yeah. I've usually got one, I don't usually go in the store, but it's usually Uber Eats from on the road at the hotel or even at home from being being lazy. I got a little gimmick name. I'll say as much as John is the first name. I'm not going to give way the last name because people might figure out. It's John Snow. No, it's not. But no, I got a little gimmick name on there, which is, you know, difficult if I'm real tired and order breakfast and they walk up to the counter and start saying, no, no, that's his name. We don't have anybody by that name. Then they're leaving the hotel and I'm running out. No, no, that's me. I'm

John. Insert name. John's the takeout name. Yeah. Seamus got me onto these, but he actually got me on to nitro coal brew with the, is it, Van Gogh. mella sweet cream. And yeah, I got real addicted to it. And then he got me on crumble cookie when I first moved to you as well. Oh, that's dangerous. Yeah. He doesn't like have anything sweet unless someone does it with them. And I feel like it would have been easier to get off, you know, drugs that it was to get off of crumble cookie. Is that like, are sweets your thing? No, no, it's all. Like, not even the slightest. Like, we used to travel the roads together years ago, Shamis and I, um, God, for years. Every night he wanted like an ice cream cookie or something,

but he had to, yeah, you'll have one lad. You'll have one. I was like, no, no, I don't really have a sweet tooth. Now you'll have one. And suddenly I was eating them like three, four days a week without a sweet tooth because they misrealist company. You look like you've like taken it up a level with your fitness recently. What's been the biggest change? I mean, about nine months ago, roughly nine months ago, you know, I just decided. I had five weeks off was the first five weeks off I've ever really had in my life. I came straight from school to W.W. to being released, the back on the road a few weeks later, where, I was like, oh my goodness, I'm not injured. I'm not doing rehab. I've actually got this time off and let's have an honest look at myself,

especially approaching 40 and been wrestling 25 years. Everyone thinks I'm as old as punk or something, but I'm not. Old man. But honest, I look myself in the mirror and said, you know, what's going on with you? Let's take some inventory here. It's okay, you know, good shape.

You know, one of the best built guys in WWE. That's cool. But things are starting to catch up. Things are hurting. There's anything you can do about that. And you've never really followed I was still eating burgers all the time, pizza all the time, sometimes eating two times a day, sometimes eating eight times a day. And I decided to get a trainer who actively came to my garage and worked with me and helped me out with training and diet. And the big thing, mobility, which I've never done proper mobility work. I worked with Rob McIntyre for years. He's phenomenal, but he was

sending my workouts, especially when I moved to Nashville five years ago and it was a lot more difficult not working one-on-one with him and having this new trainer, Jeff, you're welcome. coming to the garage and pushing me. He's about five foot tall, a bit five foot wide. He's jacked. Yeah, yeah, very angry little man. And he was pushing me through my paces, but the big difference was the mobility work. Like, I couldn't throw a super kick, not that I wanted to because everybody and their mother

throws a super kick these days. But I'd love to be able to and have the choice to do it, but my hips were so tight. It just wasn't physically possible. Things were locking up. I was aware, oh, my goodness, maybe you're closer to the end than the beginning, not just because of your age, but because of how my body felt. and going through all this mobility work, the new diet, which reduced inflammation dramatically. I not only saw a difference in how I looked on screen, but how I felt overall and I was throwing head kicks the size.

I could literally kick almost in the face right now, and I feel better now than I did at legitimately 30 years old. Did you ever have trouble with the Claymore? Like that requires. No, my hamstrings were always good, which thankful I am. I was never any issues with the Claymore. It is so explosive. And I'm so stubborn. I would tear something or injure myself just to be able to do it effectively, make it look good.

But now, I've never felt so good. And I 30 may even exaggerate, maybe 28. Like, I ran myself so hard since I came to America and every which way, especially, you know, drinking in the nights out and the likes. Then my body was feeling it in a big way and I wasn't stretching a regular basis, not hydrating. And my inflammation must have been off the charts considering the diet I had and what I know now. So what is its range of motion? It's more stretching. It's more active stretching.

And these things I never heard of called cars. So all the boys and girls are there if you've not heard of cars. is just basically creating space in the joint. You know, with the hips, with the shoulders. You can do it with anything. You know, the hands, the fingers can probably do it, the shoulders. But for me, specifically, the biggest difference maker was in the hips, the knees, and the shoulders.

I never really thought to stretch my shoulders. I would spend 20 minutes in the gym just holding stretches, made zero difference whatsoever. But now doing some active stretching and some prehab. Instead of rehab, like when I tore my bicep, for example, when I had rehab, I was doing things to strengthen up the knees, strengthen up the shoulders. and these cars creating space on the joints and movements I may actually do in the ring. And I just could not believe how good I felt as the month started passing by. Like you said, you turned 40 last year.

Do you think about how much longer you want to do this? Yeah, I mean, I know my wife feels like it's going to be a lot shorter than I probably feel. I feel it's going to be, especially with how I feel now and how creatively fulfilled I feel these days. But as long as I'm happy, as long as she's happy. and as long as the fans are happy with what I'm doing, I don't see any reason to slow down anytime soon, especially when I see guys getting up there in age right now and moving as well as they're moving right now

because we've just moved so far forward with athletes. Look at LeBron James or Ronaldo, for example, the same age as me and they're just still at the top of their game. So creatively fulfilled at work right now? Very creatively fulfilled at work right now. I was surprised. I've got a couple moments where I was like, damn it, that sucks personally,

but I can also look at the big picture these days. I've been knocked down enough times and fed a few disappointments sometimes where I didn't always deal with it the right way for the bigger picture and understanding, okay, the company needs this right now. How's this screw me up? It doesn't really, it actually works for the character. And as long as it works for the character, I can be professionally disappointed. So I personally disappointed, but professionally, I know we're still on the right track and the fans are still going to be emotionally invested. And that's all that matters because I've been in situations where they were not emotionally invested in the worst thing in the world in pro wrestling is silence. It's death.

Have you had silence? Not recently, I don't feel like. Not for years, but I've had it. It's not fun. I can still clearly remember moments. Actually, the worst one ever, if anyone wants to get on the YouTube, as those older people call it.

My first pay-per-view match, before it was PLEs, was following Randy Orton versus John Cena in the Hell in the Cell with the peak of Sina Randy, the first big feud, the end of their blood feud, hell in the cell, beat each other to death. Hell in the Cell finished. the next match was Our Truth versus Drew McIntyre, not with broken dreams, just me strolling out.

Hi, everybody. And I'm a thousand percent sure I could have heard a pin drop as I walked out there. With that many people in the building, it was very depressing. I would never want to feel that again. And feel bad for anybody when I see it. I want a message. I'm going to go, okay, let's figure out how to get any kind of noise. You have to show your arse, show your arse. So whether it's cheers or booze, you want to hear something. Yeah, it doesn't matter. These days especially, there's so much your shades of gray and reflects no society in real life. We're 52 weeks a year. We really lean into, you know, not black and white anymore, but real life situations. And sometimes the fans are going to react positively for a good guy or, you know,

um, sorry, negatively for a good guy and positively for a bad guy or negatively for a bad guy. It just depends on the situation that they're currently in. I feel like you're so good at blurring those lines. I'm curious if you still think the roles of a baby face and a heel, do they still exist? Yeah, absolutely. I think in the end, if you're technically a bad guy, I believe on the guy. I always tell the truth. But there might be a little moments where people go, Drew, come on, fight, be the Scottish warrior. You always fought no matter what where I'm going to go, why would I fight? What's that going to gain me? You know, especially recently, you know, I got when I was champion, for example, and, you know, Cody's in the ring challenged me to

fight or Jacobs in the ring challenged me to fight. And I got the title in my hands. I'm like, why would I fight? You want to see that? They're all cheering. Yeah, of course, I want you see a fight and I walk away. Everyone booze me. Does that make me the bad guy? Because I've been through so much and I finally got my hands in the title. And I chose not to fight because what does that gain me, knowing what I know, going through everything I've went through, gains me nothing. It makes a bunch of people cheer. But they were cheering before, they were boon before. I got hurt a hill in the cell. I was gone for three months. Then they forgot about me. And I was, oh my God, I need to get mine while I can. And I need to get out because I'm going to

forget me the second I'm gone. You're in an interesting spot because like you said, you're speaking the truth. You're doing things that make sense, but you're still doing it from a heels like point of view. And it's just interesting the way that the human point of view. I just see it is a very logical human point of view. And I always tell everybody when they call me a heel, debate me and you will lose every interview I do when they say, oh, you're a heel or whatever every fan. He goes like, you're the bad guy or kids as you're a bad guy. Explain to me how I'm the bad guy. I'll explain my point of view, how I got to this point, the PTSD of suffered, the trauma of the trauma, the things I went through with the bloodline and the legs, the amount of titles I was screwed out of. The

