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Showing posts with label CJ Parker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CJ Parker. Show all posts

June 20, 2018

Six Years Ago Today, NXT Relaunched At Full Sail University

Today has marked a very special anniversary for the WWE, as it has been six years since the revamp of NXT, with episode one airing June 20, 2012. 

The relaunched focused of new stars and establishing NXT as it's own brand, instead of the reality-competition style of NXT which launched in February 2010.

The results for the show were: 

Bo Dallas defeated Rick ViktorThe Ascension (Conor O'Brian and Kenneth Cameron) defeated CJ Parker and Mike DaltonTyson Kidd defeated Michael McGillicutty

A lot has changed since then, with Viktor joining the Ascension as well as Cameron and Parker being released.

In addition, Mike Dalton has gone on to become Tyler Breeze, with Michael McGillicutty becoming Curtis Axel.

May 1, 2015

Finn Balor on WWE NXT Stars to Look Out For, Where He Sees Himself In Ten Years, More


AfterBuzz hosts Cathy Kelley, Mark Donica and Boxcar Superstar The Hobo recently spoke with WWE NXT Superstar Finn Balor on their "NXT Aftershow" that airs live every Thursday. The full interview can be heard at this link. The following highlights were sent in:

AfterBuzz TV: Which NXT talent do you think is underrated and people should look out for?

Finn Balor: There’s a lot of guys you know, obviously for different reasons. One guy you know I think doesn’t get the credit he deserves is Scott Dawson. He’s a tremendous, tremendous competitor and I would love to get in there one-on-one with him. I’m also a big fan of Enzo and Cass. I don’t know how that would work with teaming up with them in a six man tag team, but I’m a big fan of their work too.

ABTV: We recently had CJP (CJ Parker) on the show, he’s planning to work the indies and wrestle in Japan. Did you give him any advice?

Finn Balor: We spoke about it….CJ was someone I was fortunate enough to get to work with when he was still here. He’s a tremendous competitor…The indie circuit is a tough circuit, but you know there’s a lot of good people out there. There is a lot of places you can learn. There’s a lot of people you can learn from and I’m sure that he’ll spend a year or two there growing himself not only personally, but as a performer and I’m sure he’ll be back in the future even better.

ABTV: Is there anyone on the indie scene you think WWE should have their eye on?

Finn Balor: I’m a little bit biased because this fella, he started in the same gym as me in England…and hopefully he’ll be able to make the transition some day into WWE, Zack Sabre Jr. He’s doing tremendous in the independents, not only in Europe but in America you know, but he’s holding his own in Japan.

ABTV: You recently traveled with WWE overseas. How was it wrestling with your home crowd?

Finn Balor: It was quite surreal. It was only less than a year ago that I said goodbye to everyone back home in Ireland and within 10 months to be returning with the WWE main roster. Going to the 3Arena in Dublin which was an arena I used to go and watch WWE when I was a kid. To walk up through the curtain and hear the roar of the hometown crowd, that was incredible.

ABTV: There have been many rumors that you will soon accept John Cena’s open challenge for the US Title. Do you see that happening in the near future?

Finn Balor: Well, Believe it or not, in London when John was in the ring making the open challenge, I was actually putting my gear on trying to get into the ring…but I just got beat to the punch.

ABTV: Where do you see yourself in 10 years and do you have a plan after wrestling?

Finn Balor: I live by the motto “Take one step at a time.” Obviously, there are a lot of short-term goals that I want to achieve, both at NXT and WWE. In 10 years time, maybe I’ll be Triple H’s right hand man, pulling the strings up in the office and helping coordinate this incredible company.

April 10, 2015

CJ Parker On How WWE Developmental Has Changed, What It's Like Working With Triple H, More


Former WWE NXT Superstar CJ Parker, now going by CJP on the indies, recently spoke with RollingStone.com about his WWE departure. The full interview can be found at this link. Below are some highlights:

If he was disappointed that his NXT character was used to put others over:

It wasn't disappointing at all. To me, that's a compliment. They have faith in you and they know you can go out there with anybody and make them look great. You can take the things that they're really good at and amplify them. Everybody wants to be the guy who's the star, the guy who everyone is looking at and the guy who the company is trying to get over. But sometimes you're the other guy, and it's your job to look as good as you can while making them look even better. It's a compliment. When you're a kid and you want to be a wrestler, you want to be a great wrestler. You want to be somebody who's looked up to by his peers and the powers that be. At the very least, I did what was asked of me, and I did it to the best of my abilities. That wasn't frustrating at all.

