WWE News: Walter - “I think independent wrestling has a very romanticized image” (Exclusive)

It is clear for all to see whenever you watch Walter compete that you are seeing a no-nonsense larger than life character who takes immense pride in his work. Meeting him for the first time after the recent NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff it was immediately clear that this is about as accurate as can be.

Walter showed great self-awareness and commitment to his craft. It is easy to see that he has very clear goals for himself and his performances so far in NXT UK have served him extremely well in moving towards them. Through a variety of topics, I heard a lot of heartfelt honesty from a man whose knife-edge chop could pierce my soul.

Tom Colohue:

What made the decision for you to come to NXT off of the indies and away from potential competitors?

WALTER:

I care about European wrestling and with the start of this brand that’s where it started on the big platform because I think independent wrestling has a very romanticized image where it’s like everybody’s kind of free to do what they want but also I will say there’s a big difference between like environment wise being here and being in the independents because there’s a lot of things that are behind the curtain that a regular viewer wouldn’t get. And even if it’s just hospitality and the kind of hotels you stay in, what is your day up front, the show, how is your travel organised all of that stuff. Obviously when it comes to that, WWE’s organised like a professional sports team, a sports team whereas in the independents I’m just on my own. I’ve got to take care of myself. Which is very demanding and very stressful. So, I think I did my bit there and it helped me to grow into the position I’m in now here at NXT UK.

Tom Colohue:

When it comes to the indies, who are the ones that you would want to bring to NXT UK to help it grow?

WALTER:

The thing is at the moment, I think we live in a time where almost everybody who stands out in some sort is already sorted with a certain company. There is a lot of talent in Germany where I’m from. I think most of them. I think it’s very important for young adults to get life experience on their own first and then make a step into a big company like this because when I first tried out for WWE, I wasn’t by far ready but then I did my own thing for a while and I grew into it and that confidence and now I can take it so I don’t think at the moment there’s nobody that comes to my mind right now where I say they should be here but there are a lot of very talented people I have in mind that I’m happy that they are out there and yeah growing and getting better.

Tom Colohue:

You mentioned your first tryout to WWE and how you feel you weren’t ready at that time?

WALTER:

Yeah.

Tom Colohue:

What made you realize that that in your mind you weren’t ready for that step?

WALTER:

I mean just realized it in general. Back in when I did this I’d still got a regular job because in Germany there was no way to make a living of wrestling. And then I did that and it was kind of like okay made me realize before I’ve got to work on things and then a little bit after that I made the decision to switch to wrestling full time and then I grew more and more into it.

Tom Colohue:

Do you appreciate that fans can be both negative when needed and still be appreciative of the effort that you put in?

WALTER:

I don’t care about that.

Tom Colohue:

You don’t care?

WALTER:

No. I really don’t care because I have to go out there I have to do my job and I have to get it done and like I say it was obvious for me that people would be more behind Tyler and I guess Tyler is more likable than me which is obvious but I don’t, I never put effort in being likable so again if people show respect it’s nice enough too but if they had not done it I’d would be super with that as well.