SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
STEVE AUSTIN BROKEN SKULL SESSION WITH DREW McINTYRE
DECEMBER 20, 2020
STREAMED ON WWE NETWORK
REVIEW BY NICK MORGAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Hosts: Steve Austin
Guest: Drew McIntyre
– Following the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view on the WWE network on Sunday, 12/20/20, we were treated to another one of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions interviews, this time Austin’s guest was the WWE Raw World champion, Drew McIntyre.
-Austin welcomed McIntyre and noted that he had not seen McIntyre in a very long time and Drew mentioned that the last time he saw Austin was many, many, many years ago in Los Angeles when he was pretty new to the WWE and he had gone up to Austin to say hello and introduce himself, Drew gave the impression that it was not a meeting of equals, but the rookie paying homage to the top guy.
– Austin asked how Drew felt about being the champion and what it felt like to win it. Drew noted that while his two times winning the belt (against Brock and then against Orton) were different because of the environment (Performance Center vs. Thunderdome), but both were really great.
– Austin followed up by asking what the championship meant to him. Drew’s response is what you would expect that he had a long journey with highs and lows, but that he finally got the championship and it really means a lot to him and that it is the number one title, the one held by Buddy Rogers, Austin, Brett Hart, etc. He came across that he really felt this way, that he knew the history of wrestling and Austin even brought up that it is a work, but also a shoot and Drew agreed.
– They briefly discussed Drew’s social media show, “Drew & A”, which Drew said he uses to let the fans learn more about him and see him as more than a tall, hairy, angry, Scotsman (funny exchange) and then they show a clip of his latest one where he spoke with Matthew McConaughey.
– Coming out of the clip, Austin turned to Drew’s long time wrestling fandom and showed a picture of Drew as a kid standing next to Yokozuna. Pretty cool memories. Austin then showed a couple of pictures of a young Drew with a picture of Stone Cold and sleeping with a Stone Cold sheet set.
– Next up they talked about Drew’s early infatuation with wrestling as a kid and how he always wanted to be a wrestler and first went to wrestling training camp at age 15 and actually started doing shows at age 16 and recounted a time when Jake Roberts had come over to England and while working the show, pointed at Drew and said, “that kid is going to make it”.
– They then discussed Drew’s friendship with Sheamus and how Sheamus really helped him with his physical training and ultimately was key to getting into WWE at the beginning. He told the story of how their first tryout together in Manchester, England went really well, but John Laurenaitis wasn’t there so neither he nor Sheamus got signed and they would have to come back in six months. At that time, Laurenaitis asked to speak with him and Drew recounted how Laurenaitis said “Kid, I am thinking about signing you” and Drew said he responded with “I think I am going to let you”. Austin lost it and laughed. Nice moment.
– Next up they discussed Drew’s initial time with WWE and how he was put onto Smackdown only a week after coming to the training center and how it was really too soon. Then they discussed how he was quickly sent to FCW for more training and Drew said that he was really glad that happened because he needed the “seasoning”.
– At this point they conversation moved on to when Vince McMahon introduced Drew on Smackdown in 2009 and showed the clip of Vince’s introduction. Austin asked Drew what he was feeling when Vince introduced him and put a lot of pressure on him by saying that he was going to be the heavyweight champion. Basically, this is when Vince made him “the chosen one”. Austin next showed a clip of Drew backstage with Vince and company in a “promo class” where he actually made Vince flinch when he pretended to throw a bottle of water at him. Austin loved it saying, “it shows some balls, man.”
– They spent the next couple of minutes talking about how Vince is good at seeing things in people, even if it takes a while for it to show up.
– At this point the conversation moved to discussing the downward turn of Drew’s time in WWE around the time of WrestleMania 26, where it was possible that Drew would face the Undertaker for the title (which actually ended up being the great match between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels). Drew noted that part of the downturn was because his mother was getting sick with cancer (for the first time) and it hit him really hard and he started slacking, acting out, and drinking, etc. Drew noted that he didn’t tell the company.