moments have taken away from me, including even recently. And I react the way I react. If you're in my position, you're as big as me, you're the job I'm in. Would you do what I do? Of course she would. I went every single debate because I'm very, very conscious about the details and just tell them the truth like a good relationship. If you never lie, you never have nothing to worry about. Yeah, how did how is Cody? The fans are toxic to clarify. I'm not the toxic one. The relationship. I'm the honest one. Yeah, the other ones cheating on me. How is Cody Rose the champion right now? He was not supposed to get a rematch ever. I was under the impression that contracts, not someone's word. If you've looked back at the clips, I literally said, I got the clause put in there that Cody Rose will not. I was under the impression that contracts, not someone's word. If you've looked back at the clips, I literally said, I got the clause bit in there that Cody Rose will not. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was get a title match if he loses against me in Berlin. That was in there in a contract. Those exact words. I said it in London. I said it a few times. Go back and fact check, but definitely I said it in London for sure. And then he was in the Royal Rumble and I was, wait a minute, if he wins the Royal Rumble, he's going to get a title match. That's not what the clause says. So I have to fix that, you know, helping Nick out, do his job properly. And suddenly's

elimination chamber, I had to get in there as well. Wait a minute. It says no title match, not go ahead and win this match or go ahead and win that match. So all I'm doing is trying to do the right thing, make them, you know, not breach contract and they still breach the contract because they're always screwing Drew McIntyre. This seems to be an ongoing thing with Drew McIntyre over the last two-ish years. You get screwed. Two-ish? Let's see. Once Clash at the Castle? And that's being reasonable. 22 or 2026. Yeah, at least four years, minimum four years. How's that make you feel? I mean, frustrated. But at the same time, if I'm sitting in the audience, I'm probably highly entertained

watching the journey of it all happened and why it all happened. And hopefully they understand, you know, at times because I have to remind people, people don't have a great long-term memory. Europe do. When I go back to Europe, people react positively. They go, of course you feel this way because I saw what happened. I saw what the bloodline did until you beat you to death for years. And then Roman went on vacation, came back with some abs.

He got cheered. Jay started saying, eating that thing with his hands. They started cheering him. I never said sorry to you once. I was like, thank you. And then like punk obviously coming in, the biggest piece of crap on planet Earth, they just start cheering them and I start explaining to them. Okay, guys, I'm still your guy. I'm still going to fight for you. He's a genuinely awful human. Just look online. Look at the character witness reports. My degrees in criminology. I look for, you know, just look at the facts. Look at mine. No one says anything bad about me ever. It's always positive reviews. They didn't care. They never care. And that hurts, especially you've fought so hard for people for so long and you realize that they're just going to move on. And again, it's a very toxic relationship. And I've been cheating on by the fans. times than I can count. And I kept going back like a sucker until I finally broke free. I spread my

wings and I flew like a big beautiful peacock. What did this most recent championship win mean to you? Awesome. Nobody saw it coming for one. I think everybody assumed that the, you know, Cody Express would keep, keep moving on forward. You know, he's been in that position for a long time. And after he finished the story, he was on absolute fire. And I'm not saying he wasn't doing a great job. He's a great champ. He was a great performer, but it was a lot of the same. And I think there needed to be a shakeup, and there was a shakeup that no one saw come in when I won in Berlin. And I could hear the – and I could hear it's not great these days. And I could hear the crowd.

I could hear the response. They could see the response. And I put Cody in a position where he had to chase, gave Cody a bit of that edge back, which he, in my opinion, desperately needed. And for me, it gave me some of that legitimacy. Oh, yeah, Drew can win the big one and not going to be so sympathetic. We need to start cheering for this guy if you feel so bad for him. where I could be more of a, like I mentioned, have I got the title and people are challenged me to fight?

What would I gain? No, I'm Gollum, Lord of the Rings. This is my precious. I'm not letting this go, no matter what. So it did a lot of things, but I think it made Smackdown. I know it made Smackdown way more compelling at the time, especially so many people hate me for some reason. So now you've got the champion right in the middle with the target on him. And as Cozy mentioned, you know, it's not just the way we want the title. It's because you're an article.

They're all coming for you, which, you know, made Smackdown more interesting for me personally. I went in Berlin, and next night was Glasgow. So I got to walk out in Glasgow with the title for the first time as champion, with live fans with a whole family in attendance until Scotland, I promised you would bring you the championship and I brought you the championship. And I'm only ever, not just Scotland person to do it, but British person to do it. And what a moment that was.

Mental, unreal. He couldn't have run any bare. Burns couldn't have read home better. Shakespeare couldn't have a better play. It was just perfect. And there was a moment there where the WWE champion and the NXT champion were both from Scotland. Yep. And I know I text Joe Henry all these facts.

I don't have them off the top of my head. But the percentage of people from Scotland who are legitimately from Scotland, not, you know, I'm from Scotland. I'm from Scotland. But legitimately from Scotland. What that was that? That's supposed to be an American. Like,

when they hear I'm Scottish. Like everyone else goes, I'm Irish or I'm Scottish. No one ever says I'm English. No one ever admits to that. But no, there's legitimately 5.5 million of us. And I'm just pulling these off my head. I had to text them to Joe, the actual figures. But there's about 63 million English people.

about America's like 362, 63 years. It doesn't matter. It's a lot. But the percentage of the world tour are Scottish is so significantly lower than people think we're a tiny country. We invented everything, no, television, radio, penicillin, you're welcome, your dirty bams.

We invented literally everything for such a small nation and the fact that two of the three top male WV champions were Scottish, was unbelievable. Yeah, pretty incredible what you've done since coming back to WWA. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup.

Time's ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really stake their claim, and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer Podcast, presented by Henco. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. When do you feel was the moment when things really started to level up?

You returned in 2017, but I feel like then it still took some time for you to be on the level you're on now. Yeah, I mean, it's peaks and valleys. This is the story of my career. There's very few people, you know, like a Roman or a Sina who spends so much time up here the entire time as the number one guy and they're going to be, you know, made sure they stay in that position. And it keeps it exciting, especially for the performer because you've always got to be on your game. You've always got to be thinking, reinventing, and making sure the fans care. When you're having those ups and downs, the first real moment that I felt like I broke through to the next level,

was a main event performer and I had a few where I thought I did. And when I, you mentioned, we talked about it briefly, tapping out Kurt Angle to his own ankle lock. I was like, yeah, that's me and my top guy now. Wasn't the case. Like, once I eliminate Brock Lesler from the Royal Rumble, considering the story that was told in the 2020 Royal Rumble, Brock was a champion eliminating half the Rumble. People started believing, Brock might just win this Rumble and wrestle himself.

the main event at WrestleMania. And when I eliminated Brock and heard the reaction and felt the way the people reacted when I came out, I could literally feel it like they believe I'm going to do it. This is wild. We've not done anything to suggest this is the next guy that's just been very organic and taking Brock out then winning the Rumble at the end and hearing that reaction as well. Consider an edge, it just came back after nine years, was never going to wrestle again. We've seen people, you know, like Batista and Roman booed out the building as the good guys

for winning the Rumble. That could have conceivably happened. and the fact it didn't. That's the first time I felt like I've arrived. And then it was a while I went by, or it really felt like I arrived. And then we took another dip. So there's been these ups and downs over time.

And I think as much as it pains me to talk about it, the CM Punk feud really showed what it was capable of, not just as a performer in ring, but as a storyteller and working in tandem with creative, but you could tell a lot of stuff we're reeling on the fly because it was and what I could do off the top of my head. head and working with someone I can't stand, but someone that's as good as CM Punk to create that kind of magic out there. People could see these people don't like each other because we

don't, but they're absolutely magic together, and which also, they obviously led to the hell and the cell, that period where I really felt like, okay, he's not just a top level performer because he's good in the ring or, you know, he looks like how a wrestler should look, that this guy's a storyteller and a talker as well. The feud with CM Punk is now behind you. How do you feel about CM Punk now? Not a piece of crap. I can stand him. I watch him every week, And I go, isolated, he's doing good things with the world title. You know, it's good for you. That's a good run right there's a fighting champion.

I think fighting champions are stupid because I was one. And why would you defend it all the time? That's just disrespectful to the title. The opponent should earn it. So I did it before. That's why I can say that stuff. But at the same time, he's nowhere close to what he did with me. And it pains me to admit, I'm still chasing the dragon for what I did with him.

