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Tank Toland believes he would have thrived in WWE if the company allowed him to adopt a similar in-ring style to Neville.
Toland, aka James D*ck, was part of The D*cks tag team on SmackDown between October 2005 and February 2006. A decade later, Neville was one of the most acrobatic superstars on WWE's main roster. The Englishman is now wrestling for AEW under the name Pac.
In an interview on the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Toland explained why he wanted to be portrayed like the high-flying former WWE star:
"I thought, 'Jeez, that guy's got my role right now.' I think Neville was someone, he was short, but he was built and he was very athletic. I was like, 'S**t, I can do all that s**t he does, all the flippy doos and acrobatics and all that s**t.' And I'm a power guy too though. That was the thing, I always wanted to be a hybrid." [24:28 – 24:50]
Neville was nicknamed The Man That Gravity Forgot during his six-year WWE run. The 36-year-old is a former NXT Champion and two-time Cruiserweight Champion. He also held the NXT Tag Team Championship with Corey Graves and Oliver Grey.
Why Tank Toland was unable to wrestle like Neville in WWE
During their brief main roster stint, the D*cks were largely presented as a comedy tag team. Chad Wicks, aka Chad D*ck, once attacked Tank Toland as part of a hazing incident. The real-life altercation ultimately led to both men receiving their release.
Toland added that the company's decision-makers only wanted him to focus on one wrestling style:
"I always wanted to be that guy that could do all the crazy flips and all that s**t, but at the same time I could pick a guy 300 pounds up over my head. Those were the things that I was proud of, but I was either squashed a little bit, like saying, 'Hey, you can't do all that stuff,' for one reason or another because, 'Well, you're the little guy. You're either gonna be the flyer or you're gonna be the giant-killer who you're gonna just cut people down.'" [24:50 – 25:20]
In the same interview, Toland also spoke about the possibility of returning to WWE one day.
What are your thoughts on Neville/Pac's in-ring style? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
