Drew McIntyre has "perfected the art of slapping" like 37-year-old; WWE star articulates "hate" for it

Drew McIntyre suffered a clean loss to CM Punk at WWE Bash in Berlin. But this only lit a fire under the Scotsman as he showed up this past Monday with a vengeance. Punk was ultimately taken out on a stretcher after McIntyre wreaked havoc.

Part of the reason for The Scottish Warrior's disdain towards The Straight Edge Superstar is the fact that the latter ruined his homecoming back in June. Drew McIntyre failed to regain the World Heavyweight Championship on his home turf from Damian Priest at Clash at the Castle.

After defeating Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania XL, The Archer of Infamy held on to the belt until SummerSlam, where he dropped it to Gunther. Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet recently about The Ring General's chops, Priest credited McIntyre for mastering the "art of slapping," much like the Austrian himself:

"There’s no explanation, there’s nothing you can compare it to. I don’t know, grab a frying pan and have somebody swing it as hard as they can against your chest. But him [Gunther] and Drew [McIntyre], these guys just with these heavy hands, just ginormous people, and they’ve perfected the art of slapping, which is crazy. It’s ridiculous. It’s brutal. I mean, you’ve seen it. [...] I hate being marked up like that, and it doesn’t go away right away. You’re just marked up and you take a shower, it hurts. Take a deep breath, it hurts. You put on a T-shirt it hurts, it all hurts."

As for Priest, he is riding high on a wave of momentum as he and Rhea Ripley have dominated their former faction Judgment Day of late. The Terror Twins defeated Women's World Champion Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio at Bash in Berlin this past Saturday.

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Drew McIntyre credits retired WWE Superstar Dave Batista for guiding him when he "knew nothing"

Drew McIntyre's WWE career commenced in 2009 at a high point. He was introduced by former chairman Vince McMahon as the "Chosen One" but was ultimately relegated to a comedy act as part of 3MB before getting released in 2014. Upon return three years later, he rose up the ranks.

In his early days in the Stamford-based promotion, Batista was an active wrestler and a main event player in the game. Reflecting on The Animal's mentorship while promoting their upcoming feature The Killer's Game recently, McIntyre expressed gratitude:

"I was a kid that knew nothing and [Batista] helped guide me on my journey when I first arrived. Not just navigating WWE, but also navigating life, because I was absolutely clueless. I was picked up from Scotland at college and dropped down and he was there, as a friend, and mentor," McIntyre said.

Batista recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet to promote the movie. He commented on a potential WWE Hall of Fame induction down the line.