Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Several weeks ago Australian star Bronson Reed scored his biggest win to date in WWE NXT, defeating Roderick Strong and Johnny Gargano to earn a spot at Takeover XXX's Ladder Match to crown the next NXT North American Champion. On tonight's edition of WWE NXT, he'll be facing another competitor in that bout, Damian Priest. Yesterday, Reed sat down with PWInsider.com to discuss the spotlight he's currently receiving, his path from a small town in Australia to WWE, the pressure of his first-ever Takeover bout and much more. Transcription by Billy Krotchsen.
Mike Johnson: It is Tuesday, August 11th, 2020, which means we are about 24 hours away from WWE NXT returning to the airwaves on the USA Network, followed by popping up on the WWE Network. A bunch of big matches set for this Wednesday's event, including Damian Priest facing someone who might not only rival his physical prowess but might actually be more powerful than Damian, and that is Australian star Bronson Reed, who had a hell of a career in Australia and beyond before signing with WWE last year, and just recently qualified for the North American championship ladder match at NXT Takeover XXX, which we'll talk about in a bit. So he's about to walk into one of the biggest matches of his career, but before we get there, he's going one on one with Damian Priest tomorrow evening. So sir, this is the first time we've had a chance to speak - I appreciate you sitting down and talking with us. How are you doing today and how are you preparing for the Damian Priest match?
Bronson Reed: I'm doing really well, thank you for having me. I'm preparing for this match, again like you said, Damian Priest is a physical specimen but at the same time, I do believe I am much more powerful, you know. A plus sometimes to us guys here at NXT is that we've seen each other perform or in the weight room in the Performance Center and I think and a lot of people were surprised, well not surprised because they've seen me do things in the weight room that others haven't.
Mike Johnson: So you signed with WWE in 2019...
Bronson Reed: Yeah.
Mike Johnson: You had pretty much carved a path of terror through Australia. What was the the biggest learning experience or the biggest shift for you coming from Australia to the United States and starting to train in the Performance Center and figure out who Bronson Reed was going to be as opposed to Jonah Rock?
Bronson Reed: Yeah, you know, it's a big thing, I wrestled on the independent scene for over a decade, all around the world but primarily in Australia and then I did have a brief stint wrestling in Japan through Pro Wrestling Noah, and that whole time I was Jonah Rock so you become comfortable in the skin that you're in so, not that it's a culture shock coming to the United States, I think United States and Australia are very similar, but coming to a place like WWE, it's so different to any other animal, you know. It's such a big company, and then a place like the Performance Center where you are working hard every single day. I have had similar experiences luckily with being in Japan and actually training in the dojos over there, that's sort of what I liken it to, except now you're around these big time names as coaches, you know, at the moment my coach is Shawn Michaels and I've been able to work with other guys like Scotty 2 Hotty, you just get to pick the mind of all these greats.
Mike Johnson: What's the best part of having the access to Shawn Michaels or Scotty 2 Hotty or Matt Bloom, where especially in the case of Michaels, he'll always be seen as this iconic larger than life performer for what he was able to do in the ring. What's it like being to tap into that brain to improve and assist your work on a day to day basis?
Bronson Reed: Yeah, I think those guys are so giving like um, sometimes I have to pinch myself and remind myself that it's the Shawn Michaels who's Mr. Wrestlemania, that's who I'm speaking to, it's such a wealth of knowledge that anyone that gets to work with him can learn and grow from there, and then having someone like Matt Bloom as well who's also a super heavyweight also helps because he sort of understands the way that I work and the mechanics that my body, you know, how it has to work to do things, so it's definitely a wealth of knowledge from all the coaches at the Performance Center.
Mike Johnson: So not that we should overlook the match with Damian Priest on Wednesday, but you are now qualified for the ladder match for the North American Championship at Takeover XXX. This would be your first Takeover match, obviously would be the biggest platform you've had on WWE NXT to date. No pressure.
