Drew McIntyre Recalls Wrestling WWE HOFer As A Teenager

Drew McIntyre has been wrestling since 2002, mostly on the independent scene until WWE signed him. During an interview with CBS Sports, McIntyre recalled wrestling Honky Tonk Man and D'Lo Brown before he was signed to WWE.

"I think it was 16 or 17 when I wrestled Honky Tonk Man. He was willing to take one fall. I remember him telling me, 'Choose your one bump wisely.' And then he didn't go down on his own finishing move, The Shake, Rattle, and Roll. He wasn't willing to bump on his own finish, but he gave me one bump earlier in the match, which I'm very happy about," McIntyre stated. "Marty (Jannetty), I remember putting in a heck of a shift. D'Lo Brown is still floating around backstage, doing some producer work. I'm sure he'd be ready to get back in the ring.

"I was absolutely crapping my pants. I was like a 16-year-old kid in my first match against The Honky Tonk Man. He made me feel comfortable in the time was spent around each other outside the ring. He was super nice to me," McIntyre continued. "He knew I had a passion for the industry. He kept calling me Clint because he thought I reminded him of a young Clint Eastwood."

Drew McIntyre explained in detail how D'Lo Brown, a current producer and announcer for Impact Wrestling, helped him realize the style of wrestling he should wrestle.

"D'Lo, that was somebody who had watched when I was more like 13, 14, 15. He was on WWE. He was Intercontinental champion, European champion... so getting in the ring with him, like he's a little bit older than me but closer in age and somebody where I was like, 'If I can hang with this guy, I can hang with the WWE superstars when I get that opportunity.'

"I felt like I did hang with him and there were a couple of his punches that hurt like hell. I was like, 'Oh, so this is how hard I have to hit people? Okay. That's what I'm going to do.' I was very happy after that match because I felt like D'Lo was a guy who's just been in WWE. If I had a good match with him, I could have a good match with anybody."