Drew McIntyre Says He Was Assigned To WWE Hall Of Famer When He Was 23
A long time ago, in a galaxy known as "WWE SmackDown: 2008", Drew McIntyre was a protege of The Undertaker. In an interview with the "Hollywood Raw Podcast," the WWE star recalled his first impressions of The Undertaker when McIntyre began his main roster run.
"He was awesome," McIntyre said. "He was put in charge of me, probably against his will, when I was about 23. That was about the time where the powers that be realized that the older generation were starting to retire, and they had to start pushing some youth to the front. It became the youth movement, and Sheamus and I were kind of the first two that people took on as the projects of, 'Okay, we have to start building for the future,' with Sheamus on 'Raw' and myself on 'SmackDown.' Sheamus was put under the Triple H learning tree, and me, I was going to the Undertaker learning tree. Vince [McMahon] said, 'You don't listen to anybody but The Undertaker.'
"I wish I thought the way I think now back then, because his wrestling IQ is obviously off the charts. At the time, mine was a lot lower than it is now. So many of those lessons that I got, they just flew right over my head. And thankfully I remembered a few, light bulbs went off as the years went by. But that was such an amazing opportunity, and to watch how he conducted himself backstage, always, he was the coolest guy in the room. You could feel him when he watched in the room. If there was a situation, it was always dealt with calmly and by him, so it had such an impact on me, and how to be a leader, and how to conduct yourself."
Drew McIntyre Recalls The Undertaker Being In Physical Pain
Just as impressive to McIntyre was how Undertaker worked through many physical ailments during that period.
I would see him literally unable to walk at times, trying to put himself together in the training room," McIntyre said. "And these are non-televised shows. I remember a specific one in Mexico City where I was like, 'He's going to wrestle tonight? My goodness, he's a madman. Somebody stop him. Don't let him go and do this show. He can barely walk.' And then I saw him do his entrance, which is always a bit slow, so he can get through that, but all of a sudden he's flying around the ring like a Mexican luchador.
"I was like, 'How is this possible? I literally watched this man unable to walk backstage, now he's hitting the ropes faster than anybody in the entire WWE, doing his diving clothesline and hitting all his signature moves, having the time of his life.' He came backstage and he seemed fine, till the adrenaline goes down and it was back to the physical problems again. I was like, 'Man, look at him right there. That's somebody that truly loves this industry so much. He's willing to give everything, including his body to it.'"
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Hollywood Raw Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription