I used to be around John Cena all the time in WWE, and I watched him and the way he worked. John is a guy who has been at the top longer than anyone else in history, and I'm lucky to have the opportunity to train at Cena's gym and go to him for advice.
— Drew McIntyre
I see it as my responsibility to start trying to help wrestling because if I don't do something, wrestling is going to die - like, wrestling as we know it.
I am happy to do anything that comes my way, and I will always do my best in anything that presents itself.
Most people jump for joy when WWE come calling, and rightly so.
I've experienced the highest of highs and been in every single position, and that has taught me so much.
Oney Lorcan is such a hard-hitting dude, just like me. We go in there, two hard-hitting dudes, and the crowd are going to be taken aback, and that's our goal.
William Regal is one of my mentors, and I had been talking with him the whole time I have been away from WWE.
That's all I ever wanted - to go out as myself and have the success or failure fall on me.
Why would I ever be bitter and negative and focus on the past?
In WWE, a lot of people took my passion as me thinking I was better or knew more.
All I want is wrestling to grow while living my dream, and if I can help, then that's beyond my dreams.
I've been so lucky with people giving me an opportunity to showcase the real Drew.
I sent away to America for 'The Inside Secrets of Wrestling' that Percy Pringle and Dennis Brent wrote, and Volume 1 told me to keep kayfabe of the book. So I used to keep it in a briefcase, and I'd go to school every day, and everyone would talk about wrestling, and they didn't know what was going on, but I knew what was going on.
It would have been very hard to grow if I hadn't stepped outside the WWE bubble and gain a clear perspective on everything.
On the road to WrestleMania, this is where everyone's giving 110 percent.
The Shield has been up at the top for so long now, they're just living in their own little world. They're not working for the boys; they're working for each other.
It was very clear I wasn't giving my all in the past - not even close.
I want to be surrounded by the best possible wrestlers, and Evolve, from top to bottom, there is no filler on that roster.
RVD is the most chilled man on planet Earth - if he was any more relaxed, he'd be asleep - and he is a really nice guy, too.
I have always been a big rock fan and remember dressing up as Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose for my high school Halloween disco when I was 17. My teacher painted tattoos on, and I wore a small leather waistcoat and not much else.
Opportunities came because WWE built my name, and I've made the most of it.
There is so much more than just what you do in the ring and what you do on the microphone.
Keeping a secret in the social media age often is impossible.
I was in FCW for about six months. It was roundabout 2009; a lot of guys started to retire, and they didn't have guys coming in from other companies to replace them.
I know this business better than most people, and I'm extremely passionate about it.
I'm not a 'Yes Man,' and I've always preferred to go back and forth and find something we both agree on so I can do it to the best of my ability. That was taken in WWE as trying to do what was best for me. In reality, I was trying to be different.
I truly learned how to be a top brand myself and be what I needed to be.
From a boy who left university as a student straight to WWE - those experiences, those ups and downs in life and work shaped the wrestler and man I am today.
I want to inspire people and show people no matter what happens, no matter how much you get knocked down, you can pick yourself up. Just keep pushing forward, keep being positive.
When you're relaxed, the crowd can see it. They can feel it. They can tell when you're being real, or they can tell when you're forcing it.
Partying isn't as important to me anymore like it was when I was younger.
You want to earn that opportunity to be part of WrestleMania, the biggest show of the year.
'WWE' Raw is the No. 1 sports-entertainment show in the world. If it starts to suffer, the rest of the sports-entertainment world starts to suffer.
There are a lot of people very sure of themselves that need to be brought back down to Earth. As good as they think they are, they're really not.
Everything I do has a purpose for my goal, which is to create a buzz.
I love tag team wrestling.
The WWE and World Heavyweight Titles are the ones everyone is aiming for, and if you're not aiming for them, you are in the wrong business - and I like to think that when the time is right, I will get my shot.
I started wrestling at 15 and signed with world's biggest company by 21 and then had to rebuild myself again.
I've been lucky that I've got myself through various opportunities and platforms and people believing in me - my wife helping in a lot of different areas - and growing up a lot, I've shown I am ready now to be a top guy, to hold that position for the company and show what it is to represent a giant, publicly traded company like WWE.
NXT is the top roster in the world as far as I'm concerned, the work ethic and fans.
In OVW, it was like a different world, pretty much. They had the talent ready to stay around for a while, with guys who weren't over yet and guys who weren't retiring yet. With FCW, WWE were a bit more hands-on with the writers.
I may look like the stereotypical, prototypical wrestler, but I've always wanted this my whole life.
I am very passionate about this business, and I always have been.
When you're by yourself and not with WWE, you are your own business. And I was very successful in that business because of all the lessons I learned.
I will never say anything negative about WWE.
I started training when I was 15.
When you are against a guy like a Bobby Lashley, you have to be smart because he can snap a leg in one second. I treat him with that respect.
I focus very much on the job and my goals and dreams.
The Shield is fantastic. They're everything they say they are.
There are superstars that deserve to be at the top and do give everything.
