Reginald Credits Circus Background For WWE Career
Reginald, the mild-mannered sommelier to former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella, has revealed that his background in the circus helped him prepare for WWE.
On December 11, 2020, Carmella introduced her wine-expert to the world under the designation of Reginald. While he appeared to be a lover of the grape, the valet shocked the world with some tremendous athletic ability which would have gone down a storm in a big top.
What fans may not have been aware of, however, was that Reginald was a former circus performer prior to joining WWE with Cirque du Soleil in their LUZIA show and specialised in hoop diving.
While his many feats can be witnessed on his social media pages, the star recently sat down with FOX 2 to talk about his training, his former career and how it primed him to step into the ring:
“I was in circus for 16 years and it’s something that I never knew anything about but it landed in my lap because I had so many people in my corner. I started circus as an after-school program to keep me occupied. Throughout those years of training, I fell in love with it. At Circus Harmony in St. Louis, they trained us to be professional athletes and artists. I acquired all of these skills with acrobatics, juggling, and life skills that allowed me to transition to WWE so effortlessly.
It was so many butterflies in my stomach. So many years of doubt, giving up on this dream as a kid. To finally be there was a dream come true and a huge blessing. As a kid growing up in St. Louis, I never thought in a million years that this could be a profession of mine. I never knew that this dream could be possible, so I gave up. I said, ‘this is not in the books for me, so let’s do something else.’ 16 years down the road, I’m here. Be humble, be grateful, you never know what is behind door number two.”
A major part of the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship rivalry between Carmella and Sasha Banks, Reginald also appeared during the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match in order to catch Carmella on her path over the top rope. However, he was directly responsible for her elimination when he dropped her following a superkick from Tamina.
Credit for the interview: FOX 2
h/t for the transcription: Fightful