In an interview with the State Journal-Register, Drew McIntyre reflects back on his first WWE run on SmackDown in the late 2000s. Despite earning a run with the Intercontinental Championship, Drew felt that he wasn’t really giving it his all.
I never really had perspective, or I lost perspective, that I was actually living my dream. I had my dream job. … I thought I was giving 100 percent, but I really wasn’t giving 100 percent, especially outside the ring.
Drew discovered that he hadn’t yet matured during his first run, going straight from home to school to WWE. “When I was released, for the first time I was in control of my next move, and I said, ‘All right, it’s put up or shut up time.’”
After a run in several smaller promotions, Drew earned his place back on the RAW roster. Backstage, he sees superstars who remind him of himself when he was younger. “They’re clearly not going to the gym and they don’t have that fire anymore, and I understand it because I was there. And I can spot it because I was that guy.”
According to Drew, his current “Scottish Psychopath” persona has a simple mission. “It’s my job and my character’s job to get rid of those who don’t necessarily have that fire and remind me of my younger self.”
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