WRITTEN PODCAST RECAP: E&C Pod of Awesomeness w/ Drew McIntyre on why his first run in WWE didn’t work out, the advice Shawn Michaels gave him, TNA once reaching out to Edge (Ep. 21)

Daniel Bryan interview

Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness Recap

Episode 21 with Drew McIntyre 

Recap by: Jeff Indelicato

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“For The Benefit of Those with No Time” (Top Stories)

  • Edge admits that TNA once reached out to him in the 2006-2008 time frame.
  • Drew believes that he has done a lot of growing and maturing since his release in 2014, and feels he is now prepared and ready to succeed.
  • Drew credits Shawn Michaels as being a tremendous help to the NXT crew.
  • McIntyre feels that NXT is its own separate brand, and does not like the term “moving up” when someone goes from NXT to the main roster.

“You Think You Know Them” (Recap)

Opening Intros/Banter 0:00-20:35

The boys open up the show, and note that SummerSlam is fast approaching. They look forward to discussing the lineup on next week’s show. Christian is in Canada filming a television show called Murdoch Mysteries. Edge is on break right now, so he and Beth painted their house.

E&C transition to discussing their guest, and tease they will talk about how he felt when he was released in 2014.

Christian talks about leaving the WWE for TNA in 2005. He says it was a combination of many factors. He was burnt out, beat up, and tired after being on the road continuously for several years.

Professionally, Christian also felt his career was stuck in a rut, and was led to believe the situation wasn’t going to change. This was evident when he began gaining popularity with the fans in 2005, and was never fully moved into the main event scene. He realized  he would have to do something to prove he could thrive and survive in that type of scenario, and decided to take a bet on himself. While it was one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do, it benefited him. Bot Christian and Edge feel that the second part of his singles career (when he returned to the WWE in 2009) was better than his first run.

I was one of those fans who was a huge Christian supporter in 2005, and even though his career was still able to thrive, I wish he would’ve been given the opportunity to prove himself during his summer 2005 feud with John Cena. For those fans who haven’t seen it, look up some of Captain Charisma’s work during that frame, including the Triple Threat WWE Championship match between him, Chris Jericho, and Cena at Vengeance.

After that discussion, Edge admits TNA actually reached out to him when his contract was coming to an end sometime in the 2006-2008 time frame. There were some benefits that were intriguing, including the schedule, Christian still being there, and the opportunity for fresh opponents, but at the end of the day, WWE was his home, and as an established main eventer, he felt the company had put faith in him.

Ad for Sun Basket 20:35 – 22:35

Ad for Zip Recruiter 22:35 – 23:55

Interview with Drew McIntyre 23:55 – 1:18:00

After the break, we jump right into a phone interview with Drew. They talk about how he’s been away from the WWE for three years. He used that time to learn and feels that it is the right time to be back. His initial feelings when he left was that it was terrifying being outside of the WWE bubble, but he worked hard, and grew a lot personally as well as professionally.  

Edge talks about how Drew was so young when he first debuted in the company at the age of 21, and how dealing with everything inside and outside of the ring can have a negative effect if you are not ready for it. Drew agrees, and references during his first run he was supposed to have a longer feud with the Undertaker. Watching his work back, he admits that he didn’t look believable against Taker back then.

Edge also watched some of their old matches against each other, and agrees that Drew is more confident now, and has been able to reinvent himself, including his character, ring style and look. Drew feels that at the time, he was always on edge, and was trying too hard, as it was difficult for him to relax.  

Christian tells a story about how one time he was told that he was wrestling Drew on Superstars. It frustrated him, not because it was against Drew, but that it was on Superstars. This fired him up, and he wanted to prove that they deserved better, which led to them tearing the house down after a 15-16 minute contest. Afterwards, Christian went backstage and told Triple H that Drew was really good. Hunter agreed, but added that Drew needed to be doing that every night. McIntyre agrees, and admits how he would rush things and add too much to the matches nonsensically.

Edge remarks that this is something that many newer wrestlers experience, and it’s all about learning. He references his involvement in the Nexus vs. Team WWE match at SummerSlam 2010. During the match, Bray Wyatt (who was Husky Harris at the time) had Edge in the corner and was just unloading on him. Edge took a second to tell Bray, “You’d better breathe.” He then stopped and took a breath. He adds that you just have to relax.

Drew says that he made the same mistakes, and remembers getting up too fast during his matches against Edge when preparing to take a spear. He refers to himself back then as “Captain Wooden”, as during his promos he would overthink it, and try to remember his lines. Edge believes that a promo needs to sound conversational, and should have “um’s” and not long pauses. This is what can lead to “What?” chants, which can then really throw off the wrestler.

