Drew McIntyre on Having Paul Heyman’s Support, Brock Lesnar Being Awesome to Work With, More
WWE RAW Superstar Drew McIntyre recently spoke with talkSPORT and was asked if it’s safe to say RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman has a high opinion of him. Drew was also asked what RAW has been like for Drew since Heyman came into power last year.
Drew said Heyman has always been a supporter of his, even in his 3MB days. He also revealed that Heyman kept up with him when he was working for Gabe Sapolsky in EVOLVE. Drew also credited Heyman for his current push, which will see him challenge Heyman’s client at WrestleMania 36 – WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.
“Heyman is somebody who has always got Drew McIntyre, even back in the 3MB days,” Drew revealed. “He would still give me some positive feedback. What I could do, what I could try and pitch – he was always in my corner. Obviously outside of the company I worked with Evolve with Gabe Sapolsky who is Paul Heyman’s protege and I was the face of Evolve for a long time, so it’s pretty cool that Paul was keeping tabs with Gabe.
“I was able to work with the protege and finally come back to work with the master and when he finally got ahold of it and got more power, I thought I wouldn’t be surprised if I got more freedom. It’s because somebody knows Drew McIntyre better than I know Drew McIntyre and that’s Paul Heyman. And he said whoever he needed to say it to: ‘Let this guy have an opportunity. Just give him a chance. Even if you don’t see him as a good guy, give him a chance. He might surprise you.’”
Drew dded, “And I think that’s what’s been happening – Paul going out of his way to make sure I get the opportunity to show who Drew McIntyre really is.”
Regarding his feud with Lesnar, Drew was asked about Lesnar appearing to be “super motivated” to make him look great and get their feud over. The interviewer noted how in the past, Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) accused Lesnar of being lazy for their WrestleMania 32 match. He asked Drew if his dealings with Lesnar have been different.
“He’s the man,” Drew said of Brock. “I don’t know what happened with Ambrose and their situation. He’s somebody that I’m friends with and I had so many great matches with, so I don’t know what happened there. But, in my experience, Brock has gone above and beyond to ensure I look as good as I can possibly look. I’m still trying to get over the fact that a few weeks ago that they pointed out that Ricochet gave me the assist at the Rumble, they ran me down on the microphone a little bit. Generally, Paul Heyman builds them up to sell the opponent for Brock’s match, but it was the opposite this time. Paul ran me down, almost like ‘wait a minute, are we worried about this guy?’
“Then I walked out, looked Brock in the eye and dropped him three times. And, I’m sure you probably noticed, one of those kicks wasn’t necessarily planned! He went out of his way – he felt the crowd because that’s how good he is and I’m a professional. There were no physical cues so we just kept going. And I was like, ‘Wow, this guy is unbelievable’ and I’m glad I’m at a level where I can read him at the same time. We’re working together here and he’s more than willing to go overboard to make me look as good as possible and make me.”
We noted a few weeks ago how a video surfaced of Lesnar reminding Drew to pick up the WWE Title belt after dropping Lesnar with Claymore Kicks on the stage. Drew was asked about that moment.
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“I was so into it [the beatdown]! But I didn’t forget that, he [Brock] felt that in the moment and said ‘do it!’ The camera just picked it up, but that’s how much he’s invested in this,” Drew said. “He made that call because he felt the crowd. Nobody one, sells like Brock Lesnar and two, feels a crowd like Brock Lesnar. In my experience of anyone I’ve been in the ring with – and even talking with him backstage – in terms of learning it’s like wow… this guy gets it more than anybody I’ve ever spoken to. There’s a superstar level and being over level, and then there’s the elite level that very few people get to.
“Right now I’m doing all I can to get to that level because I want WWE to be as big as it can possibly be and I want those ratings to go back up. I’m like a kid in college again like I was with Shawn Michaels in NXT, taking notes. I want to get to that level.”
For those who missed it, you can see that video below: