Steve Carrier on February 23, 2026
Drew McIntyre isn’t mad about Roman Reigns or CM Punk talking trash — he’s mad about what they implied.
After the Raw fallout from the Royal Rumble saw Reigns choose Punk for WrestleMania and both men take shots at McIntyre, fans assumed Drew’s fiery SmackDown promo was personal. Turns out, it wasn’t.
In a new interview with Denise Salcedo, McIntyre set the record straight — and unloaded. First, he made it clear he wasn’t losing sleep over the insults.
“I didn't care what they said about me. And to be honest, they didn't really say anything bad about me. Cuz one of them would try and say something bad about me, spin the narrative to themselves cuz I wasn't there to defend myself. And the other one would just tell the truth. Like Punk would run his mouth. Roman would say, ‘Drew's four times bigger than you. Had you crying over a plastic bracelet.’ Roman would run his mouth, ‘I beat Drew for three years straight.’ Yeah, you and your whole family.”
So what actually ticked him off? The idea that his championship — and SmackDown as a brand — were somehow second-tier.
“So I didn't care about that. It was trying to make the title, this title, feel lesser than SmackDown feel lesser than. That's what bothered me.”
That’s when Drew flipped the switch. He explained why he stormed out on SmackDown and delivered what many fans called a “Braveheart” speech to the roster.
“That's why on SmackDown I came out and said what I said. This is the number one title. No matter what you want to say, no matter how you want to spin it, I get it. But you're two giant superstars. Focus on yourselves. Focus on the title. The guys that have held this title, including you guys, made it what it is — the number one title.”
And he wasn’t done. McIntyre says the perceived disrespect lit a fire under him — and now he expects the entire locker room to follow. Then came the line that sums up Drew’s entire mindset right now.
“And as for SmackDown, it lit a fire under me. Really lit a fire under me. That's why I said to the roster, you better stand up and be as angry as I am and start giving 150%. No matter what big platform they're on right now, I don't care. Our show is going to be the better show cuz everyone's going to be killing it from now on.”
“As you say, Drew is a bad guy. Why would he say that? No. Drew says what's on his mind. I ain't a bad guy, ain't a good guy. I'm a real guy.”
Translation? This isn’t about ego. It’s about pride. Drew McIntyre is drawing a line in the sand — and he’s declaring the SmackDown championship the top prize in WWE.
Do you think Drew’s right that SmackDown holds the number one title, or are Roman and Punk still running the show? Sound off below.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
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