Steph De Lander, a rising star in TNA Wrestling, recently opened up on Wrestling Life With Ben Veal about the invaluable wrestling advice she has received from WWE’s Drew McIntyre. She revealed how his guidance has been a steady influence throughout her professional journey, helping her stay focused and motivated in the challenging wrestling industry.
Ongoing Support and Vital Career Insights
De Lander highlighted the lasting impact of McIntyre’s advice, saying she regularly revisits the information he shared with her years ago. This helps her maintain clarity on her path and reassures her during uncertain moments. She also mentioned reaching out to him for advice as recently as six months ago, illustrating the ongoing relationship they share as she navigates new opportunities.
“Yeah, Drew sent me so much invaluable information that now four years later, I still go back and read it just to get a little…. three years, however long it’s been. I still go back and read what he said just to kind of refresh and make sure that I’m on the right journey and whatever else. Every now and again, I’ll like touch base with him. Up until an opportunity with WWE six months ago, it came up and I reached out to Drew and asked his advice. So it’s like, he, he’s always there as like a sounding board and again, it’s goes back to that.”
—Steph De Lander
Visualizing Success and Building a Legacy for Women Wrestlers
De Lander also emphasized the importance of having a clear vision for what she wants to accomplish, especially as a female wrestler. She wants her career to inspire other women in wrestling, particularly those who face setbacks such as being released. Her goal is to create a positive narrative around resilience and opportunity within the sport.
“Like you have to visualize what you want and it’s like, well, I want for when girls get released in the future, that the narrative is do this stuff to land up. I want to do that. I want to, I want what I do right now to be so like pivotal and important, I guess, that girls can look at me and go, ‘Oh s***. It doesn’t mean that it’s over if I get released,’ and to be honest, that already has started happening with like recently released girls kind of being like, ‘Hey, what did you do? I don’t know what to do.’ So that is cool. But yeah, for someone like Drew, it’s like, I want to be the female Drew at some point. So how do I do that? Well, what better way than go straight to the source and ask him what he did and do my best to follow that. Yeah, that’s what I’ve tried to do.”
—Steph De Lander
The Influence and Future Impact of Drew McIntyre’s Advice
The mentorship from Drew McIntyre is clearly a cornerstone of De Lander’s career, providing practical wisdom and emotional support as she advances in wrestling. Her reflective and determined attitude, shaped by this guidance, could set a meaningful example for other female wrestlers aiming to overcome challenges and seize opportunities. Moving forward, De Lander’s continued commitment to McIntyre’s advice will likely influence her trajectory and inspire others in the wrestling community to follow a similar path.
