During a recent appearance on Huge Pop! Radio, WWE star Drew McIntyre, speaking in-character, discussed the balance between physical execution and emotional storytelling in professional wrestling, and didn’t hold back when the topic turned to CM Punk.
McIntyre began by stressing that while moves are important, executing them properly should be a baseline expectation for any wrestler.
McIntyre said, “The moves do matter, but that’s a prerequisite. If you’re a wrestler and you don’t do the moves well, you shouldn’t be a wrestler. I shouldn’t have to say the moves are important because, of course, the moves are important. You should be able to execute them well.”
The former WWE Champion then took a jab at CM Punk’s in-ring style. “I mean, like CM Punk — I don’t know how Bret Hart loves him so much. He’s like the opposite of the ‘Excellence of Execution.’ His moves execute terribly. But he believes everything he says, and people buy his crap, so good for him, I guess.”
As a lifelong Bret Hart fan, McIntyre emphasized that clean execution should be second nature, allowing wrestlers to focus on connecting with the audience. “What’s most important on top of that is the emotional connection, how are you going to connect with the fans?”
He continued, “So many people worry so much about all the intricate sequences or whatever they’ve got planned in their head, but all it takes is one split second of looking in somebody’s eyes and seeing they’re thinking too much or not present in the moment, and you lose them.”
