RIYADH: It has been an exciting year, internationally, for WWE, according to two-time WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. Speaking during an appearance on the Mayman Show for Arab News, the wrestler said that as long as there is an appetite among fans for WWE in any part of the world, it will be there.
And according to the Scotsman, the WWE superstars are just as thrilled about the global expansion as the fans are.
“It’s exciting. It’s very exciting,” he said. “I’ve been around WWE since I was 22 years old … back then I thought the company couldn’t get any bigger and every single year we just keep evolving and growing and growing. And the global footprint is just absolutely unbelievable.”
McIntyre said it is incredible to see premium live events taking place in so many countries and it is all thanks to the fans.
“Seeing how many big shows we’re bringing to the entire world now is amazing,” he said. “We have such a passionate fan base, all across the world. And right here (in Saudi Arabia) and in the UK are a couple of the most passionate fan bases; they deserve those shows.
“Whenever there’s an appetite for WWE and our product, we’re going to be there.”
McIntyre said he can see that fans all around the world share the same passion for WWE but he admitted that the depth of knowledge among Saudi fans had surprised him.
“I don’t think they (the fans) are much different,” he explained. “However, when it comes to comparing (Saudi fans) to passionate fans from other countries, that caught me by surprise, I guess.
“In my first visit (to the Kingdom), I think it was 2018, I was with Dolph Ziggler at the time and we decided we wanted to see at a mall. I remember meeting all the fans individually and them telling me about their WWE fandom and telling me facts about my career that I’d forgotten.”
Every single person they met wanted to tell them about the first time they watched wrestling and what draws them to the sport and their favorite stars, McIntyre said. They also seemed to know more about his career than he did.
“Legitimately, matches that I’ve forgotten about, I had to go, ‘Yes, I remember that match,’” he said. “I was like, I don’t remember that. How do they know this stuff?
“And to go out and wrestle in front of them and hear how loud they are, and to hear the chants and hear the passion, especially last year — it was probably my favorite match, the one with myself and Big E for the WWE Championship.
“The crowd really took it to that next level. You know, an amazing crowd can make an average match good, a good match great, and a great match legendary. And I felt that we had a really, really great match. And the crowd took it to that next level. It’s one of my favorite memories of my career.”
McIntyre is a two-time WWE Champion, one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, one-time NXT Champion, and a two-time WWE (Raw) Tag Team Champion. He also received the 2020 Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year. He competed under his birth name, Drew Galloway, during his wrestling career outside of WWE.