So opposites freaking attract. That hell in a cell match with CM Punk was magic. It was so special. And there have been so many Hellnessel matches before. Hell, they had a paper view called Hell on a Cell where there was a hell on a cell every single year just for the second half. Yeah, I was in a bunch of them. Lost them all. I was basically the reverse streak, but it's technically a streak if you lose them all. You haven't won in a hell in a cell? Never. No. Yet. Lost them all yet. Yes. Yes. Yes. There will be one eventually. And I'm going to make sure I win that thing. I don't know how yet because of such tragic luck and suffered such physical pain in every single one. It's been unbelievable. I fell off half up the hill in the cell against Randi one time. Worst fall of my life. I saw Seth talk about it one time.

He said it was the thing you wish you could take back. I wish I could take it back too. It was I genuinely thought I broke my back, my neck, a bit through my tongue. I had a snake tongue afterwards. I was spitting up blood. Terrible. Awful. And no one I'll ever watch it again because it was during the pandemic. How was that spot supposed to go? Fall through the table and not feel as bad. So same spot. Just different outcome. Yeah. I was under the impression. I wasn't going to hurt half as much. And yeah, yeah, I was lied to. The one in the office is fault. A particular person fed me a bunch of nonsense. So there've been so many Hellnessel matches before, so many iconic moments. How do you go into this match with CM Punk and try to create

something different? I just knew we had the story. We both knew we had the story going into it. And as much as we didn't spend a great deal of time together, we both knew there's no limits here. I feel like sometimes there's limits when I watch people. And I feel like I don't really put limits on myself now, but with him, like I knew there was no limit. He knew there was no limit when it came to verbal attacks or physical attacks. We would do anything, take anything to make it what it needed to be and get out our genuine disdain for each other. And the match itself, there's one thing we agreed on, the agent agreed on, the agent was somewhat of a middleman putting this match together. It wasn't, so I was sitting there, like, hey, buddy, old pal, what do you want to do?

Like it was more, I think this, well, I think this. And, you know, Chris Abyss, oh yeah, what's that show called? I never watch? Unreal. Yeah, yeah. It's the star of that show, I believe. I know Cody keeps mentioning every two seconds. You don't watch it? I mean, I watch all the time. I understand why we have it. I'm just not quite on it yet.

But yeah, he was the middleman there, and he's always great ideas. He knows me in my game better than just about anybody. And we had a pretty simple agreement. No crazy stuff. The story has already been told. The cell is the weapon. Let's make the hell in the cell what it used to be.

And let's make people care about hell in the cell. And let's just bring the violence with their physicality. minimal shenanigans. Turned into maximum shenanigans, but it wasn't planned that way. The spot with the steel steps is just scary to watch. It's like spying first onto the steps.

Yeah, I've seen a few people talk about that. Oh God, yeah, Drew's not quite moved the same since that fall in the steps. I'm like, what are you talking about? I've moved better than I've ever moved in the past 10 years, but I can understand why people would think that's a career end right there because it was very dangerous to even attempt something

like that to land that way. I'm not saying I needed a massive out to lose to someone like Sam Punk. His blood loss defeated me that night, not him, but I wanted something memorable. And I know myself, I know my body control, and I know I could do something that I would never ever do again. And after doing it, I would never do it again. But yeah, that whole match from beginning to end is my masterpiece, or he admits it or not, it's his masterpiece, as both are Mona Lisa's and that restored hell in the cell to its former glory. And I know when we're long retired and long gone, people will still talk about that feud in that match. At what point during that match did you realize that it was on another level?

When I wasn't unconscious from blood loss, it was a little fright when I started bleeding initially and the blood was legitimately spurting out of my head and landing a couple of feet in front of me, which I've never seen before and was obviously not supposed to happen. And I was worried that one, I would go out and two, the match would be stopped. But thankfully, we got the everyone in the back on the headpiece, like, Hunter Lee, the charge. He's been in the ring. So he's somebody that he will stop the match these days if he has to considering what we know now in the medical protocols, but he also understands what it's like to be a performer. So it was very much a back and forth between the referee, myself,

the doctor and Triple H, like how I was feeling, how I was doing and making sure I was with it. You know, nothing bad was going on. I did roll to the side of the cage at one point for the doctor to give me the quick once over and make sure I wasn't lying just to try and get through it. But it was legitimately scary for a second because I was, my God, after all this work, this could potentially be stopped and I just need to stay conscious and get through this match. And it made the match what it was. It was the match I dreamed about as a kid. I remember watching the blood fuse and with the crimson masks.

And I mentioned Hunter. He was always the one back in the day I would watch with a big bloody face. And like this is the match himself and Mick Foley, for example, both of them bleeding. Like I want to have one of those one day. And I'm a little safer I get it. But I really wanted one of those matches. And that night, Punk and I got one of those matches. And I'll remember it forever.

When you got to the back, were you like, that was it. That was the match. Yep. I pretty much knew that night after the doctors freaked out and checked me over once to make sure I was okay and they were amazed that I was completely fine. I aside the gash from the giant gash of the 17 staples I needed to get in my head. But I knew. I love that that's okay. I was great.

No, no, it was far from, far from okay. But once all that calmed down, I knew. I was like, my God, that's it. I'm going to be chasing the dragon for the rest of my career, the dragon's tail, and I am. And it's a fun game. But, like, he knew as well, and I knew. And I think a lot of fans knew like that is pro wrestling at its finest. Is that, like, the moment?

Like, you've had amazing WrestleMania moments, but is this the moment that for now you go back to? Yeah, I know, there's a lot of amazing moments of winning the title, obviously, in Berlin and bringing it out in Glasgow and the rumble moments with Brock, etc. And, you know, Seth and I having a moment when I won the world title before it went into the the story piece with punk and I, and I got to present the title to my wife as well. I think of more, there's just so many very special moments to me,

but when it comes to professional wrestling, like how I like it and how I grew up on it, that was it. We talked earlier about how, like, Cody Rose got this rematch, Nick Aldous made this thing happen. It's a lot of animosity with Nick Aldus. Yeah, there is.

A lot of fans calling for maybe a match with Drew McIntyre and Nick Aldus. would you love to go in there and have a match with him? Oh, yeah, I can feel it when I'm out there with them. Whenever we go back and forth on the microphone, and I can feel the people starting to get into it. I don't feel it with Jacob, and I think Jacob and I turned a big corner after fighting

with Peter Griffin and the giant chicken for three straight hours before I was killing each other, falling up the giant platform where I dragged them to hell with me. So we turned a big corner for our feud, even though, you know, Jacob and I have, you look at the basics of it. It could just be Godzilla Kong, too big guys, fine, people are happy to see it.

But we have this story. We've screwed each other along the way. He took away the biggest moment for me, being championed at WrestleMania. We have this story built in. And then we have the physicality and how good the match is going to be and how good people know the match is going to be.

And then the big fight on Smackdown and who knows where it's going to go. I've got plenty of ideas what I want. So it'll be good. But at the same time, there's this oldest thing simmering at the side. And every time we go back and forth, and the might. You can feel the tension. You can cut it with a knife. I've known each other a long time.

A name dropped his son because I have known him for that long. But what a corporate stooge is, his kid must be Donovan, must be ashamed of him. Having such a corporate stooge for a father instead of backing me, the one who's in the right and the one that he's known for years in his one who's his actual friend. So when the time is right, be it mania, be after mania, I think we should have a match. And I don't think there should be, you know, any sanctioning around it. I don't think anyone should be allowed to interfere. You know, he tapes up the fist. He's been not been in the ring a long time. He thinks he can go with a four-time former world champion in the big leagues, probably the greatest NWA champion of the modern era, since Billy took over

NWA. But he's not been in there for a long time. He's a big guy. I would love to get in there with them, and I'd love to see what damage I could do. And no one's allowed to interfere. They come up close and ask me to stop politely, but I've been known to get a little crazy out there. It's crazy that there's fans that haven't even seen a Nick Aldous match. They just think that he's a jacked guy in a suit. Yeah, yeah. Like, wow, that GM is incredibly jacked for some reason. Now two-time NWW World Heavyweight Champion. No, no, no, no, and I grew up around him as I said. He's actually, he's younger than me as well.

