Tyler Breeze Talks Returning To The Ring After Two Years Away

On June 15, 2021, Tyler Breeze and Fandango defeated Imperium's Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser (known at the time as Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) in "WWE NXT." On July 8, over two years since his last match, he returned to the ring to defeat Matt Cross and become New Generation Wrestling Champion. While that wasn't always the plan, as Breeze discussed recently on "Lazy Booking," it was nice taking an extended period of time off.

"It's pretty cool man," Breeze said. "I never really planned on taking two years off, but after doing this for 15 years and being in WWE for 11 years, to where I really didn't take any time off ... When I finally got that call, I was like, 'Alright, well, I'm just gonna chill for a little bit.' And then, I really liked it."

Breeze managed to take care of himself throughout his WWE stay, avoiding major injuries and surgeries along, but constantly being on the road was draining. He realized how much he enjoyed being home and found himself in no hurry to return. "I still got to scratch the wrestling itch a little bit with Flatbacks," he said, mentioning the wrestling school he runs with AEW's Shawn Spears. "But I wasn't really missing, like, being on the road at all."

Then Spears asked him to be an opponent for an independent match, and things snowballed.

"I was like 'Well, I'll do one,'" Breeze said. The promoter then asked him for two more. "Then somebody saw that, ... and then all of a sudden, you know, my September's full of bookings."

While the suddenness and scale of his return was a surprise, being in front of a live crowd again has made it enjoyable.

"I think it's the reason why we do this or why people have a hard time stepping away, is the crowd," Breeze admitted. "It's just so fun."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Lazy Booking" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.