-- Now former WWE NXT Champion Ethan Page was interviewed by TVInsider ahead of last night's NXT premiere on the CW Network. Below are some highlights:
On what he was promised by WWE prior to signing
The only thing that was really told to me was, “It seems like nobody has given you a fair shot. We’re going to give you a fair shot. You trust us, and we’ll trust you. If you don’t break the trust, we won’t break the trust. Here’s your chance to have the career you’ve always wanted to have.” There was no mention of championships. I’m hoping I happily earned that, or I should say I fell into it.
On how the NXT locker room reacted to his quick ascension
There are two ways to look at it. One, ultimately I don’t care. Just because this is my career and my life. Never am I going to look back on my career and be like, “You know? I shouldn’t have gotten that opportunity. Someone else should.” I will say here in NXT the locker room is different than any I’ve experienced in my entire career. You have coaches who genuinely want to see you get better. It’s actually their job to see you get better. The environment is so much catered to improving, growing, and really honing your skills. And on top of it, 70 percent of the wrestlers here were pro athletes from pro sports, team sports.
So their mentality is a lot different than wrestlers who start in wrestling and have jaded and grumpy trainers telling them everyone is evil and will screw them. I was earworm-ed to be worried about everyone in professional wrestling compared to these NIL (Next In Line) athletes coming here and being told we’re a team. Lexis King has his crazy beard and is always flipping off at the mouth saying crazy stuff. At the end of the day, everyone here is like Lexis King is Lexis King, but he is our Lexis King. If we all crush it, the team wins. That’s how everyone looks at it.
On the future of NXT
It was the exact same thing I said about CM Punk coming along. Whatever the WWE wants to do to garner as much attention as possible, I’m all for it. I don’t shy away from the eyeballs. I want that. I want to be part of the growth and why people tune in every week. I want to be the centerpiece because I believe in what you’re saying. This could be huge. This could make NXT on the same level of a Raw or SmackDown in viewership. Time will tell. Tuesday will tell. I hope that happens and am ready for it.
