Former WWE NXT Superstar Tyler Rust recently sat down for an interview with It’s My Wrestling Podcast. During the interview Rust detailed the shock of his WWE release, his thoughts on Diamond Mine, NXT 2,0 and more.
Rust discussed his reaction to his WWE Release while a part of Diamond Mine:
Yeah, I mean, of course it was a big shock you know. Everything we’re getting told at that point was nothing but extremely positive, insights from anybody that’s running NXT. It was all very positive feedback from everybody, how much they really enjoyed the work I was doing, how much they enjoyed the work that me and Roddy (Strong) were doing as a team there. Malcolm’s obviously an incredible mouthpiece, Hideki was a force to be reckoned with. It was really a hugely positive thing with all of them.
I remember I worked a lot with Fit Finlay at the time and he was always very hands on with Diamond Mine stuff that we were doing to try and give more of that realistic touch because Finlay is incredible. He was always telling me this is some of the best work I’ve seen you do here. I’m like, man, if Fits giving me this kind of critiques, this means a lot to me, man. This means I’m doing the right thing, we’re on the right path. And then like, yeah, two weeks later, I get the phone call that I’m released and I’m like, Okay, well, that’s unexpected.
Rust would discuss Diamond Mine and their development as a group since he left the company:
Those guys were already in developmental and there was an idea of actually having them always there before even my release. Little talks about things they can do like expansion, how they could move the group, how they could expand the group. I know they wanted to start it off as being a very strong contender for like a serious wrestler group. But like they needed guys that were looked at as serious wrestlers to make that image and that’s where you had Roderick Strong, myself and Hideki Suzuki. Three guys that are looked at as just technical, hard hitting wrestlers when they’re in the ring. So we put them together, this is going to give you that image and then that’s going to set that in mind the right tone going forward, I believe. And it did you know.
The Creed Brothers are absolutely insanely phenomenal athletes. Ivy Nile she’s an absolutely insanely phenomenal athlete. So they’re doing incredible things, honestly, and I’ve talked with them since and I told them, you guys make stars of yourself. Like go out there and be stars, do everything you can do. You just take this time that they’re giving you and take it to the moon. They can do it. They really can. And I think that they have all the talent in the world. Diamond Mine is going in a different direction right now and it’s an incredible one nonetheless.
He was asked to share his thoughts on NXT 2.0. It turns out he is a huge fan of Joe Gacy:
Now the image for NXT that they want is the next generation of young people. To come in to mould and to be the next veterans in like 10 more years. Unfortunately I’m not a part of that group. So they’ve kind of just changed the vibe. I think what they were really wanting on one hand was the black and gold brand and one hand was NXT 2.0. I think in the end, the one that wanted NXT 2.0 was the one that kind of won. That’s where we are now. There’s a few people on there that I’m really close friends with and I’m absolutely loving seeing how much they’re being used right now.
Like Joe Gacy, for example. We got signed at the exact same time but he was sat around just not doing TV things. And I would always talk like man, when are they going to put you on? What are they doing? What’s happening? Because Joe is a phenomenal guy. He’s been doing wrestling for a long time and he’s earned his stripes and he deserves a moment too. But he’s had to wait for a long time to be there. And it wasn’t until after I was gone he started getting that TV time because of the change that they did with NXT 2.0. They gave him more of a stage and more mouthpiece. Here’s the ball, see if you can run with it. Joe’s done amazing things and now seeing Joe Gacy being a big player on NXT 2.0, that really brightens me up.
Rust also discussed being a part of ROH Final Battle and how important the night was for all involved:
Final battle was a big event for everybody you know whether it’s your first time in ring of honour or whether they were veterans. The atmosphere itself was something very, very strong in that building that night I remember. Going into it, it was just like the unexpected. Like, we don’t know what 2022 is in our brain for anybody. And that was the definite feeling in the building like hey this could be one big last hurrah. And this could just be the end of an era or the beginning of a new one come tomorrow. It was an honor.
My brother actually lives out there in Maryland. Him being able to come to the arena and see me perform there – he always wanted to come and see my WWE matches. But we’re out in Florida, COVID protocols all the time going into the arena, it was always a bit of a hassle. So he never got the chance to and him being able to come and watch me there for Final Battle in Baltimore was a big thing to me. He’d seen me wrestle some really shitty indie shows in front of maybe 10 people. Bars and Knights of Columbus halls you know around the scene. Awful venues. But to be able to see ROH Final Battle, that giant crowd they drew for it, the arena full, the atmosphere they had that night like that was the exact same level to me as being in WWE that night
Related – Roderick Strong Discusses The Diamond Mine, Wrestling Bobby Fish
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