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Former WWE Superstar Kevin Kiley Jr, F.K.A. Alex Riley appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted and revealed what The Undertaker told him backstage several years ago about his promo work.
Alex Riley spent three years in WWE's developmental system before being added to NXT's second season in 2010 under The Miz's mentorship. During his brief WWE NXT stint, Riley recalled being part of an hour-long promo session backstage and how The Undertaker was one of the observers.
The Undertaker told Riley that he was a gifted talker and the former WWE star added that he would never forget The Deadman's words of praise.
Alex Riley noted that he didn't know The Undertaker personally before their backstage interaction in the WWE. Still, he realized that The Phenom was keeping a close eye on his rise within the company.
"He came up to me; the Undertaker came up to me and said, 'You have a gift here. You are very good.' He said that to me, and I will never forget it. I really appreciated that for him to say that to me very early in the career. He didn't know me as a person, and I didn't know him as a person, but he clearly had been watching, and he clearly, you know, had taken some sort of an interest in what I was doing," revealed Riley.
I always liked The Undertaker a lot: Former WWE Superstar Alex Riley
Cutting promos was one of Alex Riley's assets as a performer, and he thoroughly enjoyed delivering lines off the top of his head. The impromptu promo activity in NXT played to Alex Riley's strengths as he considered himself a "quick thinker."
Riley's spontaneous work on the mic made a positive impression on The Undertaker, which is quite a commendable feat. The former FCW champion added that he wished he had faced The Undertaker during his time in the WWE.
"The Undertaker! I always liked the Undertaker a lot," Riley continued, "A lot! I'll tell you why, because when I was on NXT, that was, how do I say this? They just gave me a mic, and they just said, 'Go, you've got an hour, whatever, or whatever you want to do.' We're all out there pretty much together for an hour, and we didn't really have to kind of time; no one knew what was going on, right? So I was able to really express myself, you know what I mean? Off the top of my head, so I really enjoyed that part of it. I consider myself a very quick thinker under pressure, right?"
"That I really enjoyed, and I remember him coming up to me out of nowhere. And again, anybody that has ever been backstage at a WWE show, it's powerful, right? These are real, very talented entertainers, large people, larger than life, and I was new. I was very new to it. So I always kind of wanted to have the opportunity to get in the ring with him, and I didn't, and it's okay," Alex Riley added.
Alex Riley spoke on several other topics during the most recent UnSKripted with Dr. Chris Featherstone.
The 40-year-old superstar revealed whether he would accept an AEW offer, the backstage reaction to CM Punk's iconic pipebomb WWE promo, and much more during an insightful Q&A session.
If any quotes are used from this article, please add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the UnSKripted video.
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