Drew McIntyre Hints At Vince McMahon Frustrations In WWE
Drew McIntyre is clearly having the time of his life in WWE and now he’s opened up about previous limitations imposed on him by the company.
Drew McIntyre will challenge Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40. The Scottish star has taken issue with Rollins splitting his focus for the event since he will also be in a huge tag team match featuring The Rock, however, McIntyre has kept one eye on CM Punk since taking Punk returned to the company at Survivor Series.
Speaking to CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, Drew McIntyre explained why he feels he’s upgraded as a performer in recent months and suggests he was more limited when Vince McMahon was in charge of WWE:
100%. Mostly because I feel the way I’ve not felt in a long time. I really have to point back to my independent run, where I truly found myself and I was truly relaxed, and I wasn’t worried about anything, except telling my truth.
Over the last few years, I was a smiling sword man, I’m very proud of the work I did, but there was also a line I couldn’t cross, there were certain things, a way things have always been done. So I had to stay within those limitations. Right now, it feels like there’s no limitations, there’s no right or wrong answers. There’s everything outside the box.
Everything you do now, obviously the collaboration with the creative team, stay on-point, stay on the story, don’t go out of the bounds of the story you’re trying to tell. But if you’ve got an idea, you go for it, and it succeeds, it’s on you. If it fails, it’s on you. That’s all I’ve ever asked in my entire career, is let it fall on me.
Drew McIntyre didn’t mention Vince McMahon by name and it was the same story live on Raw when CM Punk referenced the disgraced former chairman after McIntyre harked back to his “chosen one” moniker.
Drew McIntyre Happy WWE Is Trying New Things
McIntyre also noted that he believes the new creative freedom in the company is linked to its monstrous success in recent months and suggests everybody on the roster now has a meaning not seen since the days of the Attitude Era:
It’s a lot, very much to do with his things are now. Things were a certain way, and obviously it was very, very successful. Look how much the company grew. But eventually, it’s good to try new things, get a fresh pair of eyes on it and say, ‘Alright, let’s let the performers go for it.’
Let’s maybe try things that have never been tried. Let’s maybe involve characters in multiple stories at the same time, rather than just story A and story B, and the rest is kind of random matches across card. Everything has meaning, everyone has meaning, and we can cross these characters, doesn’t matter if they’re both bad, doesn’t matter if they’re both good.
Right now, it’s just, ‘What’s your point? Where’s this character coming from? Oh, this is interesting.’ As long as it’s interesting television, compelling television, it touches you emotionally. That’s all that matters and should really matter.
It’s awesome to see how many people have been able to step up, and every time someone’s music hits, the fans know, ‘Oh, that’s such and such. They’re about his, they mean something.’ It hasn’t been that way probably since late ‘99, early 2000, where everybody across the board meant something.
Despite his current status in the company, there are still some questions about Drew McIntyre’s future in WWE. Drew McIntyre’s WWE contract is believed to end shortly after WrestleMania 40 and there has been no confirmation that he has signed a new deal with the company.