Drew McIntyre Is Captivating WWE By Telling The Truth

Drew McIntyre doesn’t mind being called WWE’s No. 1 hater. But don’t call him a bad guy. This is just him telling it like it is.

“I’m from the UK. If you’ve ever watched any UK comedy or seen the way people from the UK talk to each other, especially Scotland, we just shred each other. People would legitimately be shocked to see the way me and my friends talk to each other, like, do you guys hate each other? No, we’re actually really close friends,” McIntyre tells Uproxx Sports.

“Now I’m able to be that way on television, on social. But at the same time, to pull from real storylines, real material that we’ve had play out over the past four years, that at times I was like, this is the wrong decision. And I look back now and go, okay, this is such an important part of where we are now. Everything happened for a reason.”

McIntyre says he’s always had control of his social media and at times, you could see the real version of himself shining through, especially when it came to feuding with guys like Tyson Fury. That shift in tone and honesty moves further away from what fans have seen over the last four years, or as the character McIntyre refers to as “Drew McIntyre’s Smiley Sword Man.”

“What they’re seeing right now is absolutely me with the volume turned up. Everything’s got reality injected into it because I make sure it does. It’s such a collaboration now, with our creative team,” McIntyre continues. “This feels like I’m back in the independents where I was putting my own stuff together, my own thoughts together, making sure it makes sense across the board for me. I’m a very creative person. And when I feel creatively fulfilled, I’m at my happiest.”

Realism, not just about what happens in the wrestling ring, but what’s going on in his personal life has taken the McIntyre character to another level. It started with honesty to the audience, and has continued to evolve in how he interacts with his WrestleMania XL opponent, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins.

“A lot of the previous thinking, which worked tremendously, was maybe people wouldn’t remember (what happened in the past). But I see it as a challenge. One, I do believe a lot of our audience remembers certain things that happen. And two, it’s my job as a performer to paint the picture and use whatever material I’m using to help further the story,” McIntyre says.

McIntyre’s journey to WrestleMania hasn’t been a direct path to the top. The former WWE champion acknowledges the need to practice patience in an industry known for its twists and turns.

“When it comes to what’s on TV, everybody can’t be saving the girl from the railroad tracks. Lots of different characters. It has to be a variety show. You’re not always going to be in that leading man role. You might get your chance and certain people might stay in that position, like Roman, Cena, on the likes, but the majority of us are going to go up and down,” McIntyre says.

“I was in a tag team at one point, I ended up rolling by myself, I ended up being more vocal and honest and more real Drew. And suddenly, Punk got injured at the Royal Rumble. It’s such a shame, I was crying, that was when I did it, and I was so upset about it, I’m still crying to this day. And yeah, he believes that was his spot. I didn’t magically get the spot at WrestleMania fighting for the title.”

McIntyre has left no one unscathed on his run to a WrestleMania title match. After Punk’s injury came the infamous gravestone tweet, a message that exploded on X/Twitter and led to McIntyre informing those in charge that if a WWE shirt wasn’t made, he’d commission one himself to wear to the next Monday Night Raw.

McIntyre says he’s only telling the truth on his way to WrestleMania. He says Rollins is selfish and saw a tag team match against The Rock as a way to get more attention. He says Cody Rhodes forgot about his fans, forgot about finishing the story, and forgot about the video game that is “literally based around finish the story.”

While Rollins has been tied up with WrestleMania Night 1’s expected main event — where he’ll team with Rhodes against The Rock and Roman Reigns — McIntyre says he’s “doing the majority of the work” making people care about their Night 2 title match. That is where McIntyre hopes to culminate his journey back to the top and capture the elusive “WrestleMania moment.”

“I’ve had countless highs and lows personally, professionally, because my entire life has been wrestling. My entire adult life has been related to WWE in some capacity. I might have been a little frustrated at one point and knowing I could give more. But everything happens for a reason and the things that happen suddenly become motivation slash part of your story on television and off television,” McIntyre says.

“I guess we caught steam and finally, I feel like I’m truly being my full self with unlimited material to pull from because we have this last four year run, five year run of Drew McIntyre’s Smiling Sword Man and doing the right thing every time. I’m still the same guy. Just evolved, and as I always tell people, find me a lie that I’ve said, something that wasn’t true. You might not like what I say all the time, because you like the other guy I’m talking about, but I’ve only ever told the truth. I’ve evolved, I’ve got my killer instincts back.”

Whatever happens on Night 1 doesn’t matter much to McIntyre, as long as Night 2 pans out the way he envisions.

“At this point, all we have to do is get to the title match at ‘Mania. However, we got there, doesn’t matter. Old Drew’s got more momentum than he’s had in years. He’s the right man to become champion,” McIntyre says. “If Seth wants to spread himself so thin, try and get all that spotlight. What’s going to happen is he’s going to crash and burn on Night 1, and then crash and burn on Night 2. I don’t care as long as I’m champion.”