Bronson Reed: [laughs]
Mike Johnson: Thoughts on the ladder match and also the three-way bout with Roderick and Johnny Gargano, which I think, to me that's like one of the great stories of NXT. I think some fans who may not have known your pedigree going into it were like "OK he's the third person in this match, here's two established stars", but then NXT kind of flips the expectations and it becomes a big crowning moment for Bronson Reed where he gets to step forward into the spotlight and start your TV journey in a more meaningful way. So what was that experience like and what's the pressure like for you heading into the ladder match?
Bronson Reed: Yeah you know, I feel like there is obviously a lot of pressure. It's not only Takeover, it's Takeover XXX, the first ever Takeover I've been a part of. They're making it as big as an event as they can, and I'm not only just debuting on a Takeover match but I'm also in a ladder match for the North American Championship. So there is pressure going in, but I find myself, I always thrive under pressure, so it's something that I welcome. And then with the match with Roderick Strong and Johnny Gargano, it's one of those things where I do think even though I'm clearly the bigger man in that match, that people would see me as the underdog, or there is a lot of fans watching that might not know what I've done in the past, know who Bronson Reed is or what he can do in the ring, so I felt it was a very proving ground style match that I was very happy with. I think it's really good to be able to get in there with people that have that sort of talent like Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong are both so well known throughout the wrestling world but also both so established in NXT. So for me to get the win over them I think was a very big thing, a turning point in my career.
Mike Johnson: So anyone who's followed you over the years knows you're no stranger to hardcore matches or matches where weapons are brought into the fray....
Bronson Reed: Yes.
Mike Johnson: But how do you feel about the Takeover ladder match? Especially with so many individuals involved, you know, the ladder doesn't know how to work as they say...
Bronson Reed: [laughs]
Mike Johnson: ...so you have to be extremely careful, you have to be extremely diligent and there's a lot going on. As a performer, how do you prepare for a match of that magnitude where there's going to be such a spotlight on you and there's such a potential for danger since you can't always control all the elements.
Bronson Reed: Yeah of course, you know, I think I've been involved in maybe a handful of ladder-type matches on the independents and WWE's even on a bigger stage so you have more at your disposal. I remember wrestling in front of 100 people in a ladder match and we had one ladder that was semi-broken and that's the ladder that, you know [laughs], that we had to try and climb up to win a title for. So this is going to be a whole new experience for me. Again, I have had a lot of, sort of experience in those types of matches that I really relish being able to do that, so it's just one of those things you just have to go in and again, you just try your hardest and I know I'm definitely going to be sore the next day, you know, there days, maybe weeks after that match. It's definitely something that is impactful on your career.
Mike Johnson: You might be sore as of Wednesday night given you're going to be facing Damian Priest.
Bronson Reed: [laughs]
Mike Johnson: We've had him on in the past and he's spoken proudly about how he really enjoys and loves diving into the physical aspect of professional wrestling and he likes when he gets to give it to opponents in a harsh way, and he likes when he gets to receive it.
Bronson Reed: Yeah.
Mike Johnson: For him, he's said it's one of the more enjoyable parts of performing, so you're obviously going into a heavy duty match here on Wednesday evening. For fans who might not be as familiar with you and what you've done in the past, what can they expect out of you Wednesday night and what are your expectations...or I should say, what do you hope to bring the fans Wednesday night when you wrestle Damian on NXT?
Bronson Reed: Yeah, I hope...you know, his style is very hard hitting, I know Priest likes to go into these matches like that and I'm very similar. Coming up in Australian wrestling was not easy, you know, my coach was very hard on us when I first started wrestling, he was actually trained by Antonio Inoki so that sort of style, Inkoki's, was ingrained into me from a young age, that's how wrestling works. And then I actually did go to Japan and wrestled for Pro Wrestling Noah in their dojo so I've always been a guy that's been around the most hard hitting style of wrestling and I think it's something that here in NXT shines through as well, we have a lot of performers like that. We have a lot of performers that want to get snug and I think people can expect something really explosive out of this match with us two opponents against each other.
Interview continues on Page 2!
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