I remember seeing him for the first time, and he was more jacked to me in our teens. I was like, God, I'm very good shape. You know, this oldest guy is pretty jacked, and I might shame us about that time, and that was when I was, okay, in ring-wise, I feel pretty confident. But I was at university time, no money, probably. I was coming theme for me throughout my life, drinking too much, partying too much, having a good old time. I really have to start putting on some weight because it was an actually tall, skinny guy and Nick's one of the ones I saw and I was like right I got to start putting on the

weight and now fast forward god 25 of 21 years later 22 years later now he's the GM now where each others throw it and I think it'd be a shame if it didn't inevitably lead to some kind of match with him in a bloody mess you talk about winning the rumble in 2020 which leads to the russomani match which right before they decide there can't be any fans there I've always wondered why was there this extra match with Big Show? Like a dark match main event. What was the story behind that? I mean, I guess I do know that the story is where we're just trying to throw things against the wall and see what sticks.

I guess it was some kind of hook for the next raw rather than just I come out as champion. And here's a promo on an empty warehouse with zero people reacting. Oh, by the way, there was also this match that happened once the cameras went off the air. I'll never quite know, but it does allow me to say I beat Brock Leisler and the big show in one night within about 15 minutes. That's pretty cool. Did that at that moment feel like your WrestleMania moment? More of the Brock part. That's what I mean.

Like winning the championship show. And I appreciate it. We actually do like a 30 minute match for real. And they cut it down, way down. We went back and forth. We had this great back and forth match together and it got edited down. But it was a different feeling, a different WrestleMania moment feeling. It's obviously not how you envision.

as a kid, certainly not the organic rice from eliminating Brock at the rumble and the fans really getting behind me and getting the loudest reactions on the show and people coming to me with the merchandise numbers. I don't pay attention to numbers because the second they go bad. They're like, who is on you now? Because you were bragging about when they were good. Whatever, people telling me, you know, your shirt's the number one and whatever. And I was like, wow, it's going to be in Tampa, WrestleMania. That's my American hometown. I've been there for 12 years. My family and my friends are coming. This can't possibly go wrong. Then the world shuts down. So it wasn't quite.

I imagine all the people going crazy, my family there, but I knew people are scared. We don't know what we know right now. This is their escape. I'm the main event. I'm the feel good story. And I had a personal moment with the title, a moment of reflection, the people that were on this journey and sacrificed to get me to that moment and was able to reach through the screen and thank everybody that was on that journey with me.

And it wasn't edited. That was the first time. I think someone broke the fourth wall during that period and became a regular occurrence because it was the only way we could touch the fans. and connect emotionally with the fans because they weren't live there in attendance. And there's not a lot of people that would beat Brock Lesnar. Certainly not in the last 10 years or so. Not in five minutes and kick out the F5 and a one count.

Say it's a 30 minute match that cut down to five minutes. Yeah, that was big show. The Brock match. No, no, that certainly was not. I don't think Brock would be doing that one over there. But no, no, he went out of his way. He's a bit more open these days. So it's easier to talk about when he's doing interviews and being more of the real

person, but he is, he doesn't like people. And once you kind of get, get to know him a little bit, and he realizes you're a stand-up person and you're in it for the right, the right reasons. He'll go out of his way to make you look good, just like what he's doing with Ober right now. It's pretty much the same treatment that I got, you know, one up in him every step of the way. Brock never one up me one time all the way till I beat him. What was the first moment where you went, oh, Brock's actually like, he must like me. And there was a few moments, but certainly when I was Claymoreing him over and over. I want to say it was New York.

Someone might correct me, maybe Chicago, but I believe it was New York. It was somewhere lively fans, for sure, where I claim more to him a couple of times in the ring, I think, and I claim more to him in the stage, and they were chanting one more time. And I'd just step back hoping he would react to it,

and he started feeding up, and he'd be the one to tell me. But he fed back up, and he took another one because the fans wanted another one, and it's out there now, so I can talk about it. He told me, you know, pick up the title, the same as he told him, I put the foot on me or whatever,

because he liked to make sure, you know, this is the guy. and if Brock Lesnar is able to be dominated by somebody, this is a force to be reckoned with. So fast forward four years, WrestleMania 40, you get the moment in front of fans. Finally.

Seth even says to you, you effing deserve it. What did that mean when Seth's saying to you, like, hell yeah, man. It was awesome. I mean, I got to tell him as well,

you're the effing man, because he is. Seth's not so much a personal rival, like a punk, whatever, he's a professional rival. We both just want to be the best and show the world we're the best.

And I gave him some, like a hard time on the way to mania, especially socially I was going, I go overboard. I go overboard, he caught something they probably didn't deserve. He was caught in the punk light of fire. But he knew what I was trying to do. And he was such a pro about it. And we went into that match. It wasn't one of our 30 minute bangers, you know, with like the wrestling and the, you know, the ups and downs. And then the near falls, it was OK corral.

Like I hit my claimer at the star, the stomp, claimer, stump. It's just who's going to get up last. And I was able to finally have that moment. and that moment was Seth afterwards and present the title to my wife and the fans. I'll hold on the title in the ring and chatting, you deserve it. That was very cool to have that moment. And knowing what was going to happen next, I was like, all right, enjoy that. Bank it.

That's one for the memory books. You'd be sitting on the rocker one day because you've got to take mental pictures. Young superstars out there that are sometimes my age when the first shot would be so enjoy it quick. Bank those memories, take snapshots because I didn't do it when I was younger and I can't remember how it felt. I remember everything. I remember everything about that night. I remember how it fell afterwards. I remember how it fell when priest beat me as much as it pains me to say, you know, I was kind of happy for him. He was a friend of mine. And that was cool to have that moment, all within five minutes for myself and then for him. You were such a savage on social media. You're not on Twitter anymore, right? Yeah. You are?

Yeah, yeah. I'm just, uh, you know, not much to say right now. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Someone just prods me a little bit. I go off. I always just invite people. I think everyone's too scared of me. I would people tell me, I wouldn't say, names backstage, but people that are pretty savage out there. And knowing, known for social media, I've told me, I just don't want to come at you because you'll execute me. And I, oh, do you spend all week just thinking of the perfect comeback? No. It's just me and my mate, who's English. Like, we're British. We have a very British sense of humor. And we're absolute savages. And I think it was in the Pat McAvey show one time you mentioned about it. And I said, like, people like to call me a troll or, like, keyboard warrior, whatever, I'm not your average

troll. Like I've shred you on the internet. Then I'll step from behind the keyboard. Then I'm the size I am. Then I'll beat your arse. And then if I wasn't married, my wife faces this line, I'd take your girl too. It's not exactly a troll or a keyboard warrior. I can do it all, is the point. You were never, and I mean this with great respect, you were never really a promo guy coming up. Now you are one of the promo guys. I mean, which part coming up for my first run? But did you miss my indie run? That's where I think things started changing. That's where I got comfortable. I'm not going to finish the question. I guess that was it.

And when do you feel like you turn the corner? The Indy Run for sure. When the microscope wasn't on me anymore, when I was released from W.E for the first time and the last time. I like knew I was okay. I'm going to get out there. I'm going to start improving my game. I don't know what the future holds,

but I know I'm going to be a better talent because of this experience. I'm going to get on the mic as often as I can. I'm going to get as many reps in the ring as I can. I'm going to truly find myself because I felt like one, I've been in 3MB for a long time, so it's hard to find yourself as a top-level performer within that role. But I'm going to just get in those main event matches, find my stuff, find who I am, find my voice. And that's exactly what happened. Thankfully, a lot of people believed to me during that time, because that's the time in 2014 to 17 where the Indies were rising,

and they needed some faces of different companies. They needed someone that represented that independent wrestling, and I became that guy, and got so many opportunities, so many people believing in me, and kind of faked it until I made it, because there was a lot of insecurity during that time. A lot of my wife said, me he's saying, I don't know what I'm going to do, what I'm going to say, and I'm terrified to go out there, especially my return promo to ICW, which just gets rid of reviews. But I was so scared as craping myself. And I went out there and spoke for 20 minutes. And Mick Foley told me, hey, I was going to do a post about this. She seemed like a different guy. I need to do something bigger. And he went and Stone Cold Radio show instead of you seen Dr. I recently seems like a whole new different person. And he told me he takes Triple H, keep an eye on Drew. And I was, yeah, it's been three weeks. I had to end me the whole time, but I needed to get away from under the microscope to truly find myself and find my voice. voice during that time. Do you feel like you always had that in you and you just didn't get the chance during your first WWE run? I don't know. It's hard to say. I really don't think so because I'd kind of come up in the system and felt like things needed to be done a certain way and was scared

to take chances. It was kind of walking on eggshells a lot of the time and maybe for, you know, backstage reasons, but maybe also for personal reasons, like a very shy introverted person, which is hilarious considering running around him underpants for a job since I was like 15 years old and I think I had to get away, truly find myself and gain that confidence that some people just get right away. I was very confident about a lot of things, but the talking was not something I was confident with. When I watched my old prom was back, I wonder if I had a second puberty or something, that my voice is so high-pitched and the Scottish accent is so thick. So yeah, I'm Drew McIntyre and I'm going to apply for dual citizenship.

