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Drew McIntyre Discusses Vince McMahon's Leg-Slapping Ban and Perceived AEW Diss
March 18, 2021
Ahead of his WWE Championship match against Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 37 next month, Drew McIntyre addressed some hot topics in an interview this week.
Speaking with Alfred Konuwa of Forbes, McIntyre gave his take on several talking points, including WWE's reported ban on wrestlers slapping their legs while doing moves.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Joshua Gagnon), signs reminding wrestlers not the slap their legs during matches have been posted backstage at WWE events recently.
Meltzer noted that the decision to ban leg slapping was seen after WWE Chairman Vince McMahon saw someone do it egregiously during a SmackDown match.
McIntyre didn't confirm or deny the ban but suggested that it doesn't impact him either way:
"For the general fans, if you're good enough [at leg slapping] that you can do it—like a Shawn Michaels—then you're not gonna catch it. It's become so blatant at times that I think you've got to pick and choose your moments.
"But when it comes to the Claymore—let me explain how the Claymore works—people said to me, 'You're slapping your leg.' That's not the case with the Claymore. When I raise my leg and kick forward, you've got a 6'6", 270-pound man jumping and kicking you. I've got a very strong shoulder, so when I'm throwing that kick and I also put some shoulder behind it, I'm just adding force. So, you see, it's not really a leg slap for me; it's just extra force."
The Scottish Warrior also answered for a promo he cut on Monday's episode of Raw in which he was perceived to have taken a shot at rival promotion AEW.
During the promo, McIntyre talked about how making guarantees is dangerous since fans get angry if you don't deliver and "sparks fly."
Most of those who saw AEW's recent Revolution pay-per-view likely made a connection, as the Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch main event between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley ended in disappointment when the ring "explosion" was mere mild sparks flying off the ring posts.
As a result, it became one of the most heavily criticized and meme-worthy moments in recent wrestling history.
McIntyre suggested in his interview with Forbes that while he didn't purposely poke fun at AEW, he may have been doing so subconsciously:
"Everyone seems to think writers are gonna put all this together—they don't. Drew McIntyre's out there, and I've got no idea what I'm gonna say, and I kind of say how I feel.
"I went out there, I said that, and I [heard] 'sparks fly' come out my mouth. I didn't think twice about it. I just rolled right through it. I said my whole interview and watched the match ringside—which was an awesome match. I came back, and somebody came up to me and said, 'Saw what you did there.' 'What did I do?' And then they played it out to me and I went, 'Oh, yeah, that could be taken that way.' Maybe subconsciously I made a joke ... I don't like that shot back-and-forth stuff. I don't see the point. It's not good for business."
While it is up for debate whether McIntyre meant to put down AEW, he did say something that should be music to the ears of most WWE fans.
McIntyre seemed to reveal that his promos aren't scripted, which speaks to how much confidence the WWE higher-ups have in his ability.
Scripted promos in WWE have been a hot-button issue among fans for quite some time, but the fact that WWE is apparently willing to let some Superstars do their own thing has to be considered a positive.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).