Drew Galloway Talks Being Apprehensive About Signing With TNA, TNA Wanting To Make A Difference

I recently interviewed TNA star Drew Galloway, who competed as Drew McIntyre in WWE. During the interview, which will be posted in its entirety next week, I asked Galloway about signing with TNA and if the company had been on his radar.

"The truth is it absolutely had not," Galloway said. "I was looking to not be on American TV so soon. I was on there not even 8 months prior. I was establishing myself and getting a following, traveling the world and making money. I came back to Scotland on a Sunday and TNA was doing a show on the British tour. I got three missed calls from a number I didn't recognize and threw my phone away because I was sleeping. Finally Tommy Dreamer text me and said 'You may want to answer your phone, TNA tried to call you.' So I said, 'yeah I'll call back.' I spoke to a couple of the bosses and was initially apprehensive, but as soon as I spoke to them I knew it was the right decision to make.

"The opportunity to be a part of something on Destination America, the network is so behind the show. It's going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. The biggest thing for me it they were gonna let me be Drew, let me have a microphone and speak my mind. I could wrestle as myself and do my independent work that I've worked so hard on for the 8 months prior and that was really important to me. Things have just exploded and things are very exciting right now. I'm happier than I've ever been."

Galloway also discussed the changes the company has made, and is excited about the company continuing to evolve.

"I'm the biggest wrestling fan in the world, the biggest smart mark, the biggest geek," Galloway admitted. "I've always been such a fan. Since the switch was made, a lot of changes have been made. A lot of cool camera angles, it looks very different. There's obviously been a much bigger focus on the in-ring wrestling. Most wrestling fans aren't excited to see a guy talking into a microphone, but that's part of it, part of the character. I love wrestling, and that's a big focus of the show. So many of the guys are talented in the ring and that was a deciding factor. For people that have been off the product ? just give it a chance.

"[Tonight] for instance, the new group The Rising, a couple of guys that are joining me in Eli Drake and Myka (Haku's son). They weren't really given an opportunity and will be appearing on the show giving our mission statement, telling you what our plans are. Good matches that I won't spoil for anyone, but we'll be doing live tweeting during the show. It's not a wrestling storyline, it's a real thing. It's really how I view it. We want to see what the fans want. Tweet your opinions and your views and it'll show up this Friday. I'm not trying to be a leader, I'm just asking everyone to walk with me. If you want pro wrestling to grow or change, don't put it on a message board. Tell me, tell TNA. We're looking to make a difference. I'm fired up that they're giving me this opportunity, so let's make a change. I don't want to sound gimmicky, but let's stand up."

You can catch Impact Wrestling on Destination America tonight at 9/8 c.