It'll be great to hear you say, USA. And it's even higher than that. I can't even do an impression of us. I'm pretty sure the second puberty, which may explain the 50 pounds again as well. I love that we just got a 3MB reunion recently at Jinder's wedding. Yeah, that was cool. I've seen the boys. I've seen them a couple of times, a couple of weddings now, actually, but the gender picture went absolutely massive. That was just so cool seeing you guys at like at Jinder's wedding

looking like you're just having a blast. Yeah, it really did. That was a fairy tale wedding. And my wife had outfits for like every single day. How many days was that? It was a few at least. I mean, it may even have four. But I definitely had about one, two, three, minimum three costumes.

changes. And throughout each day, it's like, you know, his religion and her religion. It was combined as one. And it was just such an incredible spectacle. It was like a W.B. event or something watching it with all the colors and just all the love. It was unreal. And to get together with some of my closest friends and see how far they've come in life. And we'll see someone like, Dirty Dango, see how far he's come as well. You know, he's just so happy now. And a lot of us were younger. You know, we were having our personal struggles. Him and I went through a lot together. And just to see him lighten up and be at his wedding too. and just see everybody just winning in life made me happy.

I just feel like maybe it's where you're at in your life personally. Maybe it's where you're at in your life professionally. But I just feel like you have this lightness to you. Yeah, I do. I feel like it's carrying the weight of the world for a long time. And sometimes I still do. And sometimes I make things they're not a big deal bigger than they are, but not like I did when I was younger.

I just like, why are you worrying about this? We're all here for a snap of the finger relative to time, enjoy it, make the most of it. Be happy when you can be happy because we're not. getting out of this life alive. So the St. Petersburg area, Tampa area was, was home for a while, was your U.S. home for a while. Now Nashville, where we are right now is home. What brought you to Nashville? And he left. Shamos isn't here anymore. Now, Nick Aldous is here, though. He is. He is. I need to go to his farm and torture. No, I haven't hurt one of the animals, but I'll just torch him instead. But yeah, yeah, that's what happens. Miro moved here first,

I believe. Yeah. And then Seamus moved and Kim, chipping away to move. I was, I don't want to move. One, I just hate the idea of moving and two, um, why would I want to go to Nashville? Like I've got my routine in St. Petersburg. I've lived here for a while. I've got my gym, et cetera. Just didn't want to come. So he knew how to get, get through to me. He invited us, my wife and I'm kind of focused on her, like, wow, look how nice that is here. Look at the house. He's here. And, you know, all the Halloween events, how cool it is. Yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool, whatever. But he's focused on her and he's got, you know, his fiancee, wife now is he kind of focused on her as well and then thanks it's back for Christmas the next year

we stay at the house starts chipping away again and finally she says you know just feel like a fresh star we'll be in Nashville damn it you got through it to her I knew this I knew this and eventually we moved it was a whole to do it was as bad as I thought it was going to be we and I had a moving truck and the likes and we got you know my truck etc driven down separately but for the cats we're worried about you know transporting them anyway that wasn't the most convenient and safest way possible, especially your one cat, Chas, was sick a long time. So we got an RV and I've never driven an RV in my life. America's insane. One, I got a license with basically no lessons in Tampa and I learned on the job. I'm good now, ish. But also you just get an RV, like a U-Haul

truck. Remember the family guy episode? Like he's moving houses. You know, I'm making a go of it. It's crazy that you get your driver's license driving, whatever, a Honda Civic. Yeah. And then just fly around a giant truck like a minik. Yeah. Yeah. So my wife started. She drove the RV. He got us as far as Perry, Georgia, from Tampa, St. Peter, area. And then I just had to drive at the gas station. So I want to say it was 20 foot long, at least. I start driving it out. Things are going fine.

I take a little right to go to the gas station. I feel something against the side of the RV. So I do this all the time. I've done it multiple times more times than I care to mention. But instead of hitting the brake, I always push through. But sometimes, you know, with the truck, I'll get a little scratch on the side or whatever. With this, I just kept pushing and pushing and pushing, and it sparks are coming out. She's like, stop. I finally stopped. And thank God, the gas station pump had those big metal

barriers on the side. I'd rip right through the side of it, torn through the tire almost. And we get stuck at that gas station overnight. We couldn't get hold of anybody. I think it was a Sunday. Nothing was open. I'd call AAA. And, you know, they said you don't obviously have RV, RV coverage or truck coverage, wherever you need to fix an RV. I was, okay, can I get that started? There was no problem. I'll be this much. Do this. Okay, what takes, you know, a day or whatever, to activate it. I need it right now. That's going to be pointless, but I don't. of an RV anymore, so we got literally stuck there overnight. It was a dodgy gas station. A lot of of people hanging out there having ourselves a little party at the gas station. Wife terrified, hugging the

cats, just saying Drew Stay on Guard, no problem. Folling asleep for two seconds because I've got, you know, it was a gift in wrestling of like mild narcolepsy. I'm falling asleep constantly in the situation we're in. And yeah, we got the tire fixed the next day and finally made it there, but she was not very happy with me. And I am an amazing driver. Sparks at a gas station. Big sparks. I even listening. She was saying, I'm just pushing and pushing and pushed. I'm going to get through this thing, but there's still 10 feet of RV behind me trying to get through. Thank God the metal barriers work, because not every gas station has those in front of the pumps.

Well, we're moving out here in Nashville now. You are? Yeah. Well, I'll get one of these done. We've been talking about doing a full form interview forever. And then today, like, I've got the worst allergies in the world. I hope it's allergies. You're going to be sick in two days.

The worst allergies in the world. I'm getting a lot of work done in the house right now. It's a little recovery center out back. The tree pollen is at its highest possible level right now. And they're digging up the backyard. and I am dropped dead in the middle of the living room. She's like, you're okay? Nope, no, but I got to go talk about wrestling.

They'll keep me alive and it genuinely does. This is my passion and like the wife. I'll put her over whenever I can because sometimes like do interviews, I kind of bury everybody and get into bad guy mode and bury her too. But, you know, she's brought balance to my life in a way where wrestling is my obsession is my passion, but it's good to switch it off for a little bit when you're home

and you yield better results because everything can process in your brain. It took a long time to learn that. just thanks to her. I'm able to find that balance-ish in my life. The last time we did an interview was the Junkett for Killers game, and they were kind enough to give us an extended period of time. Looks like I might be interviewing you again when Highlander comes out. So you're working with Dave Batista once again.

Does Dave Batista just go, if you need a giant Scottish man, I've got your guy. I mean, certainly, we haven't the first time. I was described to a T. director JJ Perry had said I've got an idea for these brother hit men

for the killers game that was a theme like a more comedic John Wick which I've enjoyed as a movie as a whole not just because I was in it they'll be Scottish

the little one would be a little crazier you know a bit martial artist Scott Adkins played him and the bigger one has to look like

he could conceivably beat you up and you know be able to do the Scottish accent and you know be you know obviously the accent unintelligible at times

times and Dave said, I know that guy, he exists. His name's true. Let me talk to him and talk to WWE and make this happen. And yeah, anything else that comes, I just kind of take it as it comes. I don't actively seek anything out. So how did Highlander come about? I mean, it just, I don't go into the news and announced backstage and these things, but I had the chance to talk to a couple of people and get offered an opportunity. And when we talk about this next time, if something's out there and it's not edited. And I don't feel like an arse, because some people have been edited out movies

that look like arseys. And then we were going to, into details about it. But if it comes around the way you just mentioned and Dave ends up killing me, I have an idea that we just keep doing feature after feature after feature where he murders me.

And then I think he even mentioned to me one time, we can keep this going. And then, you know, you can get me, get me the next time. I'm like, no, screw that. I wanted to be like, undertaker streak. I wanted to be like 20 films in a row where I just get murdered.

And then just out and, nowhere. I go, ah, like Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, where he gets a sheriff of nottingham, just out of nowhere, and the whole place pops and loses their mind because I finally broke the streak. And I'd also win the hell in the cell as well and break that. Yeah. Was it Henry Cavill that was like, I got to keep up with this guy. I mean, I'm going to put on so much size. I got to keep up with Drew McIntyre. I mean, I've not seen him, so hopefully he looks like. I mean, he's Superman or was Superman. Like a brother part, but reading online, I was supposed to be his brother. So that was the former, you know,

world's most handsome man. Yeah. The brother of former world's most handsome man. I'd say if that's the case. Yeah, we could ruin the running for the next one. You had a match where not only did you beat Kurt Engel, but you made Kurt Angle tap out to his own finisher, the ankle lock. I did. I did it twice.

