WWE NXT star Bobby Roode was the recent guest on “The Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast”, which you can listen to in the player below or at this link. The following are some interview highlights:
On His Experience So Far with WWE/NXT:
It’s been an incredible experience; a “glorious” experience. It’s a different animal in WWE. You hear prior things of course before coming into WWE–whether it’s negative or positive, depending on who you it is coming from. To me, it’s one of those things you had to personally experience and see for yourself. I can honestly say, from the time I walked into the doors at Wrestlemania in Dallas, where I flew down there and met with some people and talked, it’s been an incredible experience. I started in June in England, and made my TV debut basically in Brooklyn, I still think about that night in Brooklyn, when my music hit–that whole night was a very memorable moment, and tomorrow I’m flying to New York where NXT has a show in Madison Square Garden, then we fly out to Boston the next night, then Saturday night at NXT:Takeover in Toronto–it’s just been a great experience so far.
On Having Any Regrets on Not Coming to WWE Sooner:
I think that everything in life, not just in sports entertainment, happens for a reason, so you know, I had a great career before I came to WWE. I was very fortunate to have had to work with the guys that I worked with and really had a chance to do what I love to do and make a name for myself, to bring it to NXT and be TV ready. Had I not been in that position, who knows if I would have been able to be in the position I am today and be able to hang in there, so I have passion for what I do again. At the end of my TNA run I started to lose that passion. WWE has rejuvenated that 1,000 degrees and I just look forward to getting back in the ring with this weekend at NXT:Takeover being such a big weekend for me.
On Taking a Risk Leaving TNA to Come to WWE/NXT:
It was scary. It was a little nerve-wrecking. I’m not sure I’m the guy that loves change, and I was very–I guess you can say comfortable since I was doing it there for a long time. Obviously the WWE is the be all/end all in Sports Entertainment, and the opportunities that they present for a lot of individuals is something why I got in the business for in the first place almost 20 years ago. There are still a few things I would like to do to scratch off on my bucket list, and the only place that I can possibly achieve those is to be part of the WWE. It was a risk; I didn’t know where I would be at–I thought maybe I can go to Japan and work, if it didn’t work out anywhere else. At the time I didn’t love what I was doing so I didn’t know where I was, I was just at a point in my life where I had to go home and figure out really what I wanted to do; thankfully, I had the opportunity to talk with WWE in Dallas for Wrestlemania weekend and get a chance to talk with some pretty important people; to get a chance to meet some of the guys and just take in what the WWE is all about, and immediately I knew I had to be part of it all.
On Meeting Triple H:
It was basically, before I got down to Dallas for Wrestlemania weekend to sit down with Triple H, I had a chance to speak with him on the phone, and obviously I have been around for a long time. I’m not a spring chicken anymore, so obviously my age was a bit of concern; he was curious as to what I wanted to do, if I had to hang up my boots what would I like to do afterwards, you know, really getting to know each other, because even though we’ve been in the same business, we never really knew each other or talked to each other. We had a really good talk, you know, and then at the end of it, I basically told him that I have been around for a while and I wanted an opportunity, and basically that is all I am looking for; bring me in and give me an opportunity and see what you think, so he gave me that opportunity and I have been grateful for it because obviously, whatever I did has been good because here I am, on the verge of another NXT:Takeover event, being in my hometown. NXT:Takeover Dallas was amazing, NXT:Takeover Brooklyn was amazing, and to just keep in my mind, they keep getting better and better. To me, they are on par with the main roster PPV’s; the Takeover in Brooklyn was just as good, if not better than SummerSlam, so we all try to raise the bar in the NXT locker room and are going to try to make it a bigger event than Survivor Series, so it’s just fun to be part of it.
