"We refused to let that be the end" - Drew McIntyre reflects on WWE firing him and Jinder Mahal (Exclusive)
Ahead of his WWE SummerSlam match against Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre has reflected on their journey back to WWE after getting fired in 2014.
Mahal and McIntyre performed alongside Heath Slater as members of comedy faction 3MB between July 2012 and June 2014. While Slater kept his job with WWE until 2020, Mahal and McIntyre received their releases in 2014 before returning in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Rick Ucchino, McIntyre said he and Mahal refused to let their WWE stories end with their 2014 firings.
“It’s wild,” McIntyre said. “When you break it down, you look at Jinder and I’s story, two young kids who’ve always wanted to do this, worked extremely hard to get signed at a young age, provided big opportunities at a young age, let them slip through our fingers and get fired. Quite frankly, it was on both of us for getting fired, but we refused to let that be the end of our story. Like the talent today [at WWE tryouts], we refused to let that be it.”
Watch the video above to hear more from Rick Ucchino’s interview with Drew McIntyre. The Scot also had words of advice for the wrestlers who attended this week’s WWE tryouts.
Drew McIntyre explains how he and Jinder Mahal improved
Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre reinvented themselves upon their returns to WWE. Mahal won the WWE Championship in 2017, while McIntyre went on to win the title twice in 2020.
The 2020 WWE Royal Rumble winner explained that he and Mahal improved their mindsets, as well as their physiques, during their time away from WWE.
“We started busting our butts,” McIntyre added. “We knew the endgame was getting back to WWE, become WWE Champion, and we refused to take no for an answer. We worked on our weaknesses, we worked on our bodies, we worked on our minds.
“We came back, Jinder pulled off World Champion first, I pulled it off next, and now we’re both about to participate at SummerSlam, Allegiant Stadium, 40,000 people. It’s pretty freaking crazy. Unfortunately for Jinder, I’m gonna have to kick his old head off, but at least he gets to be in there with Drew McIntyre. That’s cool.”
Drew McIntyre defeated Jinder Mahal’s sidekicks, Veer and Shanky, on the latest episode of WWE RAW. As a result, Veer and Shanky will not be allowed at ringside for the Mahal vs. McIntyre match at WWE SummerSlam.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from this article.