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I'd saw some other names mentioned, namely Feet Dunne and Joint Manipulation. How did that name come about, and were there any other contenders?
Joint Manipulation was a close second. A very close second. Me and Pete both have a pretty good submission game. Of course, he works the hands and does a little bit more. But the combo was... It was just a money name.
And then Feet Dunne, that was Johnny Gargano! That guy just wanted to say something funny, and it was pretty funny, but never a serious contender for a name. Broserweights just seemed easy enough and it did something that wasn't too different from what we were originally, so he's the Bruiserweight, I'm the Bro - Broserweights. Neither one of us lost anything and we kept original to ourselves, while also being a new team, you know?
Now, you appeared in the Royal Rumble this year, which I thought was amazing! I'd actually spoken to Triple H before it who said you were the one NXT name that was the obvious choice to be there. How was that experience for you?
The Royal Rumble was great, you know? All those big events are extremely huge and there's so much commotion. It's hard enough when you have a singles match or a tag match, but imagine you're in there with 30 other people, or 29 other people.
A lot of things happen on the fly and things change last minute. It's crazy because people always talk about pro wrestling and say, "It's predetermined". I mean... Sometimes it's not! Sometimes you don't know what's going to happen, and you're on the fly and you've got to go, you know?
For me, it was fun, it was an amazing experience. I got to go with Keith Lee, who is one of my best friends in the wrestling business. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. I wish I could have gone in the Royal Rumble a little earlier, I think everybody thought that. I think only maybe ONE or TWO people might not agree with that, I won't mention names.
I think that's the only downside of that day, everything else was extremely cool. I got to brush shoulders with Edge and get in the ring with him, and AJ [Styles]. Everybody was so great, and the roster is just so fun to be around and work with. Honestly, the Rumble was awesome. And catering was good! Catering was good!
Next: Matt Riddle opens up about "backstage heat" rumours
Teddy Long snaps when Swerve Strickland's race is brought up HERE
