In his new book titled A Chosen Destiny, Drew McIntyre talked about there being a “sense of entitlement” in wrestling. Here are a few quotes regarding the topic:
“I could also see that backstage respect is earned by hard work, being humble, and appreciative of other people’s contributions. I saw someone like Undertaker, the headline act, who wants to share his passion and contribute to the collective performance without any ego. In contrast to today, where sadly there is a sense of entitlement that I would like to weed out of the sport, all the guys stuck around after their matches and there was a lot of congratulatory banter after the show I was disappointed to find on my return that some of the locker room were content to rest on their laurels and did not have a great attitude.”
“It is something I genuinely believe to this day and I don’t see it as much now, but a few people would complain all the time to anyone who would listen about being unhappy with their position on the card, about how they should be at the top, they should be champion.”
“Their physique and work ethic and mentality didn’t mirror their words. You could see they were not putting in the effort; they did not have a good attitude. I could speak out against complacency, not because, ‘Hey, I look this way’ and ‘Hey, I’m in a good position’, but because I knew where they were coming from. I understood their frustration at feeling invisible, but the reality is you have to step back and get some perspective or you’re not going to get anywhere.”
“Why would you give the big breaks to the people who are complaining backstage when there are guys and girls in NXT calling for an opportunity who could sub in there? In the independents, in NXT, I saw a bunch of people who have the right mentality, who look better, who work harder because they have the right attitude, and I would put them in right now if I was the coach. To this day, that’s what I want: an entire roster of hungry people rather than the moaning and groaning people.”
(quotes courtesy of ITRWrestling.com)
