Earlier this week, Wrestling Inc. was on hand for a media call that featured WWE superstar and participant in this Sunday's Royal Rumble match, Drew McIntyre. McIntyre recalled being Vince McMahon's handpicked choice to join WWE SmackDown back in September 2009 and discussed his future plans for Royal Rumble and WrestleMania this year.

During McIntyre's first stint with the WWE, he had a moment with Vince McMahon on WWE SmackDown where Vince introduced him as a future World Champion - smart, aggressive, and a bad ass. Nearly a decade has past since Vince's flattering promotion of McIntyre, but McIntyre told Wrestling Inc.'s Akhilesh Gannavarapu that he wouldn't have returned to WWE if he didn't believe Vince's former praise.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe that," McIntyre said. "Vince McMahon got his crystal ball and saw into the future. And thankfully, eventually I started putting the pieces together. I started realizing my potential. You got to prove Vince McMahon right. It's crazy - some of the ideas he says that might sound crazy generally become true. It gives you a good feeling, especially in the moment I'm in right now."

McIntyre also addressed the upcoming Royal Rumble match, explaining how it can be difficult for individuals, like himself, with a high center of gravity to not get unexpectedly knocked over the top rope. McIntyre reassured that he has a set game plan for this Sunday and even if someone like Braun Strowman shows up, he's remaining a focused competitor.

"To win the Royal Rumble you don't want to go over the top rope, obviously," McIntyre explained. "But game play wise, hopefully you draw a later number. You try and stay as small as you can, which is difficult for someone like myself because with that high center of gravity, it's not ideal, because someone can knock you right over the top rope if you get too close to them. So, for myself, it's about having that game plan that I do have, which involves some things that I maybe not necessarily shown on TV. But I'm not going to give away any of my game plan, because I do have one in mind.

"The biggest threats are the ones with the low center of gravity and the power. Big E, for example," McIntyre continued. "And the larger than life individuals. I know Braun Strowman's not technically in there but I saw what he had to say last week, so I would not be surprised if Braun Strowman was in there, like some surprises in the past. If we end up in there together, it's going to be an absolute war!"

McIntyre is looking to come out on top this Sunday and main event WrestleMania 35 battling for a major Championship, but what happens if he's unsuccessful in The Rumble? McIntyre was asked about a possible match with John Cena at WrestleMania. McIntyre was enticed with the idea and believes that facing Cena is essentially like competing for a major title on "The Grandest Stage Of Them All".

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"The goal is win the Royal Rumble and go to WrestleMania for the Championship," McIntyre said. "But I might consider having a match with John Cena at WrestleMania just as big, because as was mentioned earlier, he might not have too many left and I do believe he is the greatest superstar of all time. So that would be the biggest notch in my belt if that was to go through."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please include a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.