How WWE developmental has changed since he arrived in 2011:

Everything. It was everything times 100. The roster got bigger, the coaching staff got bigger, the facility got bigger, what was expected of you as a performer got bigger. It went from FCW to NXT and got bigger, badder and better. It was classic WWE. When they want something to take off, it does. That's exactly what the developmental system did in the past couple years. We didn't do as many live events [in 2011]. There weren't as many people coming to the live events that we did do for FCW. The TV show obviously changed a lot. There was one camera then, instead of four or five at Full Sail. NXT at Full Sail is like a mini-Raw. Back in FCW, it was pretty much like a live event with one camera. There wasn't really much pressure on you. But everything got bigger. We became stars in a way. At FCW, nobody really knows you, it was on its own island from the rest of the WWE. But then, when Triple H put his hand into it and put the time and energy into the developmental system, it grew and became its own brand. And that's exactly what NXT is, it's not really developmental anymore, it's the third brand.

If the developmental label is misapplied to NXT:

If you're talking about the show that's on Wednesday nights on the WWE Network, then no, I don't think that's developmental. However, if you walk into the Performance Center on a Monday morning and see some of the guys who are just starting and just learning the basics, that is developmental. I think a lot of people don't realize that on the TV show there's only about 20 guys featured, but at the PC there's about 60 guys. There's a lot of guys there who are trying to learn the business and prove themselves and earn their way onto the TV show. So there is still developmental, but when you start to get to the top of the roster, you become just a smaller version of a main-roster superstar. In my eyes, it's like Triple H's version of an independent wrestling show, but with WWE backing. It's the best of both worlds. He's getting people from all over the world and bringing them here and putting them under the WWE umbrella. It's great and it's going to stay great.

What it's like working with Triple H:

He's the best, man. He's so passionate, so smart. He's a great guy. He's very hands-on with everyone. He's the kind of guy who, once you have your match, he'll pull you aside and tell you what you did right, what you did wrong and what you could have done differently. He's constructive and he makes you feel good. He lets you know that it's all right to make mistakes as long as you learn from those mistakes. He's the man and NXT is his baby. It's cool to watch him be excited about NXT. It's cool to see how proud he is of what he and all of us are doing down there.

March 31, 2015

WWE Releases NXT Star


PWInsider reports that NXT star CJ Parker requested his release, which was granted last Saturday.

PWInsider noted that the release was amicable, and WWE allowed Parker to work last weekend's AXXESS events.

January 16, 2015

Seth Rollins Talks Curb Stomping Lesnar & Cena, Triple H Following His Progress, NXT, Taker, Savage


Seth Rollins joined The Rack this past Thursday Night. During the interview, Rollins discussed what it was like to be in the ring and curb stomping both Brock Lesnar and John Cena on RAW, his thoughts on Smackdown moving to Thursdays, who is he looking forward to working with from NXT in the future, what it was like working with The Undertaker, Randy Savage being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 and more. They sent us the highlights below, you can listen to the full interview by clicking here.

What it's like working with both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon on TV weekly:

"Oh, they're phenomenal; two of the greatest mind in the history of our industry. You've got one, born and bred a McMahon so she knows all there is to know about what we do and she knows all the little tricks of the trade. She sees things from a completely different perspective, so you have that. On the other hand, you have 'The Cerebral Assassin', a man who's been WWE Champion multiple times, who is clearly the heir-apparent to the company itself and already running the ship for the most part. There are really no better mentors; if you're not learning something every single day, every single time you go out there, then you're really just making a mistake trying to progress yourself. If people have kept track over the past 6-8 months, they'll have noticed a lot of improvements in my game, at least I have, and a lot of that is due to having Triple H and Stephanie on my side, nurturing me all the way through."

Triple H following his progress through NXT, The Shield and now:

"Yeah, clearly, the man has an eye for talent, you know? It's been good; NXT was a good experience for me. We were really the first group of guys who were involved in that project and if you look at what it's become now, it's pretty impressive to think about where it started and how it began, very humbly, in a warehouse in Tampa and now, basically, it's its own brand. To have Triple H's support, through and through the entire way, has meant more to me than people will ever understand. It's really helped position me to where I want to be and helped me grow as a person and as a performer."

Is there anyone in the new crop of NXT talent that he's looking forward to facing in the future:

"I have a lot of friends down there; a lot of people who I traveled the road with in my previous life and I think those guys, the Adrian Nevilles and Sami Zayns, Finn Balor, Hideo Itami, Kevin Overs; these are the guys obviously making a name for themselves now in NXT. There's also a lot of young guys too, who are pushing the envelope as well, really trying to make a name for themselves in the shadow, a little bit, of some of those bigger names.

"You've got someone like CJ Parker, who's been down in NXT for a while making waves. You've got Tyler Breeze, who is on the cusp of something big and stuff like that. So, there's a lot of talent down there; I'm looking forward to seeing how the landscape up here in the WWE looks like in 2-5 years, with all of those names I mentioned, up here working with us. It's going to be a very interesting period for the future of WWE."

March 23, 2014

This Week's WWE NXT Episode to Have a Vengeance Theme, Several Matches Announced


WWE has announced a "Vengeance" theme for this week's NXT. A promo for the show is available on WWE.com at this link. The following matches have been announced:

* Mojo Rawley vs. CJ Parker

* Tyler Breeze vs. Xavier Woods

* Natalya vs. Charlotte

* Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville for the NXT Title

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