Talking about his work in NXT, McIntyre mentions that having Shawn Michaels with the brand is fantastic, and that if he’s unsure about something, he goes to Shawn. Due to his experience, he didn’t necessarily have to go to some of the classes held at the Performance Center, but he went out of his way to ask if he could attend HBK’s course.

Drew adds that HBK explains wrestling psychology in a way that no one’s ever explained before. An example of this would be the standard line of “listen to the crowd.” This can be very generic, so Michaels is able to break it down piece by piece so that the wrestlers are able to understand what that means. Because of this, Drew feels that he is getting his PhD in wrestling. Edge adds that Michaels recently texted him wanting his advice on what matches that featured a larger size babyface would be good to share with one of his students. “I wonder who that could be for?” commented Drew with a laugh.

Talk moves back to him originally being released from the WWE in 2014, and how it motivated him to work hard and refine his skills. His mantra was to go out there and be a pro wrestler, so he constantly wrestled to gain experience and was never home. He remembers one week where he was in Germany on a Friday, traveled to Scotland on a Saturday, went back to Germany on no sleep, then to Amsterdam, and finally to Orlando.  

We then move to his return to NXT and how that came about. Drew remained friends with William Regal and had a discussion with Hunter. They both had the same vision, and focused on the goal of rebuilding him in NXT. He really enjoys working there and feels that it is its own separate brand, which leads to him noting that he doesn’t like when others refer to moving to the main roster as “moving up.” For him, it has talent, is unique, and deserves more. He adds that perception is what matters, and that as a member of the roster you should believe that where you are working is the No. 1 brand.

Edge talks about how much fun he had in the crowd when he was at NXT, which was coincidentally when Drew made his first appearance. They talk about how during the day, McIntyre had a signing, a radio interview, an independent appearance, and then still had to make it to the NXT show that night.

More talk into how helpful NXT is for the wrestlers and how much it assists them with easing the transition to the main roster, while helping them learn and get ready. It also allows their characters to be fleshed out, while giving them road experience, and giving the fans an ability to get to know them through the broadcasts on the WWE network.

Christian talks about how established guys like Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Finn Balor have all debuted under the NXT umbrella, but Drew is the first “WWE established” guy to come to the brand.

Drew is excited, and believes that it helped him to reinvent himself, because even when he was gone, he was always a WWE guy. He mentions how the wrestlers talk to him like he’s an old man, because he debuted a while back, but in reality he’s young enough to still make an impact and grow. He is looking forward to his Takeover match with Roode, and is happy to be surrounded by such a great roster full of motivated stars. He ends with the advice of “Don’t play a wrestler, be a wrestler.”

Wrap Up & Close 1:18:00-1:28:00

E&C close the show by putting over their guest and all of his hard work. They mention how much he loves the business, and how proud they are of him. Edge adds how you look at all of the members of 3MB, and how all of them are examples of what perseverance looks like. Christian believes that it’s all about opportunity and that it’s only failing if you quit.   

They wrap up the show, and encourage everyone to follow the show on Twitter @EandCPod, E-Mail them at ecpodofawesomeness@gmail.com, and to call their Voicemail at 929-367-8204.

Jeff’s Take:  8 Kazoos out of 10

Nice return to form for the show. For a quick interview, a lot was covered, and it still felt that there was some substance. I was originally a fan of the Chosen One gimmick back in the day, but to see how much Drew has evolved, while getting to know the person, I am even more of a fan. Everything happens for a reason, and it appears that McIntyre has learned a lot. Looking forward to seeing what’s next, and how high up the ladder he can climb. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @the_Indel or send me an email at indelpw@gmail.com. See you next week!

“5 Second Pose of Timestamps”

0:00: Show Introduction/Banter
20:35: Sponsored Ads
23:55: Interview with Drew McIntyre
38:00: Working with Shawn Michaels in NXT
48:00: Being released from the WWE in 2014
53:00: Returning to NXT in 2017
1:18:00: Wrap Up & Close

About the Author

Jeff has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was knee high to a grasshopper (little kid), after coming across the Wrestling Challenge episode after WrestleMania 7, and has not looked back. His passion has led him to winning wrestling trivia contests in his city, and even won him his Senior Talent Show by dancing to Shawn Michaels theme song. When not annoying others with wrestling talk, he loves spending time with his family and friends, and focuses on his other passion: movies.

For more, check out last week’s recap of E&C Pod of Awesomeness.

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