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Bronson Reed is scheduled to make his first televised appearance as the North American Champion on tonight's episode of NXT. He's going to address the NXT Universe one week after defeating Johnny Gargano in a cage match to claim his first major championship in WWE.
Ever since he started on the Australian indie wrestling circuit, it was Reed's dream to make it to WWE and win a championship. It took years of hard work and sacrifice to make that dream a reality, and you could see the emotion pouring out of Reed's face before the referee's hand came down for the three-count.
Bronson Reed sat down this week to chat with Sportskeeda Wrestling and said the moment was overwhelming when he was handed the North American Championship belt. While trying to soak it all in, he took the time to thank those for helping him along the way to this milestone. Most importantly, Reed thanked his wife, Paige, who has been behind him every step of the way.
"Sometimes in this business, you can be unsure of yourself. You know, you can doubt yourself," Reed told Sportskeeda Wrestling. "14 years I've had that journeyman career where I went from the independents, to Japan, to wherever I could to try and get to here [WWE]. And you do have detractors that say, 'Hey, maybe you should look at a different career path. Maybe it won't happen.' And luckily for me, my wife was the one that pushed me towards sticking to my guns and getting what I want from life. And it means a lot to me that she's done that."
Bronson Reed says when he got to the back after the match, he was met with a round of applause from his peers, which made him even more emotional.
Of course, a major championship victory in NXT means a photo op with the man who runs the show. Bronson Reed made sure to get his "finger-pointing" photo with Triple H not long after arriving backstage. It was Reed's first title win in the promotion, but he got some encouraging words from "The Game" to make him believe it won't be his last.
"The first people I see are Shawn Michaels and Triple H," Reed revealed to Sportskeeda Wresting. "They both embraced me, hugged me, and congratulated me. I said to Triple H, 'I'm going to work hard because I want more of these. I want more championships.' And he said to me, 'This is only the beginning.' It means a lot to me that he's installed his faith into me."
While last week's victory meant so much to him personally, Bronson Reed hopes it made an impact back home as well.
Bronson Reed wants to push Australian wrestling back into the limelight
Much of Bronson Reed's journey to becoming the NXT North American Champion was centered around the 14 years it took him to capture the gold. Reed spent 11 years traveling the world, including many years on the indie circuit in Australia, before finally making it to WWE.
When asked to look back on it all, Bronson Reed told Sportskeeda Wrestling that the hardest part was working to lift the Australian wrestling scene back to where it was in its heyday.
"Australian wrestling for the longest time was just not seen on the same level as, obviously, here in the USA or the UK scene, the Japanese scene. It sort of was forgotten about," Reed said. "Australian wrestling in the 60's and 70's was a huge market. It was on television. We had stars like Andre The Giant. Those sort of people came to Australia to be able to be seen. And I wanted to try and get back to that. So in my journey in Australia, I was trying to push Australian wrestling to be the best it can be and then get to a global stage like this and hopefully elevate it again."
Growing up as a big wrestling fan, Bronson Reed wished he had seen someone from his home country on television, especially someone he could look up to and aspire to be. The NXT star is now hoping that he can be that inspiration to young kids in Australia.
"I had so many favorite wrestlers, but I wish that one of them could have been Australian," Reed added. "Representation is a big thing and I hope that myself, Indie [Hartwell], Rhea [Ripley]... the people that are doing these things inspire a whole new generation back home."
When it comes to Australian representation, the argument can be made that it's never been more prevalent in WWE. Following Bronson Reed's victory over Johnny Gargano, there are now three major champions in WWE that call Australia home, including Rhea Ripley and Indi Hartwell.
Now that Bronson Reed can call himself a champion, he knows the hard work is just beginning. He has major goals for this NXT North American Championship run and is ready to take on all challengers.
Check out our entire conversation with Bronson Reed in the video above. Also, follow Sportskeeda Wrestling on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for more exclusive content in the future.