– When speaking about the Undertaker, Drew said that the Undertaker was his mentor and he would always talk to him and ask him questions and he remembers that the Undertaker said to him, “Stop playing the wrestler and be the wrestler.” And that it took him a while to understand what he meant, when you are out there, stop thinking about the next move, etc. Just be in the moment and let it come naturally. Let things breathe. This was really important to him, but it took him quite a long time for it to sink in and for him to live it.
– Austin moved the conversation to the creating of 3MB and Drew acted pretty embarrassed by the picture of the group that Austin put up on the screen. Drew noted that when the group was formed, he had a broken wrist and that about a week after they debuted, he had surgery and had to be out of action for up to six months. In a very honest moment, Drew conceded without being prompted that this mid-card act was the right place for him because at this time he couldn’t be trusted with anything higher up on the card. A really interesting and revealing moment, showing that Drew knows what he almost destroyed and now seems so happy that he was able to come back.
– Next up was June 12, 2014, the day Drew was released. Drew said he was surprised since 3MB was being fully booked and after the surprise wore off, he was down, but he knew he had to form a new plan and realized that he had to step outside the bubble and really put all his effort into it. Austin asked Drew if he needed to fall on his ass and Drew said, quite frankly, yes, he did. He realized that he had to have a plan, he was going to go to ICW and be the best on the independents.
– Austin played a clip from Drew’s debut on ICW when he introduced himself as Drew Galloway and made a real impression on the fans and quite frankly on Austin (and me too) as he watched the clip.
Drew said what made that promo so great was that it was him, not something scripted. I wonder if that was a hint to the powers that be (Vince)? Austin even mentioned that watching that clip he could tell that the promo came from deep down in Drew’s gut and it really showed his fire.
– They spent the next several minutes discussing how Drew just started working hard, travelling all over the world with several different independents and his goal was to be the main attraction and felt that he achieved that, and he got his confidence back. His main goal was to just go out there and be the same Drew every time and make sure it always came from the heart.
– Austin then moved on to Drew arriving back at NXT which Drew noted was the only way it was going to work. After his hard work on the indies, he was much more mature and had gotten his act together and NXT was the perfect place for him to land back in the WWE environment, rather than going back to Raw or Smackdown.
– Drew said that he was so happy that he spoke to Hunter and he realized that Hunter had been watching his stuff and really wanted Drew to be part of what Drew called Hunter’s Baby (i.e., NXT). Austin next played the clip of Drew in the audience for NXT: Takeover Orlando in April 2017 where Drew was announced as coming to NXT. Drew said that very nervous and didn’t know what to expect and was sitting in the audience not knowing how he would be received and was so relieved that it went well and the smile in the clip is a real one. Great moment.
– They played the clip of when Drew beat Bobby Roode for the NXT championship and the conversation moved into the invention of the Claymore move. The story went that the move started with 3MB when they would wear really tight leather pants and when he went for a kick, he was worried about the pants splitting (and creating an international incident – no underwear?) so he realized he had to bring up his other leg at the same time. And a move was born.
– Austin asked Drew what it was like for the call up to Raw in 2018. Was there a meeting? The answer was no, he just did his thing in the ring and after his first appearance with Dolph, when he went back to gorilla, Vince gave him a hug and said, “Welcome back”.
– The conversation moved to 2020. They played the clip from the Royal Rumble when Drew dumped Brock and through Roman out of the ring for the win. Drew said that he was really motivated to fight Lesner and he knew he had to keep not only his wrestling skills up to be credible with Brock, but also his verbal skills to stand up to Paul Heyman.
– Austin pointed out that Drew was all set now to fight Brock at a sold-out Raymond James stadium and then COVID hit. Austin asked Drew what it felt like to do WrestleMania in front of no fans. After he was initially pulled out of England, he was really upset that his big moment was going to happen in the Performance Center and not in front of a sellout crown at a football stadium. But, by the time WrestleMania happened it was clear how bad things were, and with no other sports happening for WrestleMania to continue was something important., you are giving the world something to make people happy.
– Drew said that it was very strange, but once his music hit and he went out and Brock came out, both of them were in the moment. While they discussed the match, it played on the screen and Drew said how crazy it would have been if there had been fans there. Drew said that while it was not the screaming fans, he said, “everyone will remember the WrestleMania when the world stood still” and that he “will get his moment, he knows that.” It was quite the moment, you could see Drew watching the screen and see a wistfulness in his eyes, it was a real moment. Pretty cool.
– Drew said that even though there was no crowd, in his head he was going through the whole montage of his career and thinking about all the people who had helped him and sacrificed things to help him. Again, a very sincere moment in this interview.
– From here, the interview moved to the Randy Orton feud. Drew always wanted to feud with Randy and felt that the feud really cemented him, Randy was the Joker to Drew’s Batman, a great way to put it. They went through this feud and Drew really credited Randy with being a great help to him and really made the feud pop.
– In an interesting moment, Drew noted that during the COVID era, he was really the one to break the fourth wall and talk to the camera while others were still playing to imaginary people who were not there. He said it is a different time and things needed to be tried to bring entertainment to the people watching. I thought this was really good, acknowledging that he was doing things that everybody has said were great, but that he really did on his own, he wasn’t told to do it, which is why it came off so well on television. Surprise, surprise, spontaneity can work and be entertaining.
– Austin began speaking about promos and how important they are and how Drew is really good at doing a promo that both makes his statement but also builds up the opponent. At the end of this section Austin came right out and says that he feels that right now, Drew is the best promo in the WWE. Drew seemed a bit embarrassed by the praise but was very humble and thanked Austin for saying it. Another really solid moment in this interview.
– Austin asked Drew whether he felt better holding the title or not and Drew said that while usually it’s better for the babyface to be chasing the title, he feels that he is better holding the title and the show is better with him as champion, rather than chasing. Austin agreed very strongly.
– Next up was a discussion of the Survivor Series match versus Roman Reigns. They didn’t talk specifically about the match, but Drew totally put Roman over, saying he is very helpful backstage and they both work to make the other better. He noted that he is really excited about continuing to work with Roman and that he is as much of an alpha as Roman is and they are both at the top of their game. While Drew didn’t say anything explicit, the conversation definitely gave some hints that he and Roman are going to come face to face again, not tomorrow, but sometime soon. If I had to predict I think it might happen at Summer Slam, I hope it doesn’t happen before then.
– Austin made a point to compliment Drew on how he works. As a big, strong babyface, Drew remembers that at times it’s important to sell, or show some weakness. Austin asked him who his biggest influences were and while he didn’t name anyone specifically, he said that he takes in what people say and applies it to his own thoughts and makes things his own. I would have liked to hear him say who his biggest influence was, but c’est la vie.
– One fun fact that came out of the interview is that Drew’s sword is actually Vince’s, a gift from Hunter and Stephanie. That is funny.
– When asked, Drew’s biggest hope for the future is FANS. He wants fans back; he wants to be back on the road with people present and getting that feedback from the live fans.
– His biggest goal for the future is to have one of the big four pay-per-views in the United Kingdom and he is going to keep pushing hard for it.
– What does the future hold for Drew? Staying on the top of the card, he is not looking for making movies, he is a wrestler and that is it. He is looking forward to fans coming back and want to wrestle till he is 50.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was a really good interview and Drew really came across as real and likable. Austin was able to dig out some fun and interesting stories from Drew. I also appreciate that neither man avoided the negatives in Drew’s career, but did concentrate on the positive, especially his current run at the top of the card. The best moment was when Drew discussed his inner thoughts and feelings about his WrestleMania win over Brock Lesner earlier this year. Really great stuff.
To pick a few nits, Austin is very good with his interview technique but at times he gets a bit too rapped up in his own stories, rather that focusing on his guest. To his credit, he does seem to realize when he is doing it and does get back on track.
At about one hour and forty minutes, it is a very watchable interview and if you don’t have that much time in a single sitting, it is an easy interview to watch part of and then come back to at a later time. A definite watch if you are a Drew McIntyre fan or simply a fan of wrestling.
Take care and stay safe.
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