WWE Champion Drew McIntyre discussed becoming the first-ever British WWE Champion and more in a new interview with Joe.co.uk. Here are some highlights:
On being the first WWE Champion from the UK: “It’s hard to put into words, it was a dream of mine, coming to America to become the first ever British heavyweight champion of the world. Somehow the [British] Bulldog never won the title. Regal had never won the title. Wade Barrett got a great opportunity with the Nexus, and it looked like he might be the first Brit to win the title but it never materialized. So it’s crazy that no one ever pulled it off, but it was a goal of mine for a very long time, to actually pull it off. Meant the world to me. And to see the reaction back home, just blew my mind. Like seeing BBC News, the top two headlines were the Queen’s giving a speech, and WWE wrestler Drew McIntyre becomes first British champion.”
Does McIntyre want a WWE PPV in the UK?: “I would do whatever it takes to get the UK that big pay-per-view that we’ve not had since SummerSlam ’92. It’s been so long, the fan base has been so loyal, so passionate, it would absolutely be a huge success. And if it takes McIntyre – Fury as the main event to get everyone paying attention who’s not necessarily a wrestling fan, then I’m all about it.”
Winning the WWE Championship Without Fans?: “It was the opposite of winning the Royal Rumble, because 40,000 people were screaming when I won the Rumble, adrenaline is through the roof, you’re overwhelmed, my legs didn’t work anymore. WrestleMania, obviously, there’s nobody there. One, two, three and I’m being passed the Heavyweight Title, my life’s work, and there’s nobody making a sound… It was just a private moment, it felt like. I was looking at it because nobody’s making any noise, I was just in my own head. ‘Oh my goodness, it’s happened.’
“I’m playing a montage of my whole life and career, all the people that sacrificed to get me here to where I’m at – my family, my wife. And being gone all the time, and all the hard work that I put in, and all the injuries. And my goodness, I’m champion. And that was literally all going through my head, and then I clipped to reality, saw Brock Lesnar’s prone body beside me and went, ‘Oh yeah, you just beat Brock in the main event at WrestleMania. Oh yeah, there’s millions of people around the world watching right now.’”
McIntyre also revealed that with plans changing all of the time in WWE, he didn’t believe he won the title until it aired a few days later. Here is what he had to say:
“I left the building, I came to the office here, I put the title in the closet over there, and I was no longer champion because it hadn’t happened. My wife was aware, but nobody else was aware what happened. So every interview I did, if you listen to the tone of my voice, the way I’m talking, it’s as if it never happened.
Because I know how things change in WWE, I’ve had multiple things change throughout my career, some big moments changed at the last moment, and nothing’s official until it’s official. So I was literally able to convince myself it’s not happened until that three-count happened while I was watching WrestleMania with my wife and the two cats.”
