Exclusive: Drew McIntyre is desperate to finally get his 'big moment' in front of fans at Clash at the Castle

Drew McIntyre is desperate to finally get his 'big moment' in front of a live crowd after being cruelly denied a dream crowning during the global pandemic.

The Scotsman won the 2020 Royal Rumble and then went on to main event WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar, slaying the Beast and making history by becoming the first ever British WWE champion.

But due to coronavirus, the event happened in front of no fans at the WWE performance center and on tape delay.

McIntyre's second WWE title win also happened in the same kind of circumstances but he's now looking to make it third time lucky when he takes on Roman Reigns in a huge undisputed title match in the main event at Clash of the Castle, WWE's first UK stadium show for 30 years.

He told SPORTbible: "These big moments when you do something incredible and you have the fans there, are what made our top level superstars - racking up those big moments and most of my big moments happened without the live fans there, with the virtual fans there.

"Obviously I'm proud of it, it was necessary during the times we're living in, but I do need to start racking up those big moments with the live fans in attendance.

"I want to reach that top, top level and WWE, that's always been the goal. On a personal note it's in the UK, it's the first stadium show for 30 years. For Drew McIntyre, I think it's very important to get that big moment to really get to that next level."

Image: WWE

The last time WWE put on a show of this scale in the UK was when Summerslam took place at the old Wembley Stadium in 1992.

At the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, McIntyre is playing the role of the legendary British Bulldog in front of 70,000 fanatical fans.

He added: "It's gonna be wild. And you know, it's not my first rodeo, like, I know how popular Roman is. He's been around for 10 years and is on this amazing run. I think it's going to be a very interesting atmosphere. But I know everyone's gonna be loud. If you watch Brett [Hart] vs [British] Bulldog from SummerSlam. 92, obviously, it's British Bulldog but Brett was such a popular figure that the crowd were kind of split at times, but we're just going crazy the whole time.

"I think it's going to be closer to that. Just where Roman's at, the roll he's on, the momentum that I've got. But also being from here, I think it's just going to create just one wild atmosphere. And that's what it's all about in this industry."

Image: Alamy

McIntyre has been incredibly vocal in his campaigning for a big UK show and mentioned it in pretty much every interview he gave after becoming champion.

WWE could have easily taken the nostalgic route in going back to London but the spectacular event being in Cardiff brings a new kind of freshness and the chance to make new history.

And for McIntyre, the show marks the first step in the journey to a WrestleMania happening on these shores.

"You'd have expected it to be somewhere like Wembley, I guess," McIntyre admitted.

"If someone said to me, 'Hey, Drew, it's finally gonna happen' - and all that talking about the stadium show has paid off. And I just assume or it's gonna be Wembley but then they say, 'Oh no' it's gonna be the Principality in Cardiff. I was like, 'Oh, okay, that's pretty cool' and I've watched some of the rugby matches from there, and the atmosphere is always pretty good.

"And then I got to meet the Welsh Government figures and hear how excited they were to bring the show, because it's awesome.

"They're very excited to bring the show to Cardiff, to Wales. I've wrestled here a bunch with WWE and on the independents, so I know the local area know how to condense everything is, you can walk literally everywhere, that's going to be great.

"For the fans, visiting London's obviously huge and not so easy to get to all the different parts. And then when I got to see the Principality on the last media tour and go inside it, I thought it was perfect for the first one in 30 years.

"This will give everybody a great time in the area, being so localised with everything. And then for the fans watching across the world, the Principality just a great atmosphere. This is phase one, as far as I'm concerned, to work towards a Royal Rumble, a SummerSlam and inevitably a WrestleMania."

Topics: Wrestlemania, WWE, Drew Mcintyre, Roman Reigns

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

@joshlawless_