Despite his doubts, the fans erupted when Drew McIntyre won the Royal Rumble, and looking back on the moment, the fans stayed with him all the way. 

“It was just unreal that people had said ‘That’s our guy!’ I felt like I’d finally crashed through that next level,” he recalled. “I’m going to ‘Mania! This is unreal! It was in Tampa, my American hometown at the time – I’d loved there for 12 years – everyone’s going to be there, my family are coming over, it couldn’t be any more perfect, and then the world shut down!”

McIntyre laughed, suggesting that things were going badly for the world just as they were going well for him, but quickly pointed out that entertainment all around the world shut down. 

“We made a decision as a company to push forward,” he noted. “It felt weird to have nobody there, I guess, in the building when I won against Brock, except the cameraman and commentators, and I watched it, like everybody else watched it, on the television, because it was pre-taped, but the response was so cool, to see people in their homes so happy.”

Interestingly, he explained that without the adrenaline, he was able to take the moment in beforehand and that the experience helped him center himself. Afterwards, he and his wife had a special moment, as she was the one who presented the title to him at home. “She’s such a big part of the journey,” he said, adding that she helped him become a better man and wrestler all along.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “The Rich Eisen Show” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.