How did this come about? Well, the big ones, obviously, in WWE. Was it Manchester? I believe, were they both in Manchester? That'd be crazy. Someone can fact check it for me. Get it in the comments. But yeah, the one in WWE, I want to say there was some kind of injury or somebody was out.

And it might have been when Roman was sick. And we had to start building some big, credible main event performers. And Andy did some significant moments. That's what makes you a top level, main event performers, racking up moment after moment after moment. And I believe it was maybe when Roman went out sick initially, especially to build an opponent from when Roman came back. And that's what came of it was I was going to not just beat Kurt Engel. I was going to annihilate Kurt Engel and I was going to tap him out

to his own submission, the ankle lock. And thankfully, Kurt was gracious enough to do it, because obviously he could tie me up like a pretzel if you wanted to. But, you know, he was great. I was in his face. I was, you know, mocking him, he was basically tears in his face. I was ripping on his family, his kids,

beating his arse and just being a terrible, terrible human being. And he did so much for me that night. But he'd also done that for me a few years prior in TNA, where he told me, I want you to not just beat me, but tap me out because we're trying to make me in TNA as the top baby face at the time. And I believe it was Manchester. I'm most convinced we're both in Manchester.

Maybe Kurt likes to tap out in Manchester. Someone definitely used to check that out for me, but I was tagging with Johnny Gargano at the time and the Evolver were tag team champions. I couldn't think of a submission. I was like, I'll do the Gargano escape, like, as a tribute to Johnny there. So, you know, I got Kurt with their Gargano escape there,

then the ankle luck. So thank you, Kurt. You got a lot of moments. You were the first person ever kicked out of Baron Corbin's end of days. The only person. He loves it. So I'm glad we're taking this opportunity in a big platform to go into detail about

the time that I kicked out at WrestleMania, no less, the end of days, the unkickoutable finishing with Barry Corbyn, I kicked out of it. Well, he said it was, he wanted it to be protected. And like that was a big thing for him.

Yes. Like, whoever he wrestled, could do anything in the match, but he's just like, I'd appreciate it if we can protect my finish. What changed in that match? I mean, business is the same as like myself and not getting personally upset

or personally disappointed, of course, well we personally disappoint understanding the big picture and what do we need to do right now the company needs to pivot for this reason and this reason this reason and this is what we're trying to achieve over here so sometimes you got to you got to eat it and he's an amazing performer and you still get so much to give a big guy moves like a cat can get unbelievable heat like it's so annoying he does his cooking videos and that it's fine now it makes sense now because he was getting so much heat i was like stop being likable i like be a terrible human beings to get all the heat in the world and he's genuinely amazing in the ring and say such a big guy but that night we had to make drew mackinty

to get ready to face Roman reigns and lead to that clash of the castle match and that was a big part of it. It wasn't just the case. If he kicked out, no one's done it before. We made sure people knew this has never been kicked out before. Drew McIntyre kicked out of it. Won the match, sliced throat with the swords, big spectac. Went on to fight Roman and the first stadium PLE in the UK since SummerSlam 92. That feels like a mistake for you. You should have won that match. Flash the Castle. Like that's got to be one of those moments where if you could go back in time, fantasy book a different finish. That's got to be one of the, like, answers. Yeah, what a moment it would have been. Again, it's the what if and would I be here now with the story of been as interesting

now? And the answers probably no, but what a moment it would have been. People would have gone crazy. I would have been racking up those moments I missed during COVID that would never be replayed again. But at the same time, that was when, you know, the true trauma for McIntyre started losing in front of the family and friends and singing the stupid song with Tyson Fury, which I made up for sing in the Scottish National Anthem, when I won the world title, a few months ago. And it really set me on that downward spiral and brought the character to where we're at now. And thanks to the nature of the stories we tell now, under Triple H, using real emotion and real human emotion. And all the PTSD, it led to disappoint after disappoint after disappointment, McIntyre spiraling, spiraling, at the same time.

I had in layer after layer after layer. And if that didn't happen, as the genesis of where we're at right now, would we be here now? Probably not. Would it have been nice and an awesome moment isolated? Fuck yeah, it would have. It feels like it's not just disappointment for the Drew McIntyre character. Like fans seem to be disappointed with a lot of things over the last handful of years of like, Drew got his moment and then I got taken away. Drew was the champion, but it was just a transitional champion. How do you react to that? I mean, for the UK market, I was a little, I guess, worried at that time, but the product was so hot and is so hot.

right now we were fine we kept selling out over and over and again i don't make those those decisions you know triple h is in charge for a reason about the fans yeah getting disappointed on my behalf i appreciate it and uh sometimes i am equally as personally disappointed and i hope to see the future and i do have personal conversations with those in charge and see my feelings and i'm always told here's what we're thinking or here's what i'm thinking we go this direction i give my opinion and it's always that's where we're going to go and we have stuck on that path every time and I've been so particular about the journey and the characters and the nuances and I've not been lied to when it comes to the journey. Things change

that's just the nature of it and the transitional thing if people are saying it right now. I don't believe that to be the case. I think it's another part of Dr McIntyre's story. Personally, it sucks. I'd love to walk into Mania's champion with the Tyho and whatever might have been supposed to happen. It would have been very cool. But, you know, things happen in the bigger picture, as I've been talking about over and over. And as a company, as Mania for two days, We need all these big matches. We need surprises, and this gave us two giant matches. But for Drew McIntyre, you know, screwing over Cody, screwing over Cody,

even though it was in a contract, even though it was justified. And it makes perfect sense to raise the story with the oldest. It makes perfect sense to set up the match with Jacob. Now we get this crazy match for Drew McIntyre, Jacob Fatu. We get people seeing like, well, Drew was screwing, but at the same time, kind of deserved it, but did he really deserve it? And then Cody and Randy have got their match over there going on right now. So I appreciate the fans.

If anything doesn't work out, and I'm sitting there at one point, just like, oh, my God, no one cares. And the story didn't make sense. And it sucks. And I'm left in the lurch. Then I'll be the first one to point it out. But that's not happened so far. And after the stuff I've been doing with Jacob, I know McIntyre is right back on track of where we need to be, which I believe inevitably is going to lead to big baby face run down the line. But I'm not trying to get there anytime soon.

When you talk about plans changing, John Sina said in an interview on the no contest wrestling podcast that it was supposed to be you versus him. A crown jewel. You feel like your match with John Sina got taken away from you? Yeah, I mean, it sucks. And I wish I did get that opportunity with John, not just for a one-on-one match, which we never had as long as we were around each other, but a chance to get on the microphone with them after showing what I could do. Like, C.M. Punk and so many others, they're known for being the best on the mic.

John is unbelievable. I would love that moment. I loved the chance to go back and forth with him. I mean, the public never knew about it. I knew there was a plan before that, actually. that had to change. And then there was that plan. And there was a pivot again.

And I believe it came down until like John said. Because initially people thought, oh, my God. You see what Sino said? I went, oh, what? It was like the match with Drew, it never happened. And then the match with AJ happened. And the way they worded it was like, you know, John said it was public or whatever. I was like, nobody knew that.

He tweeted. Nobody knew that. He tweeted me and AJ or something. If you went, hell yeah, I want to see John CNN and AJ styles. We tweet. Want to see me and Drew? They probably would have been happy to see both as well. So like, yeah, behind the scene stuff, you know, that did happen.

And it was disappointing. but at the same time, they'd a great match about John and AJ. They got John's last few months back on track, which I was happy for him because I felt like we could have, you know, done a little better on that first part of the journey, and maybe I would have got one of the matches. But again, you know, crap happens. Sometimes you go one path.

It doesn't work. You've got to go back on the path and just fall out from it. And I can be personally upset or I can be like, all right, nobody to tag match here. It's disappointing. But I was around him. I learned for years. And he's retired and I was world champion for a few months.

So I'm fine. So it wasn't just the crown jewel match? There was going to be something else in there? I mean, there was another match prior to that. No, involving more than I was also saying. I don't give away all the details like John out there. But yeah, yeah, there was a pitch for something else, and then something changed and then another pitch.

