Recap by: Chris Siggia, rajah.com
Please send all feedback to: jspodcast2020@gmail.com or @wrestlingfancs
CHASING GLORY WITH LILIAN GARCIA 04/20/20: DREW MCINTYRE
Lilian Garcia talking about Howard Finkel: "My very first day on the job, August 23 of 1999, I was told to just show up. It was in Iowa. I didn't know yet what the job was going to be. In my audition I did backstage interviews. But it wasn't until that day, Monday, that I was told at 3:30 that afternoon, that was I was taking over Howard Finkel's job as the brand new ring announcer for Monday Night Raw. Talk about that moment being so heavy, so scary. I was emotional too because for replacing such a legend as Howard Finkel, I knew how much he loved that job. I looked at him, I'll never forget, I looked at him. I'm like, how in the world am I going to do this. He looked right at me and said because you can and you will I'll be right there to help you. And that's exactly what Howard did. So selfless. He could have been bitter about that because he had been the announcer there for 20 years. When you heard the voice of Monday Night Raw, you knew it was Howard Finkel. You heard those huge Pay Per Views and WrestleManias. That was Howard Finkel, and here I come along with zero training and I'm supposed to step in those shoes? It's crazy because it feels like it was just yesterday. But Howard and Tony Chimel, both, anytime I had a question, anytime I needed any kind of advice, because I was learning on the job, I could go right to Howard. I went to him and said I can't do this alone. I really need your help. please. He was right there, every single time, encouraging me, helping me. He mentored me without even knowing he was my mentor. Throughout the years, we created such a bond and a relationship from one ring announcer to another. I loved being ring announcer. I respect the job of being ring announcer so much, which is why I still do it to this day. When the PFL called me and asked me to be their ring announcer for MMA, I didn't hesitate. I was like, absolutely. I have a man that taught me what being a ring announcer was and how to cherish that position."
McIntyre talking about the circumstances under which he won the WWE Title at WrestleMania: "When I found out about it, I was obviously upset. I was very angry. But I didn't realize the magnitude of the situation until I got back home. I was still feeling down on myself. I worked so hard to get this moment and it's all happening the way I imagined, then it's not going to happen the way I imagined and I couldn't believe it. Then I started watching the news and realized what was going on and the WWE was pushing forward with WrestleMania and give everybody an escape. The fact that I was going to fight Brock in the main event, that was bigger than my selfish reasons and I started thinking this was a positive. We are going to give everybody an escape. I can give them a happy ending if they are invested in my story and finally get that happy ending at WrestleMania. That is the biggest thing in the world to me and watching it back, watching it on the couch, feeling like it's the first time watching it because when I won the title, I hid the title upstairs in a room. I wasn't allowed to look at it. It never happened. So, I relived the moment on the couch with the wife and the cats, reacting to every move. She almost got elbowed a few times when I was giving Claymores and taking F-5s so she had to move to the side of the couch. I had the same reaction as when I won the title."
