Drew McIntyre Explains Why Roman Reigns & CM Punk’s Comments About the WWE Title Bothered Him

During a recent interview with Busted Open Radio, WWE Undisputed Champion Drew McIntyre was asked about the recent comments that CM Punk and Roman Reigns made about him and the WWE Undisputed Championship on Monday Night Raw. McIntyre said their comments about him didn’t offend him, but he was mostly annoyed by their comments about the WWE Undisputed Title, making it sound second-rate. Below are some highlights:

Drew McIntyre on CM Punk and Roman Reigns’ Comments About the WWE Undisputed Title

“I mean, that’s the part that more got my attention. Like, I don’t care. Say whatever you want about me. I can protect myself. I look after myself verbally. And to be honest, they weren’t even that bad. You know, whatever one person said, I mentioned on SmackDown, the other one defending me. You know, Punk tried to run his mouth as usual. Roman pointed out, ‘Drew had you crying over, you know, the little plastic bracelets four times your size.’ Roman said, ‘I beat Drew years in a row with the family.’ I get it. But they kind of defended me. That didn’t bother me. It was just the stuff about the title and SmackDown and making it feel a little less than when they’re such big Superstars. Just focus on the title, focus on each other. So, I went out and did a Braveheart-like speech on the Friday cuz I was legitimately upset as far as I was concerned. That was it done, and it seems to be done.”

On How He Hopes the SmackDown Roster Reacts to Their Words

“Now, they’re focused on their stuff. We’re focused on our stuff, and hopefully the SmackDown roster saw that I said, ‘You know what? Every time I’m in that ring, I’m going to bring it 150%. I’m going to show you all that I belong on this show and SmackDown’s the A-show.’ Like back in the day, I remember being in the locker room as a kid when ‘Taker was leading the charge, and he would get so angry if he saw the numbers and Raw was beating us on a tour, or their show was better. Go out there, bust your ***, and if you don’t, I’ll kick your *** out the door. I’m very quiet back there, I’ll give you advice when you come to me, but if you’re bringing the show down, I’ll suddenly appear in front of you like magic, and I’ll kick your *** out the door if I get my way.”

On How Important It Is for Him to Hold the Title Until WrestleMania

“I think it’s essential for me, and it’s essential for the company going forward. I think we need, as much as I’m right, I know I should be the good guy, the biggest underdog in the company. I said I am the protagonist, sorry, antagonist technically. And I think we need to take this as far as we can take it. I do believe for inside baseball, the money is in the chase. And I think we can take this way further than Mania in eight weeks. So, I believe I need to go in champion. I believe I need to leave as champion. I believe we need to take this as far as we can take it and get people on the chase. Everybody’s after Drew McIntyre on the roster right now. And I believe we can take it a lot further than WrestleMania.”

As noted, Drew McIntyre declared that Reigns’ and Punk’s comments were a “declaration of War” on the SmackDown roster.

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Busted Open Radio, with a h/t to 411Mania.com for the transcription.