WWE: Next Gen debuts April 1 on Roku

Robby Brookside And Matt Bloom On The Evolution Of Wrestling

WWE trainers Robby Brookside and Matt Bloom sat with Vulture Hound‘s Lee Hazell & talked about WWE’s new NXT UK Performance Center. The two also talked about how their own training differed from that of today’s WWE Superstars.

Brookside reminisced about what he learned from legendary UK star Johnny Saint, “‘I remember when I was 16/17, a great thing for me is doing a TV match with Johnny Saint and to travel around with him, and he was one of the many that used to go, ‘Slow down!’ Because when you’re young you’re like, ‘Oh I’ve learnt this new move, I want to try and do it.’ Once you get older and you figure it out, you realize it’s just like pouring another pint of water into a pint of beer. You just don’t need it.” Brookside also stressed the importance of being trained the correct way, “It’s hard sometimes when you get someone from the indies who have been trained the wrong way. Their footwork and their balance and their facial expressions aren’t up to it and to try and get them to change that, at times it’s harder to teach them. We got eight Chinese Nationals who couldn’t speak any English, and it was easier in some ways to train them from scratch than getting someone from the indies who’s been working for 12 years. Well, obviously they’ve been going to the wrong places because that’s not how we do things here.”

Matt Bloom didn’t even train in a wrestling ring, “I trained in a boxing ring with one air conditioner in the wall, up four flights of stairs to get there. It was tough, man. It was a lot different than it is now. Actually, Triple H and I trained in the same facility with Killer Kowalski. The training game has evolved a lot.”

Robby Brookside opened up about an early experience has had after he was accused of labeling wrestling as ‘fixed.’  The incident led to a successful career for Brookside, “I got invited, in inverted commas, to a wrestling club on the outskirts of Liverpool – a big factory called English Electric. My mother and father hated wrestling, everyone thought I was a weirdo because I packed in football to watch wrestling. So anyway, my mate went to this amateur wrestler and said ‘That kid down there thinks it’s all fixed.’ He was only a little fella. Then my mate comes back, says we’re invited to a show on Sunday.” Brookside continued, “So, I go up and its strange because people are still working in the factory. So I get to the utility room and there’s a big, old sugar matt with all these old fellas all around. The little fella sees me and gets all excited. I’m 14, he’s 32/33. He says, ‘Right lads, this kid thinks it’s all fixed.’ He tells me to get on the matt. I get on the matt and to this day I have never felt pain like it. I remember I hit the matt as he took me down and I didn’t know where I was. I remember all the dust going in my face. That could probably get a factory closed down now. I could probably get them all charged with abusing a 14-year-old. He ripped my head off my shoulders. My ear was bleeding and it wasn’t very nice. There was just a sink to smother your face and that was it.”

Brookside remained undeterred, “I went, ‘I’m not having it. I’ll go back the next week.’ And they did it again. I went back the third time they decided I had a bit of bottle. But that’s what it was. The facilities were disgraceful. They’d be condemned now. Just being at the Performance Center now and seeing that evolve and the way it grows and grows and grows. Just the facilities that the talent have. The way WWE treats their talent is light years ahead of what we’ve gone through. "

Triple H, William Regal, Court Bauer And More Explore The UK Scene On “The World According To Wrestling”

The World According To Wrestling podcast is back with a second episode this week and explores the current situation in the British wrestling scene, ITV’s revamp of World Of Sport, WWE’s UK plans and how the UK indie scene feels about it. The loaded line-up of episode guests includes Triple H, Dave Meltzer, Andy Quildan, Klondyke Kate, Fred Dinenage, William Regal, Robbie Brookside, Finn Balor, Neville, Ryan Satin and Court Bauer.

The episode is available to download from today on iTunes and all other podcast platforms. You can read a few excerpts as well as listen to the show below:  

Paul Levesque, WWE’s Executive Vice President and 14-time World Champion Triple H, on launching in the UK at a similar time to World of Sport: 

“Did it change our timing a little bit because of when they positioned their show? Yeah, but we are talking by maybe months or something not speeding up the process in terms of getting it done. We’ve been working on this for a long time. Any other show aside, if they are successful I’m happy for them. And, at the end of the day, it all helps the industry so we just do what we do. And I think we do it better than anyone else on the planet.”

Former WWE writer and MLW’s Court Bauer, said: 

“UK really was an amazing region for pro wrestling and then there was a scorched earth effect for many years and it’s revived itself in more modern times. When you have something as big as WWE hovering over you like a death star, you know, this could go two different ways. Fans might win, but also that might just be a short term position if you look at the large term something like ITV doing World Of Sport truly could really help sustain and stabilise this regeneration of pro-wrestling. So that’s my concern.”

