Drew McIntyre Demands WWE 2K Cover. Blasts ‘Easily Offended Americans’ [Exclusive]

Drew McIntyre may be a fan of the latest instalment of the WWE 2K franchise, but he is not a fan of the game’s new cover star.

Mainly because the WWE superstar adorning the cover of WWE 2K26 is World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk. In other words, the man McIntyre spent the best part of 2024 attempting to hospitalise.

The reigning WWE Champion recently joined SPORF via video call for an exclusive conversation about the upcoming release from 2K, among other topics in a wide ranging discussion. But whichever way the interview veered, it often came back to one man. CM Punk.

Drew McIntyre – Not a CM Punk Guy

And the Scottish Warrior made no secret of his disdain for the Second City Saint when asked about his reaction when he saw Punk had been made the cover star of WWE 2K26, complete with his own ‘Best in the World’ showcase mode, which will chronicle Punk’s iconic in-ring career, featuring his most memorable moments and matches.

“I had to walk around all day yesterday (at the WWE 2K Creator Event held at WWE Headquarters) and see his stupid face all over the building.

“I get it, he’s a huge star in wrestling. I always tell the truth, as much as I don’t like Punk, but at the same time, we’re growing as a brand, bigger than I thought was possible, with ESPN in America and Netflix all across the world, with so many new fans tuning into the product.

READ MORE: CM Punk Promotes Return To WWE 2K24 With Shot At Drew McIntyre

“And I can’t even imagine a mother watching her kid get the new 2K26 game and glance over the kid’s shoulder, like ‘huh, what’s that?’ at the sunken face and the eye bags. ‘Is that a zombie game? Wait, is that a junkie game? Is the main hero a junkie? I don’t want my kid playing that.”

McIntyre, naturally, had an idea of who could have been emblazoned across the cover instead of the World Heavyweight Champion.

“You could put someone like Drew McIntyre on the cover, your WWE Undisputed Champion and I’m not just the body and the face, but maybe the mother Googles my name and says ‘wow, he’s college educated’, CM Punk never went to school basically, I’m surprised he can string a sentence together.

“They missed out. The game’s amazing. The graphics are amazing, I look more tanned and jacked this year. The rating’s a little better this year, but the thing they screwed up on was the cover, because we’ve got this new audience. Next year, get it right 2K. 2K27, Drew McIntyre on the cover.”

McIntyre is Choosing Violence in WWE 2K26

With WWE 2K26 introducing several new ultra-violent match types to the franchise, this year, such as Three Stages of Hell (the same match McIntyre defeated Cody Rhodes in to win the WWE Undisputed Title), dumpster matches and inferno matches, McIntyre urged WWE fans everywhere to live out their most barbaric dream matches against Punk in the new game.

“When it comes to the video game, there’s an inferno match. I recommend everybody has an inferno match and just set Punk on fire constantly, cos that’s what I’m gonna do. I’d do that in real life as well.”

Violence is a word that has followed McIntyre and Punk around for the last two years, having tried to borderline dismember each other throughout 2024 in one of the most memorable feuds in WWE history.

The deeply personal, real life issues between the two reigning men’s World Champions saw them face off against each other at SummerSlam 2024, where McIntyre picked up the win, with Seth Rollins as special guest referee. Punk then drew the series level with victory in a strap match at Clash In Berlin, before the programme was settled in a blood soaked Hell In A Cell match at Bad Blood in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Hell In A Cell bout saw both men bleeding profusely as they put forth one of the greatest battles ever seen inside a WWE ring. A fitting end to a hate fuelled few months that brought the very best and worst out of both men. It was a level of violence rarely seen in WWE nowadays and McIntyre doesn’t believe it is one that needs to become too regular on the company’s programming.

“When it comes to that level of violence, it’s when the story dictates,” McIntyre explains, “I don’t think anybody could have predicted, including myself and Punk, as much as we don’t like each other, how far the violence would have gone.

“I think it’s OK in the right situation,” the strapping Glaswegian continues, “in general I think if you do it all the time it means a lot less.”

The Punk Slander Continues

But what of a potential reconciliation with Punk post-career? Seth Rollins, another adversary of the Straight Edge Superstar, with some deep rooted real-life issues, had recently claimed that no friendship could be brokered with Punk while they remained colleagues, but perhaps there could be a chance of a more cordial relationship during retirement.

McIntyre does not envisage such a situation with himself and Punk.

“What do they plan to do, post-career?” McIntyre wonders, “Sit around into their fifties. Well I guess Punk’s almost in his fifties already, even if he looks in his seventies.

“What are they gonna do? Sit around and drink coffee? He’s not exactly the funnest guy in the world. You’re not going to have a beer with him. Mr. Captain Straight Edge, even though he looks like a frigging junkie.”

– Drew McIntyre

“Once I retire I don’t wanna see most of the people I work with. As far as I’m concerned, what I’ve learned about this job is they’re all after my spot. I’ve got the top spot, I’ve got my friends already, I never wanna be friends with Punk. Screw him, I hope I get a match with him in the future so I can make things right from Hell In A Cell and beat his stupid arse.”

Drew McIntyre Believes Americans Are Too Easily Offended

McIntyre’s attitude towards both Punk and the rest of his colleagues should come as no surprise. The Glaswegian revels in his ability to crawl underneath people’s skin. His use of social media has long been heralded as one of the most bombastic and effective in all of pro-wrestling.

The four-time World Champion has next-to-zero filter when it comes to s**tposting. Whether it’s photoshopping memes for his own amusement, digging up screenshots and viral tweets about his opponents to stick the needle in even further or even posting selfies during WrestleMania World Title matches, McIntyre will stop at nothing to get himself more over with the WWE audience.

https://t.co/VAICRy30Sq pic.twitter.com/B97i9nDhaY

— Drew (@DMcIntyreWWE) February 14, 2026

Even when his wrists are slapped for his online conduct, the former 3 Man Band member has little regard for anybody’s low opinions of his behaviour on social media, stating that Americans don’t understand how to take a joke.

“It’s just using the tools that we have at our disposal,” explains McIntyre when asked about his social media usage.

“The world we live in today, if you don’t use social media to maximise your game then you’re an idiot as far as I’m concerned. It comes down to me and my personality. That’s what goes out there. It’s what I’m like in real life. I’m from the UK, we talk a lot of crap, we’re a bit sarcastic and we’ve got thick skin.

“In America half the stuff I say it’s, ‘oh my God, I can’t believe Drew said that online’. What are you talking about? I say worse stuff to my mates, but Americans are really offended by it. So I knew we were onto a winner when we started going down that route and using social media the way I use it.

“When it comes to slaps on the wrist, yeah I’ve had a few slaps on the wrist. But the thing with me is, you never have to tell me to get to the line. You don’t have to push me forward, you’re always gonna have to pull me back. And I’m sitting here with the title so I must be doing something right.”

So that’s CM Punk, pretty much the rest of the WWE locker room and America on the hit list of Drew McIntyre. Stay tuned for the rest of the interview, coming exclusively to SPORF, over the course of this coming week.

For more information on WWE 2K26, visit the game’s official website, become a fan on Facebook, follow the game on TikTok, X, Instagram, and subscribe on Twitch and YouTube. Official campaign hashtag #WWE2K26.