Drew McIntyre had one hell of a 2024 and is already on fire as the Road to WrestleMania approaches. Targeting the likes of Sami Zayn and Jey Uso for their association with Roman Reigns' Bloodline, he'll next face Seth Rollins during RAW tomorrow night in a WrestleMania XL rematch.
The Scottish Psychopath spent most of last year battling CM Punk and, in an interview with Mail Online, talked candidly about his real-life issues with the Second City Saint and how that affected what we were seeing on TV every week.
"I didn't really anticipate anything in the beginning, I was dealing with my personal feelings towards him, understanding why he was brought in. It's a numbers thing. He sells a lot of T-shirts," McIntyre explained. "And after the injury, I was going to exploit it. And it's interesting, my name wasn't mentioned once when it came to dream matches for CM Punk."
"And I was like, 'Yeah, weird. It's almost as if there's a guy that was around him all this time when he was a terrible person who might have stories,'" he continued. "With the Punk process, having so much real feeling, so much material, and not just my ideas...obviously creative are just absolutely on fire, and with Hunter leading the charges, setting these awesome shots up for me, all I have to do is put it in the back of the net."
McIntyre added, "It was an interesting and fun process, and it's better than any therapy in the world. I don't need a therapist to talk to, I've got a microphone every week... And during the Punk stuff, I was sounding out a lot of feelings when he came back eventually and started saying his piece."
"As much as we have certain feelings towards each other, we both are aware we've got certain magic with each other. It's a tale as old as time. The more people have a genuine disdain for each other, people can truly feel it. And if you're actually good at your job, like we are, it does create magic."
"I will say, however my feelings are towards him, I went completely gangbusters for him. I didn't hold back. On TV, I can only go so far, but, on social, but it's my social. You can't tell me what to do. I went overboard," the former WWE Champion acknowledged. "And the company could have asked me to pull back if they wanted me to, and I'd have said, 'No, it's my social'. But I went at him and went at him."
"Not that I care, but he didn't. He ate it like a man, and then came back with what he had to say. So I'll give him that," he noted, sharing some rare praise for his longtime rival and someone he seems to have little love for outside the ring.
Elsewhere in the interview, McIntyre reflected on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson being the one to present him with a new WWE contract (and sword). Explaining that the Final Boss isn't on his radar because he's never personally wronged him, McIntyre strongly hinted at an interaction between the two of them which could soon come into play on RAW.
"He always had such positive public comments. When I re-signed, I sent the sword as a little gift... I feel very honored that he's willing to shine a kind of light on me. I got a little laugh, and I got to ask a little favour, and he's working on that for me," McIntyre teased.
As always, let us know your thoughts on these remarks from McIntyre in the usual place.