WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has delved into the real-life hatred he has for CM Punk
The Scottish Warrior has made it clear for the last couple of years that he has genuine issues with the World Heavyweight Champion and WWE 2K26 cover star behind the scenes, and he has revealed that the pair ‘don’t talk to each other’ whenever they’re not actively working together.
Speaking exclusively to Metro, Drew – who has since found out he will defend his WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes tonight on SmackDown – said: ‘That’s what made it work, and I guess made it compelling TV, is we genuinely don’t like each other.
‘People can feel that, but at the same time, we’re two of the top players in the industry, and we can take that real-life motivation, which is genuine, not even method acting, it’s just truth, and put it into the performance.
‘And people are like, “Wow, this feels real!” And the reason it feels real is because it is real.
‘Being around each other, at shows, if we’re not actually wrestling each other, it’s fine because we don’t talk to each other. I would love for him to talk, and I’d love for him to push my buttons, because I just stomp his stupid a**e.’
Despite the long-held issues, which Drew is yet to fully delve into publicly, the two superstars had a barnstormer of a match at Bad Blood 2024 inside Hell In A Cell, and the bout has been immortalised in this year’s WWE 2K26 Showcase mode.
‘It did a lot for both of us. And I see Punk come on about, “I just seem to bring the best of everybody, I’m CM Punk. I’m the greatest,” tooting his own horn constantly.
‘It’s what he does, these Charles Manson-like qualities, and people believe it, but I’m Drew McIntyre. I tell the truth. The truth is, it did bring the best out of me, but at the same time, it brought the best out of him, and it brought the real CM Punk back.’
A big part of the match working so well was WWE producer Chris Park (AKA Abyss), and the Scottish star is full of praise for the TNA Wrestling legend.
‘I always request him every single time. We always work together. He knows how to work with Drew because I can get a little bit scatterbrained,’ he laughed.
‘Chris is always on the ball. He knows what I do in the ring; he’s always got great ideas. So Chris is my number one agent.’
The feud with Punk started after the Second City Saint was legitimately (accidentally) injured by Drew in the 2024 Royal Rumble, leaving the Scot having to ‘hold it together by myself’ until Punk was physically healed.
‘[I had] unlimited material to work with, because he’s a gift. He keeps on giving because he’s such a horrible, horrible human being,’ Drew deadpanned.
‘When he came back, I prodded him for a reason, because I wanted the real CM Punk to come back.’
Away from Punk and the real-life drama, Drew is determined to ‘lead by example’ and encourage people through his own hard work, which he put into practice a decade ago when he was fired from WWE and returned to the Scottish independent scene.
‘I tried to lead by example, by just being the hardest worker on the roster, and if anybody had, you know, questions, I was always there to answer,’ he explained.
‘I’m not going to force my opinion on you. If you come to me, I’ll give you my opinion. But if I see you bringing the show down, I’m the first one on the scene.’
Fellow Scot Joe Hendry recently told us that Drew was seen as The Undertaker of the locker room, and it’s a comparison he’s happy to accept.
‘I grew up around him. He was my mentor as a kid,’ he pointed out.
Drew is one of WWE’s top stars, and a Showcase mode in the game would be a stellar one if the developers go that way one year.
With a wealth of matches and moments to choose from, it’s fair to point out that a lot of Drew’s career highlights over the last decade came during the pandemic – and he’d like to force gamers to relive those years.
‘Let’s force everybody to go to the pandemic era,’ he laughed. ‘You’re gonna fight matches with no crowd, you’re gonna fight matches in front of screens.
‘You don’t want to remember it happened, [but] I had so many significant matches – even though I’m making up for last time.’
Looking to the future, despite everything, Drew is still open to one more match with CM Punk to determine the true top star in WWE.
‘He’s currently got the second best title, and he’s on the run of his life, and I’ve got the main title,’ he smirked. It kind of worked out for both of us.’
He added: ‘But inevitably, I would love to get that match once again so I can right what once went wrong, like Dr Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap.’
WWE 2K26 drops on March 13 with CM Punk on the cover. For Early Release, the deluxe Attitude Era, Monday Night War and King of Kings editions are available now.
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