Drew McIntyre sends a message to John Cena ahead of the WWE Royal Rumble

Drew McIntyre and John Cena will enter the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble match on February 1. In an interview ahead of the event, The Scottish Warrior gave a stern warning to his fellow Rumble participant.

Cena will retire from in-ring competition in late 2025. The Hollywood star has been tipped by many to begin his farewell tour with a Rumble victory. If that happens, he will challenge for a record-breaking 17th world title at WrestleMania 41 on April 19-20.

Speaking to BBC Scotland News, McIntyre claimed he won his promo battles with CM Punk in 2024. The 2020 Men's Rumble winner also vowed to beat Cena on the microphone if they cross paths this year:

"On the microphone he has historically been king and if you check the awards I've won in the past year, when it comes to the microphone I'm the king now. I want to go toe-to-toe with him like I did CM Punk, and I crushed Punk, and then I'll get him in the ring. I'll shake his hand and say thanks for all he's done, but get out. This is my world now, go entertain us in Hollywood."

Cena was one of WWE's top full-time attractions for over a decade after making his main roster debut in 2002. In 2015, the 47-year-old significantly reduced his in-ring schedule to focus on acting.

How Drew McIntyre views his WWE on-screen persona

While most WWE stars portray a good guy or bad guy, Drew McIntyre believes his character simply tells the truth based on past experiences.

Inspired by the storytelling he sees in non-wrestling television shows, McIntyre gave an insight into the creation of his current persona:

"There's a certain view of wrestling, and even within wrestling, that it needs to be very black and white, good versus evil. Some of us are more forward thinking and going, 'Why? That's not how life [is] and that's what humans are.' Look at all these other shows and they've got a limited number of episodes per season and they develop these complex deep layered characters and deep layered storylines. There's no excuse that we can't do that."

In his latest televised match, McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn on the January 27 episode of RAW. He has also suffered losses against Jey Uso and Seth Rollins since RAW moved to Netflix.

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