One WWE NXT star was thrilled to appear on screen alongside The Rock.
On the special New Year’s Evil episode of NXT on January 7th, The Rock made his NXT debut. Ahead of his appearance in front of the crowd in attendance, The Final Boss interrupted a meeting between former NXT Champion Ethan Page and his daughter Ava, who serves as General Manager of the brand.
Speaking in an interview with Busted Open Radio, Page reflected on interacting with Rock on screen, saying he was surprised by The Great One’s interrupting his meeting but also applauds his strategy.
“I was trying to get some business handled, which is pretty tough with Ava, not gonna lie. She keeps a handle of her business, I can respect that. No, I did not expect The Rock, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, to interrupt me, but on top of it, if a superstar of that caliber could pick anybody on the NXT roster to brush shoulders with, to get to know, to get to be in the presence of and understand what they bring to the table, if I’m the Final Boss, I’m going to see what’s up with Ethan Page.
There was part of me that was shocked. The other part, after the fact, no. He’s a very strategic man, and that was a very good move by the Final Boss.”
“I Always Envisioned Ethan Page On Screen With The Rock”
Continuing, Page revealed that an an on-screen appearance with The Rock was his number one goal in wrestling.
“I’ll tell you exactly how I felt. I literally told him, as well, I started wrestling when I was 16 years old. This is where Ethan Page was conceived. I always envisioned Ethan Page on screen with The Rock. Ultimate goal. Number one. Bucket list, let’s check it off.
I just skipped an entire line of goals to my number one goal and checked it off. I got to tell him to his face that I got to achieve that. On top of it, let him know what I brought to the table, got to show him how talented I was, and at the end of the day, that’s the man that’s in charge of the future of my career.”
The Rock’s appearance on NXT helped the brand earn its highest rating in five years.
h/t Fightful