Felix Upton on February 19, 2026
Drew McIntyre isn’t losing sleep over Roman Reigns and CM Punk taking shots at him — but what they said about SmackDown and the title? That’s a different story.
After the Raw following Royal Rumble saw Reigns choose CM Punk for WrestleMania and both men take verbal jabs at McIntyre, the Undisputed WWE Title, and SmackDown as a whole, McIntyre responded on SmackDown with a fired-up message to the locker room. Now, he’s opening up about what actually got under his skin.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, McIntyre made it clear the personal shots didn’t bother him — but the disrespect toward SmackDown did.
“That’s the part that more got my attention. I don’t care, say whatever you want about me. I can protect myself and look after myself verbally. They weren’t even that bad. Whatever one person said, the other one defended me.”
Instead, McIntyre pointed to how the comments made SmackDown — and the championship — feel secondary, especially coming from two of the biggest names in the company.
“It was the stuff about the title and SmackDown, making it feel a little less than when they’re such big superstars. Just focus on the title and each other.”
That frustration is what led to his passionate promo on SmackDown, where he tried to rally the entire roster and send a message about pride in the brand.
“I went out, did a Braveheart speech on Friday because I was legitimately upset. As far as I’m concerned, it’s done. It seems to be done now. They’re focused on their stuff, we’re focused on our stuff.”
McIntyre didn’t stop there, making it clear he expects everyone on SmackDown to step up and prove they belong — while reminding them of the kind of locker room leadership he came up under.
“Hopefully, the SmackDown roster saw that and said, ‘Every time I’m in that ring, I’m going to bring it 150% and show you all that I belong on this show, and SmackDown is the A show.’ I remember being in the locker room when Taker was in charge and he would get so angry when he saw the numbers and Raw was beating us on a tour. Go out there, bust your ass, and if you don’t I’ll kick you out the door.”
He also made it clear that while he may not be loud backstage, he won’t hesitate to step in if standards aren’t being met.
“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 ass out the door.”
With WrestleMania season heating up, McIntyre is now waiting to find out his own path, as his opponent will be determined at Elimination Chamber. But one thing is clear — he’s putting the SmackDown locker room on notice.
Do you think Drew McIntyre was right to call out the comments about SmackDown, or are Roman Reigns and CM Punk justified in their stance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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