Drew McIntyre Talks WWE Trusting Him On His Promos, Vince McMahon Predicting The Future
Drew McIntyre recently toured the United Kingdom doing promotional work for Wrestlemania 36. McIntyre sat down with James Delow of the Gorilla Position podcast to discuss how he developed his character.
McIntyre said it was hard to open himself up and make his character on screen more like his actual personality.
"Some people backstage aren't the funniest guys in the world and it doesn't quite translate on television," McIntyre said. "I'm certainly not, but I'm a bit silly and goofy. Like I'm such a serious guy all the time, no one could relate to me, but when they found out Drew's a bit silly and makes some jokes sometimes it lets them in a little more, but also when it comes time to kick a– he kicks a–, people started to have fun with it."
McIntyre said his time away from WWE helped him develop his mic skills to sound more natural. He said the higher-ups in WWE didn't really know what he could do on the mic before being allowed to let loose.
"I think it started with baby steps and just showing a little bit," McIntyre stated. "As their confidence grew in me to go out there and kind of show a little bit of the real Drew, just in small segments, it kind of kept spiraling from there. Show a little more, show a little more, and I think they've got a lot more trust in me now.
"I think that's the key just building that trust. If they give you a little bit, make sure you make it count and you'll get a little more and that's just building that back and forth. Eventually they can trust you to go out there and be able to hold a segment on your own."
McIntyre talked about his relationship with Vince McMahon and noted he was always there for advice and would help McIntyre look at his character in a way he never would before because no one thinks like McMahon. McIntyre also said McMahon is a genius who is good at predicting industry trends.
"He always predicts the future," McIntyre said. "He's got a crystal ball. He predicted the Network, he predicted multiple other things like the company going public and he predicted Drew McIntyre becoming world champion. He just didn't say when."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Gorilla Position with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.