Drew McIntyre Comments on Winning the WWE Royal Rumble, Eliminating Brock Lesnar, Wrestlemania, More

Drew McIntyre finally lived up to the moniker that he got all the way back in 2009 as the “chosen one” in WWE, when he won the Men’s Royal Rumble match this past Sunday. McIntyre sat down with Bleacher Report to discuss how much winning the Royal Rumble meant to him.

“It’s the biggest deal. I’ve been struggling to find the words, but the only way I can do it is to say that this is simply a dream come true. This is my life’s work. I’ve always wanted to be a wrestler since I was four years old. I sent away to America for something called ‘The Secrets of Pro Wrestling’ when I was 11 years old and kept them in a briefcase because I had to keep the secrets from everybody as I trained. When I was 14, everyone told me, ‘Wrestling is an American thing.’ Well, I was the first-ever Scotsman signed at 21, and then, I went through some incredible ups, incredible downs, got released.”

“And finally the pieces came together. I’ve found what was missing, which was just being my freaking self and letting everybody in and showing them the real Drew Galloway, which is the real Drew McIntyre. And the pieces are coming together. The perfect time—Rumble season. I’ve won the freaking Rumble. We’re on the road to WrestleMania, and I’ve got Brock Lesnar chasing me.”

McIntyre did not only win the Rumble match this past Sunday, but also eliminated WWE Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar as well.

“I hope the camera caught my face. That probably said everything, because I have no idea how I reacted. But I was in that moment, and just the idea of walking up to the ring and climbing up on the apron and looking at Brock Lesnar, getting in that ring slowly and in my head I was like, ‘I can beat Brock Lesnar, I can take Brock Lesnar no matter what happens. If he shoots at me and comes and tries to take me down, I can beat this man.’ And when he took off those gloves, goosebumps on my arm went up. I was ready to go no matter what happened. And to kick him out of there, that reaction, you just have to watch the footage. That was exactly how I felt in the moment because it was very bloody real.”

McIntyre will now go onto Wrestlemania 36 in Tampa, Fl to face Lesnar for the WWE Heavyweight Championship. McIntyre was asked if he is ready for such a career making match.

“Damn right I am. This is when you’ve got to turn up to a 100. I generally work around a 100, so this is probably where I turn up to 110. I know I’ve got a beast breathing down my neck. There’s nobody in the world like Brock at any sport. And I know he’s coming for me. Some people get upset like, ‘Oh, Brock Lesnar, he doesn’t show up to work and blah blah blah blah.’ I mean, to be fair, he signed a contract where he doesn’t have to. We can’t hold that against him. What I hold against him is the fact he’s got our title. We need that title on TV. We need it in the live events. That’s a very important part of RAW, and I want it back.”

“And I think he’s seen me coming. I think Paul [Heyman, Brock’s advocate] has been keeping them away from me because he’s seen me coming. There’s nobody that really wants to get in the ring with him. But I match him for size, I match him for speed, and not only that, I match him for experience—and I’m not sitting at home all the time, chilling out. Once-in-a-lifetime athlete that he is, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve, and I can match up in every other area. And as soon as he makes a mistake, which he does, just not very often, I will exploit it, and I’ll win that title if I get that opportunity.”

Matt’s Musings: The chant of “you deserve it” is one that is often heard inside a wrestling arena, but may never be truer than in Drew McIntyre’s case. Similar to Kofi Kingston the year prior, McIntyre is going to have the entire WWE Universe in his corner when he faces Lesnar at Wrestlemania 36.