Reginald Names Which WWE Star Has Been "Most Vital" To His Career
What started as an impromptu match turned into a career-defining moment for Reginald when he won the 24/7 Championship two weeks ago. For the first time, after winning his first-ever title, the admirable acrobat joined the panel over on WWE's The Bump to talk about his first successful title defense he had with R-Truth earlier this week. Still on cloud nine, Reginald cannot believe he gets to defend his title against legends who he grew up idolizing, like R-Truth, for example.
"For one, to be in the ring with R-Truth in itself is a blessing. Because looking up to R-Truth when I was younger...to share the ring with him was one, incredible, and also it was in my home state, so that was also great for me," Reginald mentioned.
Before he arrived in WWE, Reginald spent time working in the most well-renowned entertainment company in the world, Cirque du Soleil, where he would take part in spectacular and out-of-this-world performances for the masses. Now, he's doing the same thing here in WWE. In the next segment of his interview, Reginald was asked how his tumbling career began. As he was just about to explain, WWE Official John Cone ran in with his referee gear on, only to run out of the studio. Following the false alarm, Reginald went back to telling how his tumbling career began.
"So, my friends and I and my brothers, we used to tumble in the grass, and I used to watch them when I was 3-years-old, so I'd watch these guys and turn myself on the bed," Reginald explained before he got interrupted by referee Cone. "So, yeah, I started turning myself over and flipping at 3-years-old. At the age of 9, I started seeing my brothers do it, and things started slowing down for me. It seemed like a movie; the flips started to slow down. We would meet each other in vacant lots and do them on dirty mattresses and stuff like that. We would just flip for hours and hours throughout the day."
Another WWE Superstar who's had a major influence on Reginald's in-ring career is "The One and Only" Ricochet. He describes what it is that makes Ricochet such a hero to him in wrestling.
"Oh, he's motivation, and he's a mentor; he's everything to me," Reginald mentioned as he was praising Ricochet. "He was one of the guys that I gravitated towards when I got here because before I got here, I looked up to him. He was the one doing all the cool and high-flying movements and whatnot. He's been such a huge help, big mentor and definitely most vital to my career."
This past Monday, spectators were raving over Reginald's entrance for his first title defense against R-Truth. The aerialist flew into the ring with moves no one has seen before. Reginald says it was a joyful moment for him to share that with the live crowd. He also took a second to thank the cameramen for capturing his jaw-dropping entry.
"I think the credit goes to the cameramen because that angle was insane," Reginald complemented. "I watched that GIF back 15 times in a row because it was so cool! It was such a surreal moment for me because one week prior, it was my first time in front of a live crowd. Not only the first time ever [in front of an audience], but my first title win [took place there]. It was super incredible. And then, to follow it up with something more spectacular in the ring with R-Truth, it was... my heart was very full and warm."
Although he will be most remembered for his high flying abilities and capturing the 24/7 Championship, so far, Reginald would also like to be a performer fans look back on years from now in amazement. Whether it's by making the fans smile or something else, he hopes he can leave WWE a better and more unique man than how he came in.
"I'm just here to put smiles on people's faces. I plan to be with this company for a long time, and I hope I can bring something different and unique to this company. That's the biggest thing for me: to make it better when I leave than I came than I was when I got here."
You can watch Reginald's full interview here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's The Bump with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
#247Champion @ReginaldWWE left us all AMAZED on #WWERaw in a successful defense against @RonKillings! pic.twitter.com/iwxNaLpXI5
— WWE (@WWE) July 28, 2021
Despite a false alarm by @WWE official John Cone and a near opportunity for @ShotziWWE, we got things back on track on @WWETheBump and learned more about #247Champion @ReginaldWWE and his inspirational journey to WWE.#WWETheBump pic.twitter.com/lH6V0msZKe
— WWE (@WWE) July 28, 2021