Tony D’Angelo wants to make a few things very clear.
The NXT North American Champion spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of his next title defense at Halloween Havoc. “Tony D” will defend his championship against Oba Femi, the man he beat for the title, in a Tables, Ladders and Scares match. The feud heated up this week after Femi zip-tied Tony to the ring post while he took out The Family. Tony later asked NXT GM Ava to add a new stipulation, allowing the winner to be decided by pinfall.
It seemed like D’Angelo had a slight advantage in a ladder match compared to a match ending in a pinfall. D’Angelo revealed why he asked Ava to make the change, explaining that he wants to beat Oba Femi up and get a decisive win on Sunday.
“Well, look — let’s just say we kept it the same. Okay? Run up the ladder, grab the title. A win is a win but I don’t feel like I am beating him. Especially after what he did on Tuesday, tied me to the ring and made me watch [him take out The Family]. I’m 99% sure that this guy had Rizzo taken out,” Tony D’Angelo proclaimed. “I want to rub some more dirt in the wound. I want to make it clear that you do not do those things to the D’Angelo family. And that’s it. I just want to rub more dirt on the wound, I want to hurt him, and make it clear to everybody that I am beating him.”
How is The Family?
Oba Femi took out Channing Lorenzo and Luca Crusifino on Tuesday. Will they be in any shape to appear at NXT Halloween Havoc on Sunday?
“Look they’re — I told them to take care of themselves right now and I’ll handle the business. As their leader, as their boss, I need to prove to them and show them that I can handle stuff without them. A true leader practices what they preach,” D’Angelo said. “If I am going to sit here and order him around, I need to put a hurting on people. Especially to the guy that did this. He needs to pay, he needs to be hurting just like they are right now. So, Oba has got it coming to him.”
Tony D’Angelo explains what kind of champion he wants to be
In addition to his North American title reign, Tony D’Angelo is also a former two-time NXT Tag Team Champion and Heritage Cup winner. Despite those accolades, he knows that some people disagree with him being a title holder in NXT. He wants to be a great champion. However, he also wants to prove those doubters wrong and erase any doubts they have.
“I want to prove to a lot of people out there who don’t necessarily think I was the guy for the job or whatever they might say — I want to prove all of them wrong. I want to be a dominant champion, I want to be a great champion, I want to make sure that [holds up his championship] the lineage on this title stays intact,” D’Angelo explained. “Because there’s a lot of people that came before me that are doing great things now. Lot of big names on the list. So, I want to keep the tradition alive and make sure that there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that Tony D’Angelo is supposed to be a champion.”
NXT Halloween Havoc takes place at the Giant Center in Hershey on Sunday, October 27. Watch our full interview with Tony D’Angelo below:
