Booker T discusses the recent NXT talents that got called up to the main roster in the WWE Draft.
The former five-time world champion gave his thoughts on this topic during a recent appearance on the Hall of Fame podcast, where he admitted that the call-ups were hurtful to the NXT brand.
NXT got hit hard, and some of my favorites left, and they’re moving on to bigger and better things, which, congratulations. I’m glad to see them move on to the next level because a guy like JD McDonagh, I didn’t know JD McDonagh had put that much time into the business. I really didn’t know. But just listening to him talk earlier today, and I said think he said 21 years that he’s put in this business, and he said around 16 [years], he didn’t think he was gonna get a shot, but he just kept pushing and kept pushing, and boom. Now, NXT has led him now to the main roster. I appreciate that.
Speaking of McDonagh, Booker praised the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion for putting in the work and never giving up on his dream of competing on WWE’s main brands.
I love that dude, I love him. I was looking down and I was doing something. I might have been messing with my notes or something, but I was totally unaware of my surroundings. Next thing you know, somebody this close to me and they gave me the biggest kiss right here [holds the side of his face], on the jaw. I look up, it’s JD McDonagh. I was like, wow, that’s really, really cool because man love. He appreciated the way I treated him. [During] his time in NXT, I was always pushing for that guy, I was always trying to make sure that there was some spotlight on JD McDonagh because I always thought this dude’s next-level. He’s a star, he really is, give him a shot. For him to come to me and do that on his exit, it was awesome. Grayson Waller, he’s another guy that came to me and thanked me for the time in NXT. For me, it’s my job to pump those guys up and give them the rub. Pretty Deadly, Zoey [Stark], same thing.
Booker later discussed the future of NXT, and how young talent will have to step up to fill the shoes of the stars who left for Raw and SmackDown.
The show must go on, and [on Tuesday], the guys came out and they took it to another level. I see the next guys that’s gonna be coming up. It’s just a matter of who’s gonna step into that spotlight.
On a separate episode of his podcast Booker T mentioned how much he wants WWE to introduce a mid-card title for the women’s division. You can read his comments about that here.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)
