Drew McIntyre Discusses WWE Creative Issues and Relationship with Vince McMahon

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Drew McIntyre says he will always try to make the best of what WWE writers put on a page, but that doesn’t mean he’s always satisfied.

The former WWE champion opened up on creative frustrations he felt last year, telling Alfonso A. Castillo of Newsday that he felt his character started to feel less true to himself.

“It got to a point where things went off track, in my opinion a little bit,” McIntyre said. “And it was hard to tell, without the live fans there, if it would have been OK. Right about the time where I fought Lashley a couple of times, I was telling these interesting—or, not so interesting—Scottish stories. That period maybe was not one of my favorites.

“But, hey, send me a challenge and I’m going to try and pull it off. Nonetheless, there was a period where I felt like, ‘This doesn’t feel like it’s quite working right.’ I remember I did an interview at Money in the Bank, the first live show with fans back in attendance. When I first popped up on the screen, I heard the big cheers. But I also heard some boos.  And I try to be a self-aware superstar in every way. And I’m a fan, so I feel like I have a good gauge about what’s working and what’s not working. And if someone told me, ‘You’re going to tell this glorious story about the Loch Ness Monster,’ I would have said, ‘No, I’m not.’  And, if you watch the interview, by the end, I was back to being the real Drew.”

McIntyre was the face of WWE throughout the early parts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly his entire run as champion coming without fans in the arena. While he remained one of the most over acts in the company, his run got stale toward the end through little fault of his own; there’s only so much a performer can do without a crowd.

McIntyre said he and Vince McMahon have an open line of communication to discuss creative directions.

“I would not do something that I’m convinced is not going to work, unless I’m told by the man himself [WWE chairman Vince McMahon], ‘You’re doing this,’ — which, he’s not going to do,” McIntyre said. “A lot of people would just take the paper and complain privately to people in the locker room, perhaps, or to themselves, and then, maybe down the line if they’re not with the company anymore, in interviews, rather than trying to work together with the creative writer you’re with and saying, ‘It doesn’t feel like me.’ And if you really feel strongly about it, go to the boss himself.

“I know a lot of people are intimidated to go to Mr. McMahon. But, in the end, he’s the boss of the company where you work. In an office, if you want a promotion, or if you have a significant question about your life and career, you go to the manager of the office. In our world, Vince gets the final say. And he’s very open. His door is always open. He’s always going to listen. If you feel strongly about something, he wants to hear your opinion, because he wants the best show possible.”

After spending much of last year working on the upper midcard and getting his character back into a place where he feels confident, McIntyre seems destined for a run at Roman Reigns in the coming months. McIntyre is set to team up with RK-Bro and take on The Bloodline at Sunday’s WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.

It’s almost certain a Reigns vs. McIntyre singles program will come in the aftermath of that match. 

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