WWE's Drew McIntyre Excited That Wrestling Is Healthy Again
McIntyre sees competition everywhere
Oct 21, 2021
While WWE had been the unchallenged number one professional wrestling promotion in the world for almost 20 years, that position at the top has been under threat since September with All Elite Wrestling having beaten both Raw and SmackDown in the key 18-49 demographic in recent weeks.
This included a head-to-head battle between WWE SmackDown and AEW Rampage for 30 minutes on Friday, October 15 and WWE lost head-to-head to another promotion for the first time since 1998.
Speaking about competition with Esquire Middle East, Drew McIntyre noted he sees competition everywhere and he's just "excited wrestling is healthy once again."
"They should be part of your mind, but I see competition with everybody. If I'm on Raw, I don't just see other companies as competition, I see SmackDown as competition. I want to produce the best show possible and keep my eyes on the ratings, etc. It doesn't matter where I am. If the show I'm on," McIntyre began.
"In my mind, everybody should be thinking we're competing with literally everyone including the other brands, including NXT, including other companies. And if you've got that competitive spirit, it's going to be better for yourself as a brand and better for the fans.
"I'm excited wrestling is healthy once again. When I started, independent wrestling was non-existent. We had to start a Scottish wrestling scene when I was a kid I helped build up the UK scene, which is amazing now because of NXT UK, but it wasn't then. I travelled the world and I saw what it was like back then, and independent wrestling was still minuscule. And to see how far it's evolved to see how big the talent is, and to see so many Superstars and wrestlers across the world have a full-time living in wrestling. It's just unbelievable. And that's what it comes down to for me is that wrestling is healthy and a lot of my friends have full-time jobs now."