Bronson Reed recently spoke with Mike Johnson of PWInsider and discussed various topics, including his recent success on NXT and his match with Damian Priest. Here are some highlights, transcription credit of Mike Johnson of PWInsider.
On his match with Damian Priest:
Reed: “I’m preparing for this match, again like you said, Damian Priest is a physical specimen but at the same time, I do believe I am much more powerful, you know. A plus sometimes to us guys here at NXT is that we’ve seen each other perform or in the weight room in the Performance Center and I think and a lot of people were surprised, well not surprised because they’ve seen me do things in the weight room that others haven’t.”
On his journey to WWE:
Reed: “Yeah, you know, it’s a big thing, I wrestled on the independent scene for over a decade, all around the world but primarily in Australia and then I did have a brief stint wrestling in Japan through Pro Wrestling Noah, and that whole time I was Jonah Rock so you become comfortable in the skin that you’re in so, not that it’s a culture shock coming to the United States, I think United States and Australia are very similar, but coming to a place like WWE, it’s so different to any other animal, you know. It’s such a big company, and then a place like the Performance Center where you are working hard every single day. I have had similar experiences luckily with being in Japan and actually training in the dojos over there, that’s sort of what I liken it to, except now you’re around these big time names as coaches, you know, at the moment my coach is Shawn Michaels and I’ve been able to work with other guys like Scotty 2 Hotty, you just get to pick the mind of all these greats.”
On learning from legends like Shawn Michaels:
Reed: “Yeah, I think those guys are so giving like um, sometimes I have to pinch myself and remind myself that it’s the Shawn Michaels who’s Mr. Wrestlemania, that’s who I’m speaking to, it’s such a wealth of knowledge that anyone that gets to work with him can learn and grow from there, and then having someone like Matt Bloom as well who’s also a super heavyweight also helps because he sort of understands the way that I work and the mechanics that my body, you know, how it has to work to do things, so it’s definitely a wealth of knowledge from all the coaches at the Performance Center.”
On his upcoming match at NXT TakeOver XXX:
Reed: “Yeah you know, I feel like there is obviously a lot of pressure. It’s not only TakeOver, it’s TakeOver XXX, the first ever TakeOver I’ve been a part of. They’re making it as big as an event as they can, and I’m not only just debuting on a Takeover match but I’m also in a ladder match for the North American Championship. So there is pressure going in, but I find myself, I always thrive under pressure, so it’s something that I welcome. And then with the match with Roderick Strong and Johnny Gargano, it’s one of those things where I do think even though I’m clearly the bigger man in that match, that people would see me as the underdog, or there is a lot of fans watching that might not know what I’ve done in the past, know who Bronson Reed is or what he can do in the ring, so I felt it was a very proving ground style match that I was very happy with. I think it’s really good to be able to get in there with people that have that sort of talent like Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong are both so well known throughout the wrestling world but also both so established in NXT. So for me to get the win over them I think was a very big thing, a turning point in my career.”
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