Drew McIntyre did an interview with TMZ Sports to promote WWE SummerSlam, where he will challenge GUNTHER for the WWE Intercontinental Title.
McIntyre touched on his hiatus from WWE after WrestleMania 39, where he took time off at a time when he was reportedly frustrated with creative and the talks for a new WWE deal that expires next year. He returned at Money in the Bank. Here are the highlights:
His excitement going into the match:
“I’m very excited. I have been off since WrestleMania, April. That is, oh my goodness, three months now, and I’ve been out of the ring. It’s the longest time I’ve been out of the ring ever. I’ve only had two matches since I came back. I will not be at Raw next week, and we’ll be going straight into that match. GUNTHER is an incredible competitor. He’s had the title for over 400 days. He really has reestablished the Intercontinental Title as a premier title that he used to be back in the day when Brett Hart had it, when Shawn Michaels had it when Drew McIntyre had it about, oh my goodness, 13 years ago now or something like that. So I’m excited to get a big match with him. We’re part of a triple threat at WrestleMania, which is one of the best matches I’ve ever had, and one of the funniest matches I’ve ever had. He’s a hard-hitting guy. I am a hard-hitting guy. I guarantee everyone watching SummerSlam is going to feel the strikes in that match. Whatever you think about WWE and wrestling, whatever preconceptions you have, watch through McIntyre versus GUNTHER, and I promise you you’ll question what you think you know.”
Taking a break from WWE:
“It was cool, getting the break. There were a lot of rumors and headlines on the internet when I was out, probably like 50 different things. It was amazing all the stories about me out there. When you’re not, you’re not on tv, people talk, and you know, there might have been some smoke to some fire with a few of them, but it was nice. People were talking about me when I wasn’t there, but I did have to get some things fixed physically. Unlike injuries, I’ve had in the past. There was no rehab involved, so I was actually able to enjoy my time at home, work on some outside projects, spend time with the Mrs and the cat, and take a step outside of the bubble and kind of get perspective again. So you’re inside the bubble. We’re 52 weeks per year. You go, go, go. Sometimes you can lose that perspective. And the last time I really had a hard look at myself outside the bubble was in 2014 when I got fired by WWE. So this time, I didn’t have to get fired, thank goodness I had some time off, and I was able to sit down, reassess things, think about what I want to achieve within the industry and as a person, and return with that mindset and come right into a huge match and I’m very excited.”
How much he missed it:
“Yeah. It did remind me just how much I love this; this is what I want you to do my whole life. And it’s sometimes when you’re in the thick of it, you really do forget that there’s a time when I’d be happy to be the waterboy. And there are times when I’ve been on the road nonstop, and I’m complaining about things that are not worth complaining about or angry about, things that aren’t worth being angry about. I’m watching the show at home. I’m like, ‘Okay, man, get Nancy now and watch a great match.’ I wish I were in that match. And I went to Berlin a couple of months ago for the Special Olympics games, where I’m a global ambassador of the Special Olympics. I had the opportunity to walk out with Team Great Britain in the stadium there and see all the fans in the crowd. And I was so happy for all the athletes to get that opportunity to be in front of so many people and see what they do best would’ve been working so hard towards. But in the back of my mind, I was looking out at everyone like, man, I miss this stealing, but I’m glad the athletes are getting to feel, you know, what we feel in WWE. And that was the first time that I truly was like, I need to get back as quickly as possible. And returning to London is a big surprise, uh, home country. Nobody expected that. I’m sneaking into the country. It was Manchester; I flew into six foot 5, 270 pounds. It was not easy to be a giant ninja, but I managed to slide under the radar, sneak into the hotel, and avoid the fans with the Money in the Bank briefcases and the titles over their shoulder.”
McIntyre continued, “I would see and dove through the privacy doors of security doors, knock my door and hide there and return, hearing the reaction. Everybody, make sure you check out SummerSlam. I’m so excited to be back; it’s in Detroit Ford Field. From what I hear, over 40,000 people are way more than 40,000 people. I hope I’m in ring shape that much, but I know my hands are in ring shape. Able to check out Ricochet versus Logan [Paul], and some incredible big matches will be going on. So yeah, I’m looking forward to SummerSlam. If you’ve never seen WWE, that’s just the show to check out.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit TMZ Sports with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
