Tyler Rust On What Vince McMahon Was Like During Recent WWE NXT Scouting Trip
On a recent episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast, Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman sat down with former WWE NXT star Taylor Rust, f.k.a. Tyler Rust. Rust was one of the many surprise releases in the latest run of NXT cuts due to his involvement with Roderick Strong's Diamond Mine faction. Rust described the vibe backstage in NXT when these releases were going on.
"I don't want to speak for how it is now," Rust admitted. "I talk to people that are still there. They told me their feelings and their thoughts. It's their perspective of everything. But even before, once the clean up round started happening, it was very odd because usually WWE, they do their firings like spring cleaning as everybody calls it, but they've done a few of those rounds since then, and it was just odd that they were releasing more and more.
"And we kept hearing random reasons as to why. You figure as long as you're part of the product in some useful way, as long as you're being used in the storyline, you're good, but when I saw Aleister Black and when I saw Buddy Murphy get released, I was like, man, nobody's good. These guys were solid players, had a lot to offer here. I think everybody just kind of embraced that it is what it is. One day we're all gonna have our time and when that comes, it comes."
Alex Zayne, f.k.a. Ari Sterling, was recently on The Wrestling Inc. Daily where he confirmed he was not at the Performance Center when Vince McMahon and other top executives made their trip down to the PC. Rust recalled that experience from his perspective.
"I think most of us were there. It happened a few times actually," Rust noted. "He didn't really come in and look too long. I want to say he was only there for 10 minutes. There were a lot of people that work with him. They were hands-on. They were more there with little binders, looking at everybody. I wouldn't say that his team is there regularly. There were two times, I think, he came by. His team was kind of there all day, but I didn't really see him honestly more than 10 minutes."
There will reportedly be many changes coming to NXT going forward with the idea of going more towards developmental and looking at bigger talents. Hausman asked Rust if it is more stressful when McMahon is around in the PC.
"No, I embrace it. This is what we're here for," Rust pointed out. "We're here to perform. We're here to show how good we can be. I want every opportunity to do that. If you want to have the big guy come down and watch us train, I embrace that side. It's how you're going to get ahead. This is how you're going to prove you are worth something. All these years of experience, I've harnessed into myself. If I'm nervous about showcasing it, I'm doing a pretty bad job."
You can follow Taylor on Twitter @_TaylorRust
Powered by RedCircle