Andre Chase Says WWE Originally Wanted To Bring Him In As A Coach

Andre Chase says that WWE’s original plan was to bring him in as a coach, which would have resulted in his being paid more. Chase joined WWE back in February of 2021 and had a lengthy run in NXT, during which he launched the popular underdog stable of Chase U. His run with the company came to an end in April.

Chase was a guest on his former stablemate Duke Hanson’s Between Two Jobs. During the conversation, he revealed how he was brought in and that, when WWE bought EVOLVE in 2020, they initially did not bring over his contract. He got a tryout and Canyon Ceman told him that they wanted him as a coach, but thought his tryout did well. You can see the highlights below, courtesy of Fightful:

On Not Coming Straight Over From EVOLVE:

“Gabe (Sapolsky) calls me in July and goes, ‘We sold EVOLVE to WWE. You weren’t under contract with us. They are going to absorb some of the contracts, but you’re not one of them because you’re not under a deal.’ ‘Okay, cool.’ ‘Stay ready.'”

On Getting Called for the Tryout:

“I was still working out and staying ready, but I wasn’t expecting anything. In September, Gabe texts me out of the blue and is like, ‘Have you been staying ready?’ ‘Yeah.’ Five minutes later, I get a call from Canyon (Ceman) and he’s like, ‘How have you been? Are you well? Are you working?’ North Carolina was shut down. I had a work-from-home setup. ‘As best I can, I’m staying ready.’ He’s like, ‘You want to come in for a tryout?’ It was the first tryout in COVID. Essentially, he was like, ‘You’re an interesting case because we actually want to sign you as a coach. Come to the tryout anyway, and we’ll talk and discuss what we have for you. We think you’d be a great coach.’ I’m 31 and like, ‘I’m not ready to stop wrestling yet.’ They made it clear it was one or the other. There were no player-coaches. He said they were bringing in ten guys, it was a small tryout and everyone was getting signed, ‘You just have to come to it.”

On Getting an Offer From WWE:

“I get the call back in November from Canyon and he goes, ‘We really wanted you as a coach, but we enjoyed your tryout. What do you want to do?’ They gave me the numbers, and the coach was a much higher salary than what it was starting as a wrestler. I was like, ‘Do I take the money and call it a day on my career?’ They made it clear, ‘You can’t do both.'”

On Deciding to Sign as a Talent:

“The money was appealing and attractive, but I came here to be a wrestler, so I’m gonna be a wrestler. I called him and told him. He was a bit surprised. ‘You know the pay difference, right?’”