GLORIOUS! The NXT Champion Bobby Roode called to get ready us ready for NXT Takeover: Orlando and there was so much to talk about:
- his NXT Championship match with Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover
- how he's had such a great career and this is his biggest year ever
- thoughts on the other matches at NXT Takeover: Orlando
- his friend Kurt Angle going into the WWE Hall of Fame
- his"Glorious" song being used at other sporting events
- Bobby's favorite WrestleMania moments
(photo: WWE)
WrestleMania weekend starts Friday night with the Hall of Fame, then NXT Takeover: Orlando on Saturday and WrestleMania on Sunday night. Watch it all on the WWE Network and I'm calling it now, a successful title defense for Bobby Roode over Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover. Good luck in the match and thanks for chatting, Bobby!
Some highlights from our conversation:
Didn't give up after not being signed to WWE in early 2000s: "In this industry timing is everything. Things happen for a reason in every walk of life. It happened for a reason. It wasn’t the right time for me back in the early 2000s. I managed to go other places and make a name for myself and to gain experience and to be in the ring with a lot of talented of knowledgeable people."
Excited for his NXT Takeover entrance: "I’m looking forward to the entrance as well. And every entrance that I’ve had at Takeover has outdone the others. Being WrestleMania weekend and the biggest Takeover of all time, I feel like this is gonna be a pretty special entrance."
Expecting to go even bigger with his championship rematch with Shinsuke Nakamura: "We set the bar high. Being in the ring with him, who also brings a ton of experience, our styles are bit of a clash of styles that makes it interesting and much better. Takeover San Antonio set the bar high and we plan to destroy that and take it to an entirely new level at Takeover Orlando."
Kurt Angle is very deserving of his spot in the WWE HOF "Kurt and I have stayed friends for a long time. He was one of those guys that I got a chance to learn from. Kurt is an amazing competitor and was a great competitor and for a guy that was an Olympic athlete and Olympic wrestler, and then to be able to come to the WWE and just be so successful as a professional wrestler is just mind blowing."
Now it's time to work even harder as NXT Champion: "This past year has been extremely successful for me and the hard work, its time to begin. Being champion, there are a lot of things expected of you and a lot of pressure that comes along with it. A lot of pressure, that I thrive on, and look forward to whatever challenges lie ahead."
NXT Superstars want to be the talk of WrestleMania Weekend: "It’s WrestleMania weekend and we are at a sold out Amway Center and it’s an opportunity for us to go out there and not only steal the show but to try to steal the entire weekend…not just Shinsuke and I, but the entire NXT roster."
Praise for The Revival "The Revival, in my opinion, are the best tag team in the world right now. Every match that they have been a part of, especially at Takeovers, they’ve stole the show. I expected nothing less from those guys."
Watching WrestleMania 1 as a kid: "As far as memories go, I was around for the very first WrestleMania. I was a young kid upstairs at my Uncle’s restaurant in a change room or staff room watching it, I THINK illegally on a black and white television. I was watching it and thinking “this is what I wanna do when I get older.”