Andy Quildan, founder of Revolution Pro Wrestling in the UK said, on ITV and WWE moving in on the British scene:

“Worrying about what everyone else is doing and trying to get into pretend wrestling wars with people is just ridiculous. The fact of the matter is if WWE want to come over and takeover UK wrestling, they’re going to do it. It is what it is. Let’s continue to do what we do in the highest level possible.

“I can see people’s mentality with ‘they’re trying to take over British wrestling’ and my argument is if you look at for example theatre, look at the West End. How many different theatrical productions are going on in the West End every single night. All at the same time. All competing with one another… I’m not phased by it. It’s a very interesting time and certainly a lot of stuff’s changing but at the same time it’s nice for British wrestling not to be an afterthought for once."

Triple H and More at EVOLVE 54

William Regal and American Alpha, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, are scheduled to appear at EVOLVE 54. Other NXT members have also made their way to the event. Backstage at EVOLVE is Triple H, NXT trainer Robbie Brookside, and NXT superstar Simon Gotch. American Alpha signed items for fans before the show. You can see Triple H’s post below:

...everything evolves. @BookItGabe pic.twitter.com/7GiKT9hgrt

— Triple H (@TripleH) January 24, 2016

WWE Coach Robbie Brookside On Getting Hired By WWE, His Relationship With William Regal, More

The latest episode of Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast features WWE Performance Center coach and wrestling veteran Robbie Brookside, who has been in the business for more than 30 years. The interview was actually recorded at the Performance Center in Orlando. You can listen to the full interview at this link.

Brookside said WWE originally brought him on for a six month trial period but just three months in, he was asked to stay another six months. That extra six months turned into two years. Brookside called working for WWE the greatest thing to happen to him in the last 20 years.

They also discussed WWE NXT General Manager William Regal, who Brookside said he has a lot to thank for. Brookside took Regal under his wing years ago in England and Regal repaid the favor by getting him work in WCW, and later WWE. Brookside said, "Darren, I call him Darren, is my best mate, without a shadow of a doubt. We've always kept in touch over the years through thick and thin. There've been times where he's needed a shoulder to cry on, and for someone to back him up, and I've done the same as well, and he's been there all the way. He's married and he's got three children, and I remember when Daniel was born. I was staying at their house before they were married, we go back that far. He's almost like an uncle, but I'm two or three years older. But I always feel ten years younger."

They also discussed Brookside's early days, his history with Jericho, Kevin Sullivan and more in the full interview.

Triple H, Daniel Bryan and Several Other WWE Superstars Praise William Regal

WWE’s website has a new article up with Triple H, Daniel Bryan, Robbie Brookside, Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett and Fit Finlay talking about how they respect William Regal. Here are quotes from Bryan and Triple H:

Triple H: “I think William Regal’s passion for this business has allowed him to not only succeed but to change with the times. If you look at the things he’s done during his career, from contesting serious matches to making people laugh, that passion has allowed him to fill whatever role needed to be filled. Not a lot of people can do that. That’s a rare quality, to be able to do both.

“For me, WWE NXT is my environment and what I deal with on a daily basis — William Regal is a huge component of that. He’s got a remarkable eye for talent. The rare thing with him is that most guys see new talent in the mold that they are, and that’s what they are interested in. He has a unique ability to look at everything. It can be someone who works in the complete opposite style that he does, but he can still see value. To me, that’s where he plays a huge role — spotting and understanding talent, who can make it.

“As for his jokes, I never hear him, because he’s such a soft talker. We were on the road together for years, and I spent the majority of my time saying, ‘What?’ He has that English sense of humor; you know, in which the joke is so rotten it’s actually funny. It’s not that I’m laughing at the joke, but more at how bad the joke is.”

Daniel Bryan: “One of the things that’s cool to me about William Regal is that he’s a gentleman. He is professional in every aspect of the word. He shows up to the building, and he’s wearing a suit and looks presentable. Also, he’s got that quiet toughness. Some guys are very brash and want to wear their Affliction shirts, but he’s not that guy. You know he’s tough, but he never has to say anything about it. He’s somebody who came up in a different era.

“I was with WWE when I was 18 and then got let go in 2001, but he was responsible for getting me booked in the UK. And I spent six months there in 2003 and another four months in 2005 and another three months in 2008, and that’s all because of him.

“It’s hard to get feedback from good people when you’re on the independent circuit. A lot of those shows I was on, I was main-eventing and people were asking me for advice, but then who do I go to for advice? Regal was always there. Anytime I asked him to watch a match, he’d watch it. And then he’d give me feedback and constructive criticism. When I first got to WWE, he really helped me navigate the waters, as far as, what you should do and don’t need to do here and what’s important.”