JONAH (Bronson Reed) Calls NXT 2.0 “Disheartening,” Says HHH’s Vision For The Show Is Gone
JONAH, formerly known as Bronson Reed in NXT, explained why he finds NXT 2.0 to be “disheartening” and says that HHH’s vision for the show is gone as it’s become “just another entertainment show.”
During his time with NXT, Bronson Reed was a force to be reckoned with, eventually defeating NXT stalwart Johnny Gargano in a steel cage match to capture the NXT North American Championship.
However, despite being popular with fans and having a number of excellent matches, his reign would end after just 42 days when he was defeated by Isaiah “Swerve” Scott the next July On August 6th, Reed was shockingly released from his contract with WWE.
In a recent interview with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, the Australian superstar admitted that while he still checks out the programming to support friends who still work there, he’s not a fan of the new NXT 2.0 presentation.
“I’ve watched bits and pieces. I try to support my friends like Duke Hudson, Indi Hartwell, Persia Pirotta, Grayson [Waller], like all the Australians, I always support those guys. And I still have other friends obviously that I made there that I always watch. But I don’t particularly enjoy it.”
JONAH went on to explain why he doesn’t enjoy the program the way he used to despite understanding why they’re going in a different direction. According to him, those involved with NXT during his time there worked hard to make the show something different and special, and now it seems like HHH’s vision for the show is gone.
“I mean I understand what they’re trying to do, and the direction they’re going in,” said JONAH. “I think the thing I like least about it is, Hunter had such a vision for what NXT was. And that whole vision is just gone now, especially after [WWE NXT WarGames], with what seems to be, I don’t know, I’m not there at the moment, but it seems to be the end of black and gold, like that’s it.
“It’s just disheartening because we were so, the guys that were there for that era, were so much trying to make it that third brand and make it something different.”
The former Bronson Reed made sure to clarify that his feelings toward the product have nothing to do with the fact that he no longer works for the company; instead, he’s frustrated at the lack of distinction between the new NXT 2.0 and the shows on WWE’s main roster.
“But not just that’ when I was there wrestling, I’m a huge pro wrestling fan, and I love WWE, I love what they do, but I saw RAW and SmackDown as their entertainment shows and saw NXT as the pro wrestling show, and now I feel like it’s just another entertainment show.”
Just after being released from WWE, JONAH spoke to Busted Open Radio and revealed some advice he received from another major name behind the scenes in NXT, Shawn Michaels.
“I got to speak with Shawn (Michaels) right after my release. He actually texted me, very shocked, and just said ‘you’ve got to show them that was a mistake. Keep working.’
It was not something that we saw coming. I was speaking with him at the previous tapings about future storylines and where we were heading. In my mind, creative already had plans for me until the end of the year.
“So I got to speak with him. I didn’t get to speak with Hunter (Triple H) after my release. He was obviously big in my development in NXT. He’s going through some things at the moment, so I’m not too sure on that front. But all the other producers and coaches did reach out to me, which was really nice.”
JONAH made his debut in IMPACT Wrestling on November 20, 2021.