Drew McIntyre gives update on WWE in-ring future
Drew McIntyre isn’t planning on slowing down in the ring any time soon.
Appearing on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, McIntyre was asked if turning 40 years old in 2025 has made him think about how much longer he wants to wrestle. McIntyre noted that he’s feeling good physically and is very creatively fulfilled in WWE. As long as he’s happy, his wife is happy, and the fans are happy, McIntyre is going to keep wrestling.
“I mean, I know my wife feels like it’s going to be a lot shorter than I probably feel it’s going to be,” he responded. “Especially with how I feel now and how creatively fulfilled I feel these days. But as long as I’m happy, as long as she’s happy, and as long as the fans are happy with what I’m doing, I don’t see any reason to slow down any time soon.
“Especially when I see guys getting up there in age right now and moving as well as they’re moving right now, because we’ve just moved so far forward with athletes. Look at LeBron James or [Cristiano] Ronaldo, for example, the same age as me and they’re just still at the top of their game.”
McIntyre was Undisputed WWE Champion before dropping the title to Cody Rhodes last month on the road to WrestleMania 42. McIntyre noted on Insight that, while there may be personal disappointments for himself or his character, he’s able to see the bigger picture on where the company is at and knows he’s still on the right track.
Van Vliet asked McIntyre how his most recent title reign felt.
“Awesome. Nobody saw it coming for one,” he said. “I think everybody assumed that the Cody Express would keep moving on forward. You know, he’s been in that position for a long time. And after he finished the story, he was on absolute fire. I’m not saying he wasn’t doing a great job. He’s a great champion, he’s a great performer.
“But it was a lot of the same, and I think there needed to be a shakeup. And there was a shakeup that no one saw come in when I won in Berlin. My hearing is not great these days, [but] I could hear the crowd. I could hear the response. I could see the response. And it put Cody in a position where he had to chase. Gave Cody a bit of that edge back, which, in my opinion, he desperately needed.”
McIntyre believes the title reign also gave himself some more legitimacy and made SmackDown a more compelling show.
At WrestleMania later this month, Rhodes will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton. McIntyre is set for an unsanctioned grudge match against Jacob Fatu at the event.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.