Fred Rosser Reflects On Causing Havoc And Forming A Lasting Bond With The Nexus, Discusses New WWE Documentary

Fred Rosser is proud of the connections and memories he made in WWE and the work he’s doing currently in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Fred Rosser recently spoke with WrestleZone and talked about his current run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling as well as his past run in WWE as Darren Young. Known as “Mr. No Days Off” throughout his career, Rosser was asked if there’s anyone he ever worked with that made it so easy, it felt like he actually took a day off. The former WWE Tag Team Champion said Cesaro and Brodie Lee were the first two that came to mind, and called them both a joy to work with.

“Guys that I always bring up off the top of my head—Cesaro, Brodie Lee, God rest his soul—those are two guys that when I was in the ring with, it felt like a fight. They made me intimidated in the ring but in a good way, you know what I mean? We were able to tell the best story as possible when I was working the Wyatts or Cesaro & Tyson Kidd. So, those are two names that ring a bell, Brodie and Cesaro, those are two guys that are a night off and a joy to be in the ring with. They elevate me, they highlight me. I’ve heard Shawn Michaels say to D-Von Dudley—years ago when I was an extra,” Rosser explained, “you want to highlight their strengths and hide the weaknesses in your opponents. So, that’s kind of a layout that I like to take when I’m in the ring with anybody.”

During his WWE run, Rosser was also an original member of The Nexus, who will be the subject of a new WWE Untold documentary. Rosser recently filmed content for the documentary and explained how the opportunity came up.

“I was reached out to a couple weeks ago about this opportunity and I would say with anything in wrestling, if I did it for the money, I would’ve complained a long time ago. I do it for the love, I do it for the passion. I say on my podcast, don’t die with the story you tell it, and on my most recent episode, Pro And Bro Wrestling podcast, I really go into detail on how it went,” Rosser said, “and it went great.”

On the podcast he referenced, Rosser said he purposely showed up with the New Japan jacket on because of how proud he is of being on the New Japan roster. He said he was asked to remove the jacket, but he refused because he was very proud of the achievement and wanted to be himself on camera, and the producer said it was not a problem.

Read More: Fred Rosser Calls New Japan Run A Dream Come True

Plenty of people have looked back on the Nexus’ WWE run in hindsight, weighing in on the pros and the cons. Rather than focusing on what went wrong with the group, Rosser was asked about what went right with the stable and what the positives he took from it were. Rosser explained how he was uncomfortable with himself back then, but loved seeing what NXT turned into, and he also pointed out that he formed a lasting bond with the group that remains to this day.

“My boy Heath Slater, he said it the best; ‘We ain’t young punk kids anymore, we grown-ass men!’ And he’s right. At the time that the Nexus caused havoc, I wasn’t comfortable with myself at all. I mentioned it on the Nexus documentary, the original season of NXT I was on was like a game show and I hated it. I hated it, hated it, hated it, hated it, and that’s how I said it on the documentary—I hated it. It was like a game show and if I wanted to do ‘American Gladiators’ or ‘American Ninja Warrior’ I would have done that. But what NXT is today, it’s incredible and I wish I could come back to NXT and work their style currently. I could hang with them, definitely, but when we did the Nexus, I wasn’t comfortable with myself,” Rosser stated.

“So, during the Nexus documentary I said I was never comfortable with myself [then]. I was never comfortable on the mic and I say it now—I’m not a promo guy. I’m not like The Rock, and I can strive to be at this point of my career, but I just need to be me. As a kid, I had a stuttering problem and sometimes it comes and goes, but I embrace it and I don’t really care. What you see is what you get, you know? But from causing havoc [with Nexus], that’s history that will never be erased,” Rosser explained, “and the connections that I’ve made with a lot of the guys, Heath Slater, [Michael] Tarver and Ryback, Wade [Barrett], all those guys, I love them to death.”

Asked about if he knew when the Nexus documentary will premiere, Rosser noted that he was not told an exact date, but pointed out that the group’s debut took place in June of 2010, so he would guess fans could expect an announcement soon.

WWE has since confirmed the documentary would air this month. Rosser can currently be seen on New Japan Strong; he will also compete at NWA: When Our Shadows Fall on pay-per-view this Sunday against JTG.

Read More: Stu Bennett On Why Nexus’ Shocking WWE Debut Still Resonates With Fans, Why The Storyline Fell Apart