The competition between WWE and AEW continues to heat up, as AEW Rampage defeated SmackDown in the key demographic during a 30-minute head-to-head battle last week. But former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre recently shared his belief that, as a WWE Superstar, he’s competing with every other show, including the ones under the WWE umbrella.
In an interview with William Mullally of Esquire Middle East, McIntyre stated that, for him, part of the drive to deliver the best show is the feeling that his “competitive spirit” extends to every other program. He explained that this battle to the best is beneficial, both for the brand(s) and the fans.
“They should be part of your mind, but I see competition with everybody,” said McIntyre. “If I’m on RAW, I don’t just see other companies as competition, I see SmackDown as competition. I want to produce the best show possible and keep my eyes on the ratings, etc. It doesn’t matter where I am, the show I’m on.
“In my mind, everybody should be thinking we’re competing with literally everyone including the other brands, including NXT, including other companies. And if you’ve got that competitive spirit, it’s going to be better for yourself as a brand and better for the fans.”
“The Scottish Warrior” then took a more general look at the landscape by describing how he’s happy to see that wrestling is thriving because this hot market allows various performers to earn a living in the business.
“I’m excited wrestling is healthy once again,” said McIntyre. “When I started, independent wrestling was non-existent. We had to start a Scottish wrestling scene when I was a kid I helped build up the UK scene, which is amazing now because of NXT UK, but it wasn’t then. I travelled the world and I saw what it was like back then, and independent wrestling was still miniscule.
“And to see how far it’s evolved to see how big the talent is, and to see so many superstars and wrestlers across the world have a full-time living in wrestling. It’s just unbelievable. And that’s what it comes down to for me is that wrestling is healthy and a lot of my friends have full time jobs now.”
