Drew McIntyre shined above everyone else in the Men's Royal Rumble this year, eliminating Brock Lesnar and winning the Rumble. McIntyre will now head to WrestleMania to challenge Lesnar for the WWE Championship.
McIntyre had been a focal point on Raw since being moved to the brand from NXT in April 2018, but never quite took that next step people thought he would take. Speaking on WWE Backstage, McIntyre chalked it up to having a lack of fun despite the opportunities presented to him.
"I don't know when exactly it happened over the past couple of months, the pieces started to go into place. Something was missing over the past year and a half. I don't know if I was holding back, just not giving it my all, not having fun the way I should be having fun. Maybe overthinking things, even though as long as I've been around, there was something I was holding back and not being myself. I finally let go and started being myself and started having fun. Well, I'm having fun -- beating people up, generally -- the crowd started having fun with me. And I think that's what I was missing."
He continued, "When I was away from the company, that's when I found myself and I was having fun. When I was in NXT, I was having fun. For some reason, on Raw, I was having a great run, I can't complain. Big WrestleMania match with Roman, facing The Undertaker, having these great moments, great spotlights, but there was something missing. I knew in myself that something was missing. I wasn't relaxing and letting go and being myself."
In a previous interview on WWE After The Bell, McIntyre said he was finally allowed to be himself on Raw. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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