Jacy Jayne believes spending extra time in WWE NXT ultimately put her in a much better position to succeed on the main roster.
The former two-time NXT Women’s Champion was called up to SmackDown a few months ago and has since captured the WWE Women’s United States Championship by defeating Tiffany Stratton. Her Fatal Influence stablemates also currently hold the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
During an appearance on NotSam Wrestling, Jayne reflected on her lengthy NXT run and admitted that, while there were times she became frustrated waiting for a main roster opportunity, she now realizes she wasn’t ready to make the jump earlier.
“Yeah, I think a lot of talent get frustrated being down in NXT for a long time. You always think you’re ready for the next step, but in most cases, you’re really not. You think you are, but then you get thrown into the deep end, and it’s sink or swim. So if you’re not ready, you’re going to shoot yourself in the foot, essentially.
“I got told that so many times, and there were times that I was getting frustrated. But ultimately, I think everything happens for a reason. I think everything played out exactly the way it was supposed to,” she said.
Jayne went on to credit Shawn Michaels for keeping her in NXT long enough to continue developing.
“If I had come up two years ago, or whatever the case was, there’s no way I would be in this kind of position. I wouldn’t have been ready. I probably would have sunk. So, thank you, Shawn Michaels, for keeping me around and helping me get better, even when I was annoying about it,” Jayne said.
Jayne, who joined WWE in 2021, also discussed how different life on the main roster is compared to NXT. She said there is considerably less time to prepare and talent must be ready to adjust quickly.
“Honestly, main roster is very different from NXT. It’s very fast-paced. You just have to know exactly who you are, and you don’t have time to think about anything. In NXT, you kind of have more time, and you plan things and whatever the case is. Up here, it’s like, ‘This is what we need. Go do it. Figure it out.’”