And then we ended up with the AJ match because it wasn't public myself and John. I just would have loved that chance on the mic to see what we could have done and still got the AJ match because it was so unbelievable as well. But I know John and I could have done some magic, especially on the mic. There is a match that you're a part of.

This fact is crazy to me. So it's you and Shane McMahon versus Roman Reins and Undertaker at Extreme Rules 2019. It has 107 million views on the WWE YouTube channel. It's wild. That's Undertaker's last match in front of a crowd.

Yep. Right? You get to be part of it. Yeah, it's crazy. Look at that fact. You know, Undertaker's somebody. I've talked about this publicly in my book,

my chosen destiny, still available now. Where Vince put Undertaker in charge of me, you don't listen to anybody by The Undertaker, he's your mentor, I spent so many years with him around him, learning from him, and to have his last match in front of a live audience

was insane. Obviously, we didn't know if that was the case at the time, but looking back, it's absolutely wild, and the match was coming off of the other match. It was a big disappointment. We don't have to mention what it was, but we know, and we really wanted to give Taker a match to remind everybody, you know,

who the Undertaker is, that he can still go, And we went out of our way to make sure that night that he was the undertaker and back, back hole again. At the start, I got in his camera shot. I remember like Shane and I were in the ring and I was all, I used to stand with this, chest up, shoulders, back. And I felt like I always had to be the big tough guy. I see people doing it now and I'm like, relax, relax, but it's easy for me to say it because of Triple H. I'm here every week going, relax.

We know you're a big guy. You don't have to stand like this the entire time. Your money's here. Body, Lucy, goosey, you're blowing yourself up. But I was standing there waiting for him. He came in the ring. didn't realize I was in his camera shot. He's doing the whole presentation, taking off the jacket,

getting ready for the hat. Luke's happening. He was, back the fuck up. Oh. Got out of his camera shot. I didn't realize I was blocking his camera shot. Yeah, that was my first. Oh.

So far so bad. But the crowd were unreal. We're on first. The match was unreal. You could say whatever you want at the end for the tombstone, like being a little split second off. But there's something to things not going perfect in pro wrestling because in real fights,

nothing goes perfect. You are now the U.S. title away from being a Grand Slam champion. Shamus is the intercontinental championship away from being Grand Slam champion. He never heard him. He never talks about it. No, no, no. I never heard that mention. Who becomes Grand Slam champion first? Not me, definitely.

I have going to plan to do it. I don't know when it will happen. But if he keeps talking about it, then they're just going to rub them and just give me the U.S. title, even if I don't want to. It's funny, though, like you're both one title away. And you're right. He mentions it just a little bit more. than it does mean a lot to him and like he's achieved so much and you know he really would love it but

yeah he gets driven and driven and driven he you know he lowers his heart in his sleeve and it's going to happen it's just uh yeah it's hilarious how much it's been mentioned at this point and i've not mentioned the yes title and it'll happen and then i will make it a big deal and i'll make it seem like i really cared so much about it but then don't replay this all i care about it's the storyline's being interesting and if i get i've got four world titles now or three one world title three wb championships That's what it's all about. It's the storytelling aspect of our business. I've already achieved everything I wanted to achieve.

If we keep those stories going, the fans are interested. I'm good. If it happens, cool. If it doesn't, cool. You're 25 years in, do you have an overarching way that you approach pro wrestling now? No, not really. It's pretty much, I mean, obviously it's changed over the years, but the way I approach it now is just, okay, I see this going here, and I think about it myself, and then I see what creative have got for me.

So it's story driven. Yeah, 100%. Yeah. I mean, outside the ring, obviously we talked about looking after myself, being physically able to do everything to the top of my game. And I've never felt better in a long time for that aspect and looking the part. And what can I do to, you know, 40 years old now that wow, Drew's never looked at this before because I've just never tried before.

But very much, like, what's the best way to tell this story and get the fans as invested as possible? Because as far as I'm concerned, if it ends up Jacob and out at WrestleMania, if it ends up oldest in Iceland out at WrestleMania, I don't care. what the title matches are, as far as I'm concerned, we're still in that show. And it's going to be through the story. Then it's going to be through the banger match. What you're doing now, I feel like,

it doesn't feel like what you... This isn't the guy that would have been sitting across from me 10 years ago. Oh, hell no. Yeah. Like, you know, they're... It's these people that are in top. They weren't taught themselves.

They don't get it. I'm the man. I should have all the titles. Maybe about 10 years ago. That's more 15 years ago, Drew. And Cody and I won the tag tails. We were both laughing. There was a picture of us holding the titles.

in 2010. And we're so convinced in our heads, we should be fighting for the world. TIEO, this is silly we're tag champions. That's how warped our views were at the time, rather than enjoy the journey. This is part of the journey your young kids. And we, yeah, we're really, really full of herself actually when I see it out loud. That is funny when you think about it. So it's 2010, you guys win the tag titles and you're thinking, man, we're ready for the main event now. I can't believe we're both not fain for the world title. We're tag team. We're tag team. It's just silly. If we approached that in the right way, the mindset, both of us have now, that could have been a legendary tagged him in a legendary run. And then look how long it took both of you guys to win the world title.

Yep. We had to get a few hard slaps in the head, like in a lot of ways, literally and, you know, creatively and, you know, eat bank, wulf of us have eaten banquets and bankers of crap to finally learn her lesson. I got fired. He had to, you know, leave the company after, you know, seeing what I was doing out there and not, I became a verb. My brother likes to say, to do what Drew, leave WB, reinvent yourself, succeed. Then he left and did what he did and created a whole new place and stuff. It was very cool to see us both go in that journey as much as I don't like the way he goes about things and wish he wasn't so corporate coldy about everything because he is that good and he doesn't need it. He still does it. Both of us have taken, you know, the long way around and got what we've got to now and both achieving massive success. You guys are always the example of someone who leaves WWE, proves themselves, gets better and comes back a completely different version. So what's the advice that you have for somebody who might be in that spot, maybe got released or maybe left? that wants to step things up.

I mean, a lot of situations are kind of different, but there's a lot of similar advice, and the games kind of changed slightly since 2014. I get asked all the time, I guess the Genxte literally tell people, and, you know, look at what Drew did. And they come to me a lot and ask my opinion. And I always say,

you've got to get the reps in, just keep yourself as busy as possible. Go to places with buzz. You're going to get a lot of offers to go to places that you're going to get a bigger paycheck, but then there's going to be no attention. It's going to be a small time. in America, if you're lucky enough to travel the world like I was and get these, you know, bigger

offers to wrestling smaller towns, but do the pictures, whatever, like, no, where's got the buzz, where's the attention right now? Where can you reinvent yourself and show the world? Hey, in my head, I believed I could be this. Show them what you believe you could be and keep getting reps and reps to get better on the mic and look at your presentation and what's going to separate you from everybody else in the game right now because there's so much going on in the world of wrestling and so much that's kind of similar. And I see so many guys, especially in Scotland, I get sent tapes a lot from my buddies back there. Can you look at this kid or whatever? And I watch the match.

And I go, okay, they're trying to be AJ Styles. You just retired, but there is an AJ styles. So they're trying to be, you know, like a ricochet or whatever. And I was okay, unless you're as good as these particular flyers, like a Dragon Lee, for example, then that's not going to be helpful. But what's going to make people emotionally care about you, stop trying to be the next, whatever your favorite wrestler is, just figure out what's going to separate me from everybody else out there. It's not going to be instant. You've got to get those reps. You've got to figure it out. Like me, you've got to find your voice because this is such a big part of it. You know, being able to present yourself verbally in a 52 week

a year show is very, very important. But you've got to believe you are that person because if you don't believe it, no one else will believe it. And the only way that's going to happen is reps. You've really stepped up your fashion game here. Thank you. Were you always a Jordan guy? I was not. I was forced into it. I was shamed into it, actually, to be exact. Shamed into it. Yeah, yeah. I was at Fanatics Fest, I believe, two years ago. I think it was the first one. First big one, WDB was involved with, if it was not the first one ever. I was on stage wearing a pair of Jordans, very comfortable, and I've got big wide feet.

Jordan's very comfortable. And I've had two pairs. I remember one pair I was wearing, and Olmos was a bit of a sneaker head. He said, cool shoes. I went, thank you. I have no idea. Just comfortable. And I wore the other pair, the Fanatics Fest.

And my buddy was looking at my social comments and told me, have you seen the comments any chance? I was like, oh, no, what they said. I assumed had said something silly. They're talking about your shoes. You know, four better Jordans are shaming me for the shoes I was wearing and I looked out. Oh my God, it's like every comment. It wasn't just a few.

