WWE NXT star Drew McIntyre spoke with ESPN heading into his NXT Title match against Bobby Roode at NXT Takeover Brooklyn, and below are some interview highlights:
Jinder Mahal almost quitting the business:
“Jinder and I took different paths. I jumped straight into it, had a very clear mission and very clear goals for what I was going to do. He was still wrestling but, you know, he kinda drifted away from it. He wasn’t training so much, he wasn’t wrestling so much and we met up. I remember one time, got some dinner. And the way he was talking, it was almost like he was ready to wind up. He was very smart with his money. Very smart business man when it comes to real estate. And like, he was gonna start a Subway franchise, so I assumed he’d be finished with the job, which was a big upsetting.
“Then he started training a bit harder. He was talking about it, he just kept busting his a– and he started cutting out all of the negative parts of his life. The drinking was gone. He was very focused. He was going to give it everything he absolutely had. And then to watch his transformation, just body wise. Then improving in the ring, and again, he just grew into a man. I was there the night he won the title. I’m very, very proud of everything he has achieved.”
Who he wants to face in NXT:
“I hate singling people out because it’s literally everybody. You see guys like Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly coming into the company, which is awesome. Oney Lorcan, who I [already faced], you know I love that physical style. There’s a bunch of us that have that physical style, which makes NXT so unique. Killian Dain and I had a chance to tango before, and we’re going to do it again.
“I’ve been in companies where I’m like, ‘Oh, god, I hope it’s only this guy or this guy.’ But it’s literally, an entire roster of people. Roderick Strong, we’ve had some of my favorite battles. Aleister Black, we’ve battled in the past, across the world. I’ve enjoyed his build, to watch his evolution as well. We’re doing our thing separately, just building up, and hopefully when we come together, it won’t just be the good matches we’ve had, we’ll have great matches. Basically, I’m just going to sum it up by saying this is why I love NXT. Our whole roster is so damn talented, I want to fight them all.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
