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While attending a New York Wrestling Connection show on Long Island, New York, I interviewed Former WWE NXT star, Bull James.
He talked about helping a fan go to WrestleMania, training in NXT, and what his role might have been like on the WWE main roster.
Q. You signed with WWE in the summer of 2013, how did it feel to with them?
James: It was a dream come, true man. It was everything I've worked for, everything I've always wanted. I was really grateful to have that kind of opportunity and reach that goal.
Q. While in NXT, you worked with so many greats on the main roster from MoJo Rawley, Adian English, Tyler Breeze, Baron Corbin, Elias, and Samoa Joe. How do you feel Bull Dempsey and Bull Fit would have gone over on the main roster?
James: I think we would have had a lot of fun. It was right at the time when Santino (Marella) had retired. So, there was that kind of need for a low-pressure comedy guy. I think it would have been a cool little fit. Unfortunately, that's not the case, but everything happens for a reason.
Q. Speaking of Baron Corbin, during your feud the both of you were seeing who could squash talent quicker before even facing each other. It was an enjoyable feud and something I've never seen before. Did you enjoy being part of that feud?
James: "Oh yeah definitely, it was different. I feel like we could have gotten more out of it. I feel there was way more to the story we could have told, but at the same time, it was cool to be part of something different especially at that point in time when NXT was really taking off. So, right as stuff was getting hot, we were put in this angle to be featured on the show almost on a weekly basis."
Q. What was the schooling and training like in NXT? Was the training mandatory?
James: "It was hard, man. A lot of people have different views on it. It was 100%. The show Breaking Ground as good as it was, I don't think it did justice to how much we were doing.
We were in the ring Monday thru Friday; we were in the gym Monday thru Friday. On Thursday's, Friday's, and Saturday's we had live events. Thursday, we had to be in at 8:30, be in the ring or gym at nine, nine to 12 do our thing, shower, change, go to the town, set up the ring, the lights, the whole show, wrestle, break it down, drive one-three hours, sleep. Friday we had to be in at nine, same schedule as Thursday. By no way am I complaining it made everything feel good the more you achieved because you've earned it. There was that sense of pride that we all earned something.
Their people that will have a feeling one way or another about how tough it was, or how hard it was, but this business is hard. What we do is unlike most things that people do for a living.
I think it was hard because the people in charge wanted us to know, hey this isn't a kids game. WWE is a multi-million dollar company. It's a hard life so if you can't handle it at this level (NXT), what's going to happen when we give you money, a push, and put some reliance in you. Some guys are going to fold under pressure, so they need to know what they have.".
Q. Did you feel working the live events on Thursday, Friday, Saturday live shows and travelling for house shows was prepping guys for the main roster?
James: "Oh sure, they also wanted a return on their investment. Everybody that is down there is an investment in NXT. The Performance Center is an investment. It's Triple-A baseball.
When we started growing NXT, it became like the third brand, and now it's becoming a more official third brand where I think there is going to be even more separation between NXT and The Performance Center. That's the nature of the business; it grows. It's awesome for all the guys and the girls that are there. It was a fun time."
Q. You met a young fan Juice in Binghamton, New York at Xcite Wrestling. Juice makes handmade bracelets for shows and gives them out to fans, and the wrestlers. Her goal was to go to WrestleMania, and you helped out by selling her handmade bracelets on your website. How happy were you when you found out she was going to WrestleMania?
James: "She's awesome. She's a sweetheart. She's just innocent, loves wrestling, and just awesome. It was cool to see her goal achieved. It's why we do this, or at least it should be. We want to have fun, travel the world on someone else's dime, make millions of dollars.
One of the things I did in NXT was we did a plane pull with Jet Blue for Special Olympics. It was a bunch of NXT guys, myself included, Coaches, and a lot of the Special Olympic athletes. We pulled a plane to raise money for the Special Olympics, so I pulled a Jet Plane which is pretty cool.
You are working with the Special Olympic kids it kind of open your eyes up a lot to the power you have while in WWE of what you can accomplish giving back to the community. As I said, you travel the world on someone else's dime, some of us are fortunate enough to make good money, and I'm very grateful for what I have, but I also know what I sacrificed to get there. I'm in a position now where I can do little things like that to give back.
To her, it's her dream to go to WrestleMania, and it's just super cool dude. It's exactly what this business needs more and more of.
They'll always be negative headlines and press about wrestling, but we kind of need to outweigh the good with the bad. That starts with all of us doing our part to do that."
You can follow Bull James on Twitter at @RealBullJames. You can also follow him on Instagram as well at realbulljames. You can also listen to the interview below.
