Drew McIntyre On Breaking WWE Protocol, Whether He Took Shot At AEW On Raw
From F-bombs on Raw Talk to slapping the leg, Drew McIntyre has had a busy week...
Drew McIntyre had an eventful evening on Monday, with the former WWE Champion seen breaking company protocol by slapping his thigh on two Claymore kicks, dropping an F-bomb on Raw Talk, and taking what some perceived to be a shot at All Elite Wrestling in a promo on Bobby Lashley and MVP.
McIntyre has now spoken on two of these incidents in a new interview with Forbes' Alfred Konuwa.
On slapping the leg, Drew attributed the sound his Claymore makes to the force of a man of his size connecting with another human being, not breaking WWE's new protocol:-
“It’s become so blatant at times, that I think you’ve got to pick and choose your moments. But, when it comes to the Claymore—let me explain how the Claymore works—people said to me ‘you’re slapping your leg,’ that’s not the case with the Claymore. When I raise my leg, and kick forward, you’ve got a 6’6, 270-pound man jumping and kicking you. I’ve got a very strong shoulder, so when I’m throwing that kick and I also put some shoulder behind it, I’m just adding force. So, you see, it’s not really a leg slap for me, it’s just extra force.”
And as far as the AEW "shot" goes, McIntyre confirmed no harm was intended. He wasn't throwing shade at the competition:-
“I saw [MVP] saying the “guarantee” thing, and I thought to myself ‘everyone always says guarantee, and when you say guarantee you really gotta back up that, you’ve gotta deliver on your guarantees. What can I say out there that I can guarantee? Sheamus and I are literally going to beat the absolute hell out of each other, and it’s gonna hurt. I might as well tell the truth. I went out there, I said that, and I [heard] ‘sparks fly’ come out my mouth. I didn’t think twice about it, I just rolled right through it, I said my whole interview and watched the match ringside—which was an awesome match—and I came back, and somebody came up to me and said ‘I saw what you did there.’ ‘What did I do?’ And then they played it out to me and I went ‘oh, yeah, that could be taken that way."
Some had taken the "sparks fly" line as a barb aimed at AEW Revolution's botched explosion ending. Drew, however, isn't a fan of the back-and-forth between promotions:-
“Maybe subconsciously I made a joke…I don’t like that shot back-and-forth stuff, I don’t see the point, it’s not good for business.”
McIntyre will face Sheamus at Fastlane 2021 this weekend, then challenge for Bobby Lashley's WWE Championship at WrestleMania 37.