Dax Harwood believes Bull James is a student of the game, and he has a theory as to why he wasn’t able to find success in WWE.
On the latest episode of FTR with Dax Harwood, his run in WWE NXT was a big topic of discussion. Harwood talked about originally being named The Mechanics on NXT television to face Bull Dempsey and Mojo Rawley, and why he didn’t want that name to stick.
“Yeah, the name was fine. I didn’t want it to stick because there is a stigma with professional wrestling and mechanics,” Dax Harwood said. “The name was fine. The guys we worked with are fine too. I have a lot of respect for both of those guys, personally and professionally. The sad thing is the guy who kind of controlled our future, Bill DeMott, was not a fan of me and Cash at all.
“And so Mojo was one of his boys and one of his pet projects. So was Bull. [DeMott] had an affinity for Bull. He loved Bull. So we were just there to give them a good match and make them look good. That’s the wrestling business, you know what I mean? Everybody’s not gonna like you as we’ve talked about, and when people are in charge, and they don’t like you. Doesn’t really matter how good you are. You’re never going to be able to get to a certain level.”
When co-host Matt Koon brought up that he recently spoke to Bull Dempsey (now going by Bull James) and he spoke to him about that match, Harwood put Bull over and gave his opinion as to why James wasn’t able to find success in WWE NXT.
“A huge student of the game. I remember everything about it. I mean, I loved the match. I thought the match was really good. We had a lot of stories we had to tell in that match because Bull and Mojo, I guess storyline-wise, they weren’t getting along. So I couldn’t have this great epic match. But when it comes to fundamentals and mechanics, Bull is great.
“I think the biggest downfall for Bull, and I don’t think he would mind me saying this. He probably would agree with me. The biggest reason, probably the only reason he didn’t make it to a certain level, was because whenever he was starting to click doing the Bull Fit gimmick, everyone saw it. All the people in the office saw it, and so they all wanted to stick their hands in the honey jar and try to make it theirs right and try to make his success their success.
“And that goes back to the point with Road Dogg where he gave me an idea, and I didn’t necessarily take it. Bull knew if these people gave him ideas who were in big positions of power. If he didn’t take their ideas and use them, then he would get heat for it. The only problem is when you’re getting five or six or seven different opinions and people pulling at you this way and that way and that way. Then you stop becoming yourself because you’re just trying to please everybody because you want to make it.”
What do you make of Dax Harwood’s comments? Do you think too many cooks in the kitchen sabotaged Bull James’ run in WWE NXT? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit The FTR Podcast with a link back to this article for the transcription.
