WWE Hall Of Famer Cautions Bron Breakker Against Complacency
Bron Breakker's "WWE NXT" debut in 2021 was met with a lot of fanfare and excitement, with many earmarking the second-generation wrestler as a surefire future star on WWE's main roster. The likes of Jim Ross even anointed Breakker as a "future WrestleMania main eventer" and the potential successor to Roman Reigns, WWE's franchise player for nearly a decade.
With nearly two years of "evidence" in the books, the high expectations surrounding Breakker have seemingly tempered.
Speaking on his "Hall of Fame" podcast recently, Booker T discussed the notion that a lot of fans had cooled off on Breakker, and that the son of the legendary Rick Steiner was starting to feel "stale" on WWE programming. Booker proceeded to question if Breakker possessed the needed intangibles to switch to a higher gear and show fans a different side to his character.
"One piece of advice I can give Bron Breakker is you might need to listen to the fans," Booker said on his "Hall of Fame" podcast. "You can't get complacent in this business and think that the fans are going to stick with you. The one thing that you need to make it to that next level is the fans. The fans dictate everything.
"The one thing with Bron Breakker is he's got like one gear. He needs to figure out when he's riding in first, second, third, and fourth, and when he needs to shift it into fifth. That's something that right now he's in that mode to where he's learning that."
'You have to be able to mix it up'
As with any elder statesman offering advice to a young 'un, Booker urged Breakker to take the criticism in his stride.
"Hopefully he'll hear this interview and go, 'Coach, what do you mean by that', because you have to be innovative in this business," Booker continued.
"You have to be able to give the fans a bone every now and then. You got to be able to let them smell, you know, lift the pot a little bit and let them smell what's cooking up underneath. The thing is, you got to be able to mix what's in that pot up on a weekly basis. If I'm just eating chicken, chicken, chicken, I'm going to get tired of just eating chicken. I want some steak. If I just eat steak too long, give me some lobster. You have to be able to mix it up, especially when you're champion."
Breakker, in the midst of his 316-day reign as "NXT" Champion, will defend his title against Jinder Mahal on next week's episode of WWE's developmental brand. The match was set up after Mahal and Indus Sher confronted Breakker on Tuesday, just weeks after Breakker's successful title defense against Grayson Waller at the Vengeance Day premium live event.
H/T to WrestlingNews.Co for the transcription