WWE Clash at the Castle: Drew McIntyre plans to bring down ‘ego maniac Roman Reigns back to earth’ in his big homecoming
The upcoming WWE pay-per-view event Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, is longer just a homecoming for Drew McIntyre. The former WWE Champion couldn't have asked for a bigger occasion as the Scottish Warrior will headline the main event against WWE's most dominant force Roman Reigns, with the undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line.
McIntyre's path into pro-wrestling started in this very country when he was just 15. McIntyre, then a high school student, would travel across the country on weekends and holidays, mastering the skills which eventually helped him grow into a global superstar, and as he faces Reigns with the richest prize in the business at stake, McIntryre's journey could culminate with him winning the top title and his career completing the full circle.
"I can't believe that we have this stadium show in the UK where it all started for me. There was no wrestling in Scotland when I was a kid, I used to have to come to England to learn to wrestle when I was 15. Well, I was at school, but the weekends and my school holidays I would wrestle full time across England. I'd wrestle in Wales. Those were the only places that had fulltime companies at the time and really good people to learn from. And now we're back all those years later. I'm in the title match in this huge show. It's more than a dream come true because as a kid, this wasn't even an option. It didn't really exist except SummerSlam 1992. So it's beyond a dream," the WWE superstar told Hindustantimes.com in an exclusive interview earlier this week.
A rousing welcome was obvious for the home-grown talent and McIntyre resonated it perfectly while talking about the atmosphere he observed upon his arrival in Cardiff. "People are buzzing about Clash At The Castle, there's posters and billboards everywhere with my face on it, about 10 feet tall. So it's pretty crazy."
McIntyre's tryst with the WWE has had no shortage of drama. Touted as 'The Chosen One', McIntyre was released by the company in his first run where he couldn't really find his wheels. But acknowledging the hard work he had put in, WWE opened their arms to him and offered a McIntyre a second chance three years later. A stunning run starting as a heel and turning into a babyface led to McIntyre winning the Royal Rumble win in 2020, and two months later, his career peaked when at the WrestleMania 36, McIntyre slayed 'The Beast' Brock Lesnar in the main-event.
McIntyre would go on to dominate the WWE Thunderdome Era defending titles against all comers. However, ever since losing the title to The Miz via a Money In The Bank cash-in at the Elimination Chamber in 2021, McIntyre's faded from the main-event scene. The zeal to climb back to the top was still there and in a conversation with the newspaper ahead of WrestleMania 38, where McIntyre fought Baron Corbin, he had his eyes on the title, and to be more specific, The Tribal Chief. Fast forward to five months and the two superstars are now finally set to clash in the main event, a meeting where the McIntyre is confident to bring an end to Reigns' over 700-day long streak.
"It actually felt like Roman was actively avoiding me for about almost a year now. The entire time I've been on SmackDown, I made my goals clear the first night I was there I'm coming for the championship. Now it's championships. And it seems like somebody was making sure that Drew McIntyre didn't get that match. So I had to run through just about everybody on SmackDown, force my way into that situation. And now I'm very fortunate that I've got the match with Roman. There's nothing he can do about it. It's happening in the UK. It's happening in the first UK stadium show in 30 years," McIntyre said.
"I'm a little older, I'm a little wiser and understand that this Roman is not the same Roman that I've faced multiple times in the past. This is not somebody who does it on his own anymore. This is somebody that has a very big ego, and is willing to have his family interfere, anybody interfere, do whatever it takes to keep the title and keep it for as long as he possibly can. And he's had it for a very long time. So I intend to end that freaking streak and get those titles represented the way they deserve to be represented."
While Reigns definitely has been the poster boy for WWE over the past few years, McIntyre too has built himself a powerful reputation. When asked about what separates the two, the former champion recalls his epic battle against Lesnar and compared it with Reigns' recent strategies against The Beast.
"I can't overstate how good Roman is. He's a phenomenal superstar. He's done some incredible things as one of the top superstars of all time. It's just his attitude over these past two years that I don't like. That's what's changed about him the most and in a lot of ways he's allowed himself to take a step backwards. So Roman has allowed me to take two steps forward. And if you look at the last couple of times he faced Brock, he had his family involved. He sacrificed the wise man. He used every weapon in the building to take down Brock the last couple of times that he's faced him.
"I walked into an empty warehouse with Brock. No noise, no fans, no adrenaline, I fought him and I beat him with my bare hands in five minutes. And that's the difference, right? I'm similar and respect the old Roman way more than I respect this new version, this Tribal Chief, this ego maniac that needs to be brought back down to earth."
Watch the LIVE coverage of WWE Clash at the Castle on SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) and SONY TEN 4 (Tamil and Telugu) channels on 3rd September 2022 from 10:30 pm (IST).
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