Drew McIntyre on His Return, Andrade Almas, ICW, and Ronda Rousey

Planeta Wrestling held a recent interview with Drew McIntyre discussing his recent return from injury, thoughts on Andrade “Cien” Almas, ICW wrestlers he would like to see join the WWE, and thoughts on Ronda Rousey in the WWE.

On the topic of his recent return from injury, McIntyre stated he had the goal of wanting to be medically cleared by WrestleMania 34 weekend and worked very hard to make it possible.

“I got injured on November 18th [NXT TakeOver:War Games], I was wrapping my arm around my injury [torn bicep], and I started to Google the fastest amount of time someone has healed with this type of injury, it said four months, so I set out to get healed in four months by WrestleMania weekend, and I have been working very hard to come back.”

On the topic of his thoughts on Andrade “Cien” Almas, McIntyre stated being paired with Zelina Vega was a perfect fit for Almas and something he felt was the missing piece needed for Almas’ to become very successful in NXT and WWE.

“I think he is very, very good. I think the pairing with Zelina Vega was perfect. It was just something that was missing. He is very good in the ring; great high-flyer, but he never really got to show it until he wrestled against myself. He can do everything. There was just something that was missing until the pairing with Zelina Vega, and I think he is going to shine in every area of his game. There is no shame in losing against him. He hits very hard. I hit very hard. He has some cool moves up his sleeve. In the end he dropped me on my head, tore my bicep and won the title and put me out on four months. On that night, he was the better man.”

On the topic of who from Insane Championship Wrestling he would like to see join the WWE, McIntyre mentioned Jack Jester, Sha Samuels, BT Gunn as his choices.

“There are a few of the guys that are already part of the NXT brand. Wolfgang is already over here. Guys like Killian Dain, Nikki Cross, Noam Dar, who is part of the Cruiserweight division. There are a few guys from ICW that I would like for them to come over here to show what they can do. Jack Jester and Sha Samuels perhaps. BT Gunn is another guy that I would like to see. He is amazing in the ring. We have so many. The entire Insane Championship Wrestling roster is very talented.”

On the topic of his thoughts on Ronda Rousey in the WWE, McIntyre stated he considers her arrival to be a huge deal for both the WWE and wrestling in general due to her mainstream star status. He also stated Rousey is a legit fan of wrestling and not just someone only coming in for a quick pay day.

“It is a huge deal. She is such a gigantic name on the mainstream. She is box office in sports and in the Octagon. I didn’t watch UFC much, but whenever she had a fight I would want to watch. She is such an attraction. She is such a big fan of our business, and isn’t just here for a payday. She genuinely loves this. I remember seeing her at a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show in Los Angeles, when she was in the crowd. Her rival was on next for a UFC pay per view while our show was going on, and myself along with Trevor Lee were having a match in the crowd. A photographer took a picture of us fighting in the crowd with her in the background watching our match instead of watching the UFC fight. That is how much she loves this business, and we saw her in the crowd all the time. She is not taking this lightly, and is doing a great job. This is not an easy job to get. It took me 17 years to get to the point where I am at. It took her two months to get to the point where she is at and I see her looking more and more comfortable in the ring as well.”