As you are well aware of, Drew McIntyre did not reach this level of success during the rest of his first stint in WWE, as he was released in 2014.
McIntyre, however, used this release to significantly increase his stock, becoming successful in Impact Wrestling and various other promotions, along with a change in physique. He debut in NXT in 2017, winning the NXT Championship just four months after his debut.
In an interview with AL to promote an upcoming WWE Live event, McIntyre shared his thoughts on the change in WWE culture since his last tenure.
“Things have changed in a lot of ways,” said McIntyre. “It’s the guys who have come up through the system, mostly NXT, who are leading the force now. That’s a big difference. Everything keeps growing. The big thing for me is that I’ve grown as a person, matured and returned to make a difference. What I do notice backstage is as good a roster as we have – we have the best roster in the world, men and women – but we do have a few people that perhaps aren’t fulfilling their potential. I know this because that’s who I was during my first run with the company.
“And I can see it when I look around. It reminds me of myself when I didn’t realize the opportunity I had, that I was part of WWE, that this was the number one show, and I had to give it my all in and out of the ring in every possible situation, and I wasn’t. And I see that now that I’m back, and I’m trying to tell people in interviews like this. I’m trying to give the answers to everybody, and if you don’t take the answers to the question, perhaps it’s time for people to go away like I did and find themselves. And if they don’t, perhaps they don’t belong on the number one show in the world because I can assure you there are people in NXT waiting to take their spots.”
Now, being a tag team champion in the WWE for a second time, McIntyre commented on what teams have inspired him.
“For me, the obvious examples of tag teams I was a big fan of, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard,” said McIntyre. “I would watch them and be blown away by how incredible they were. I was a big Hart Foundation guy as a kid. Bret was my favorite wrestler. I loved their dynamic. Most of it was from my childhood because I was the biggest tag team wrestling fan as a kid. I was always impressed by the Road Warriors and Legion of Doom. They were just so large and bigger than life in every possible way. They would just destroy everybody. I always imagined myself and Braun could be a bit of a modern LOD.”
McIntyre also shared that he is happy to be a tag team champion with Ziggler, “who’s so talented and has been very start-and-stop over the years.”
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