It was, I wouldn't even exaggerate to say a couple of hundred in a row. What was wrong with your shoes? Apparently it was the wrong kind of Jordans. I couldn't even guess on top of my head it was. You would know if I said it like something ring, five ring or some crap. I don't know, six ring. But the wrong pair of Jordans I was wearing that day. And I was horribly shamed.

And I went into a store with my wife and I said, young man, come here. It probably wasn't much younger than me, to be honest. And I was like, learning me the shoe game. Drew McIntown needs a better shoe game. Galloway, whatever the hell. I'll wear, whatever. I wear shorts and t-shirt half the time. I've got gentlemen's playbook. They're keeping me looking, keeping me looking good in L.A. But with the shoe game, I need some help. And he got me, got me started. And I kind of half-ass know what's going on now. I get on the old stock X and I see something I like. I go, oh, I'll get those.

I got these on Stock X. I got a lot of them in Stalk. Yeah, I'll see something I like and I'll get it now. And then I'll double check with your man at Gentleman's Playbook. Tom, you're welcome. And yeah, yeah, so that's how I stepped up my game. I was shamed, shamed into it. I wear a lot of... Fairly, Drew McIntyre needed a bag. I don't care. Again, real life, I don't care, but, you know, we're in a very visual game. There's a lot of eyes outside the company on us, and I understand, you know, make sure

Dr. McIntyre looks the part. Like, you're representing the company. Like, thank you. Like, I look, I look different. I'm 6'5. I look the way a wrestler. And people imagine their head, look like falling out at Game of Thrones. But I got people going, wow, he looks at the part.

They don't get paid any money. What's one of your shoes? I wear a lot of these are Jordan Fours. I wear a lot of fours and threes. Just they're so comfortable. Oh, yeah. Like, say, like, I've, I don't know a lot about them, but they're comfortable. Yeah, very comfortable. I spent years wearing the wrong size shoe, for one. I thought it was 13 for years and years and years. But, and I was like, God, my fear just crammed in here and gender told me,

you know, you get wide set shoes, but I did not know that. So I finally started wearing wide set 13s, and I was like, yeah, it's still more comfortable, but just, I guess this is the way it's supposed to be. As a kid, I always wore the same size shoe. I'd never been into a shoe store, I guess, and I was really young, and I must have had some kind of foot spurt along with my second puberty I had. And then I found out I'm actually like just a little bigger than 14 and really abnormally white feet and chardon. So the only things are comfortable basically. How's the, actually I want to ask you this one. What is a match that nobody asks you about that you think more people should talk about? I don't think more people would talk about this one

just because of the nature of the time during the pandemic. But a match that I'm very proud of. I want to say it was Fast Lane right before WrestleMania when we first had the crowdback in limited capacity in Tampa but it was myself in Seamus and we'd been going hard hoping to get the mania match the singles match that year and I think I'd have myself in Lashley that was in a big feud with Lashley at the time

but we had ourselves a no the false got any more match no holds barred match and right before the match we'd been talking about history and they didn't really want to go deep into the history of our story and for some reason right before the match they had this buildup video that was like our 20 year history known each other, old pictures together and all the stuff we talked about. We're like, huh, he just surprised us with it. And we went out there and

battled each other as we always do. And I had the brave heart war paint on, through Seamus, through some screens that were sparking everywhere. Yeah, we battled each other for real. You could hear every punch I was hitting them in the head. Think about as hard as I've hit anybody. I've never punched anyone that hard in a fight. Mom used to always tell me, you can't, you're bigger than all the other kids. You're going to kill somebody. You're going up in jail. So I was always funny about hitting people, not him. hit him as hard as I possibly can every single time and he just laughs and says hit me harder. So very proud, proud of that match.

And eventually we had the chance to basically have a singles match at Mania with myself, himself, and Wally Gunther had the triple threat. Oh, what a match that is. Something I'm so proud of. I think I have to mention it before. Like the one thing, like a nitpick is the beginning. I went for the Claymore. But Gunther, the style of wrestler, he is.

He kind of here and went out the ring, didn't catch the Claymore flush. So he wasn't unconscious and down. So that's part of the storytelling. He goes out and he's able to go, okay, you didn't get knocked out. Ooh, got to watch that. He watches, picks his spot. It's all very logical. Why that happened in the rest of the match, you couldn't poke a hole through if you tried.

I remember at one point that this is awesome. I'm going to give me 50 beats and I was like, you guys have no idea it was coming. Because then Ginter was out the ring for 15 minutes. Then we had our singles match we always dreamed of. And then that was on us because the smart heel in the outside went, idiots slid in and knocked us both down pinned us once he saw the opportunity. So, yeah, we finally did, guess, have our singles match. within that triple threat match,

which is also one of my favorites. Well, great to see you. Thank you for making this happen in Nashville. We've been talking about having like a long sit down like this for years possible. Years. Yeah, literally years. Not to take away from the match or the match. The verbal match here.

Not to take away from the conversation we had for the Killers game, but like it wasn't the same. No, no. It's not just a relaxed environment. It was one interview after another after another. And we're focused on something particular. I was probably your 40th interview that day. All your other.

The most fun one, though. Thank you. All your other interviews were four or five minutes, and then I got you for like 40-ish, I think. It was supposed to be an hour. And then they were like, is it okay if you just do 40 with him? It must have been later on. Then they were trying to do me a favor.

I would have done whatever. I'm like to yourself. We're just having a lot of talk. I'd rather not. I'm just trying to say anything that's going to get me. A phone call right after, but I know you don't do that stuff. Thank you. I've been better recently, right?

I've not been causing drama headlines, you know? I don't know. Droomack doesn't have any aren't. or anything else that I've been reading on the internet recently. It depends what you put on X next, you know? If anybody pushes me enough and I welcome it. You know, it sells tickets. You know what gets attention real, making people feel like it's real.

And if it is actually real, look what, what, mean punk? I'm waiting for the next person to come at me and go, you know what, Drew, I don't care if you like me, bang, bang, bang, and nail me with some stuff. And I'm like, ho, ho, ho, I'm going to talk crap to you and I'm going to beat your ass in the ring. And the people are going to love it. So fair to say you're not bored at work anymore? No, no, no, it's too. exciting right now. I have to be bored at work, but a

WrestleMania is around the corner. So, yeah, I mean, I've got to keep the run going. I've tweeted two years in the row now. Roken all kinds of records. Be a shame if I didn't this year. How's everyone, how's everyone at home? How are the cats? I mean, it's not great news there. Also, you know, no surprise to me. I did say to you can ask about everybody, so it was very difficult to talk about.

But family are good. Everyone's coming from mania, but we lost Chaz. So sorry. It sucks. He was our boy and he had long-term liver disease for a long time. And finally we knew it's getting to the point. He's going to be gone soon with the pads down in the house. He was going to the bathroom outside of them, but he was still lying with us and purring.

And we just knew the end was close. And it really sucked. Like, let me Laplov come out and try to do it in the house. to make it a little easier. It was not easier. It was the hardest thing. Yeah. I've ever done. There's one thing I never make fun of punk for when Larry was gone and my heart broke for him in age of those little guys are just full of love and nothing else. But yeah, we've not posted about it because we just can't bear ourselves to talk about it. So it's the first time I've talked about it and I'm not, I don't care of it again emotional on camera. It really hurts that bad.

And I miss a little guy and we'll miss him for her. So sorry. Loss is never easy. No, especially with pets. I mean, it was your family and friends. It freaking sucks.

And they're always there for you. You can talk to your friends about your mates and stuff. I kind of remember that time he was an idiot and he done this stupid crap and pissed us off. And you laugh for your mates. But dogs and cats and the legs, they're just full of love. They're so loyal. Yeah,

especially if you earn the trust. Like dogs are there, give you that love all the time. But cats, have you earned the trust of a cat. Yes. There's nothing like it. They're like a partner.

And, you know, he was her emotional support buddy for. for 14 years. Oh, wow. You know that I end every conversation with gratitude because it's such a huge part of my life, focusing on the things that I have. My wife and I say out loud, three things are grateful for before we go to bed every night. Fair to say that's probably one of the things you're grateful for. Yeah. But what are three things you're grateful for today, Drew? I'm grateful for the wife. I'm grateful for, I guess, health, you know, in the world we live in. and I'm grateful for shows.

All the memories. Love it. Thank you again, making the time to do this. Thank you for being so open, so honest. I've got to do this. I grew up in front of the world on camera. I'd be a shame if I suddenly shut down. Everybody knows all my shit.

A lot of it negative, but hopefully some positive. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do with rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand.

He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it. Get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What should be. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.