Drew McIntyre Says He’s Happy WrestleMania Is Still Going On, Where He Thinks His Match Will Be Placed, A Dedication To His Mother and more

WWE superstar and Royal Rumble winner Drew McIntyre spoke with Sports Illustrated ahead of tonight’s taping of Monday Night Raw. Check out the highlights from the interview below.

Being happy WrestleMania 36 is still going on through the COVID-19 pandemic:

I’m happy and proud it’s still going ahead. It’s not what I imagined as a kid, with thousands of people. But that moment is still going to happen, and it’s very important that we have WrestleMania and give people an escape in today’s climate.

How the empty arena setting will make for an interesting documentary one day:

It’s going to make a very interesting documentary—I’ve already said to the guy producing that this is going to be his Citizen Kane because we’ve had so many twists and turns. When I was in Europe, I heard that ‘Mania may not happen with everything going on, and then with the switch to the PC, and with all the other sports shutting down, I am very proud of WWE for being one of the few places to bring original content to help people take their minds off things. I think WrestleMania is going to turn out to be more like WWE presents: Mortal Kombat, which will be a pretty cool scene. But most importantly, everyone is going to be safe and we’ll provide an escape for everyone in the world. This ‘Mania is never going to be forgotten.

Dedicating his match against Brock to his mother and his wife:

This match is dedicated to my mother and wife. They’re the two most important people in my entire life. My mother instilled that fire in me and taught me to never give up, and my wife has pushed me as a person and helped me fill my potential as a man. She said she’d rather die than not have kids. That’s why I am here, and the same for my brother. I’m not where I am today without my mother. The lessons I learned growing up, I didn’t even realize I was learning. She taught me to never give up. No matter if a doctor tells you that you have a disease only one or two other people have in the U.K, she kept pushing forward and never complained. I still think about her all the time, and I feel her all the time, even in the ring. She’s in my ear, my head and my heart. I would never be here now without her.

Where he thinks his match is going to be placed on the card:

I don’t know where I’m positioned on the card, but I do hope it’s the last match. I think it’s very important that the Royal Rumble winner earns that right to be last in that big title match. Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg is also a big match. I don’t think that’s going to go very long. I saw Roman getting all those tweets after he said, ‘I’m next,’ with people voicing that he didn’t have to win the Rumble to get a title shot. Realistically, he never lost the title, so I think he earned that right. Randy Orton and Edge have a more compelling case. Edge has been out for nine years. It’s been so personal, they’re both phenomenal storytellers, and this is an opportunity for creative people to provide some unique content. I’ve seen some of our superstars try things that didn’t work, like walk out and talk to imaginary fans. I don’t know if I’d approach it that way. With Randy Orton and Edge, I guarantee you they’re going to approach it like a movie—and they’ll thrive in that environment. But the title is not on the line, so it’s not quite the main event. This has been a 19-year journey for me, and with Brock being the beast that he is, we’re going to lay into each other. That match should, and I believe will, be last.