Tyler Breeze Loves Being Called a NXT OG, Talks Appearing For EVOLVE

In an interview with WWE.com, Tyler Breeze spoke about appearing for EVOLVE this weekend at EVOLVE 129 and 130, where he’ll face AR Fox and Anthony Greene, respectively. Here are highlights:

On the inspiration behind his NXT return: “I really think the inspiration, if you read online and see what everybody talks about, is that a lot of people watch our product and say that a lot of people on the roster are complacent. I was in the tag team with Fandango, and we were everywhere. “Fashion Files” was hot, everything was running really good. Then, as soon as he got injured, we stalled out a little bit. I was on my own, trying to find my footing and wasn’t really used much. That almost turned into some sort of backlash, with critics claiming I’m complacent. I did that for about a year, just seeing what was happening. Then this opportunity popped up where it was like, “Hey, you know what, let’s revisit NXT.” NXT has always been good to me, and I’ve always had a home there.

I go back there, and it reignited a spark that was almost going out a little bit. My whole motivation and inspiration was to change that perspective of me. This guy isn’t complacent. He has something to offer. I’m not by any means on the backend of my career; I’m still very much able to go, as you could see in those NXT TV and TakeOver matches. I know exactly what I could do and what I’m capable of. If you put me in front of an audience, you’re going to see a different side.”

On his EVOLVE appearances: “It’s an interesting time right now, not just for sports-entertainment, but wrestling as well. When I was in NXT before, something like this wasn’t even possible. Now, we have these new opportunities. Something like EVOLVE is now an option. I can go and participate like I’m doing this weekend. They have their own roster of talented people, and now you’re getting two different matchups. Since we made the announcement, I’ve been hit up a lot on social media about AR Fox and Anthony Green, with people saying, “This is going to be awesome!” Not only will fans get to see matches they may never see again, but also, they get meet-and-greets, which are few and far between. I’m doing meet-and-greets for both nights, so it’ll be really cool to meet a new fanbase, a new roster to wrestle, and just the fact that I can go into somewhere like EVOLVE and get my feet wet there. I wrestled for WWE, NXT and now I get to for EVOLVE. I’m looking forward to the opportunity, it’s going to be really fun.”

On being an NXT OG: “I love it and wear it as a badge of honor because there’s not a lot of people that can say that they’ve done what I’ve done. I came in around 2010, and NXT wasn’t even alive yet. So, I was in FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling). I was also part of when it turned to NXT. I was a part of the first tapings at Full Sail Live. I was involved in the first four to five years that it was a thing, so there’s a core group of us that really are the OGs. We were the ones working every single show, either the Full Sail tapings or on WWE Network. It was the same core group of people every time. I do consider myself, and other people as well, as the original pillar for what NXT is today and why that standard is there. The chants from the NXT Universe is one of those genuine things from a group of people who are just saying, “Hey, we appreciate everything you’ve done and look forward to everything you do.” That makes me motivated to work harder.”