Drew McIntyre has opened up about his recent Undisputed WWE Championship run, saying there “needed to be a shake-up” from Cody Rhodes’ initial reign.
McIntyre won the WWE Title from Cody Rhodes in January, and was planned to head into WrestleMania as champion to defend against Rhodes.
However, WWE changed direction and had Rhodes win the title back from McIntyre in March, with Rhodes now defending at Mania aganist Randy Orton, and McIntyre in a separate match against Jacob Fatu.
In a new interview on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, McIntyre discussed what the recent title reign meant to him, saying:
“Awesome. Nobody saw it coming, for one. I think everybody assumed that the Cody Express would keep moving on forward. He’s been in that position for a long time. After he finished the story, he was on fire. I’m not saying he wasn’t doing a great job. He’s a great champion, he’s a great performer, but it was a lot of the same.
“I think there needed to be a shake-up, and there was a shake-up that no one saw coming when I won in Berlin. I could hear the crowd, I could hear the response, I could see the response, and it 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.
“For me, it gave me some of that legitimacy. ‘Oh yeah, Drew can win the big one,’ and not going to be so sympathetic that 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, if I got the title and people challenge me to fight, what would I gain? No, I’m Gollum from 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 know it made SmackDown way more compelling at the time, especially (because) 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 Cody mentioned, you know, it’s not just we want the title. It’s because you’re an arsehole, they’re all coming for you, which made SmackDown more interesting for me personally.
“I win it in Berlin, and the 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. I tell Scotland, I promised you would bring you the championship, and I brought you the championship, and the only ever, not just Scotland person to do it, but British person to do it.”
How Drew McIntyre Feels About His Current Position In WWE
Drew McIntyre also stated that he is “very creatively fulfilled” in WWE right now, saying:
“Very creatively fulfilled. There were a couple of moments where I was like, ‘Damn, it 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 does 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 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. And the worst thing in the world in pro wrestling is silence.”
Will Drew McIntyre Beat Jacob Fatu At WrestleMania 42
Drew McIntyre is now set to face Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania 42, and the overriding expectation right now is that Fatu will emerge as the winner of that match.
Fatu has been on the rise in WWE ever since his arrival in 2024, and that doesn’t look to be changing, as the company continues to look to push him up the card heavily, and likely in WWE Championship contention coming out of WrestleMania.
Therefore, it’s most likely that he gets the win against McIntyre, but things could always go the other way if WWE has plans for McIntyre to be involved in the title picture in the immediate future coming out of Mania too.
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