Former WWE star says ‘I would have got fired’ if he did not accept main roster to NXT move
Most WWE stars use NXT as a stepping stone to the main roster, but there have been rare instances where the process has gone in reverse. Sidney Akeem (aka Reggie) recently talked about his experience and conversations with authority figures about moving to NXT after a main roster run.
He talked about his transition from the main roster to NXT with Duke Hanson on Between Two Jobs. Akeem explained he ‘tried to have a conversation’ with an executive in authority about revamping his gimmick after his 24/7 Title win. However, not long after expressing his concerns he was informed about being moved to NXT.
“So two years, whenever that switch happened between Vince and Triple H, that’s when I came back to NXT.”
“It wasn’t (a conversation) It was just, I tried to have a conversation with someone. I had a conversation with him trying to rewrite myself because we knew the 24/7 stuff was going down the drain,” stated Akeem.
“And I’m like ‘I have this idea, this character with the mask and this and that, this and that, Rey Mysterio’s on board and it’d be super cool.’ And he said ‘Alright,’ he’s looking at me as I’m talking to him but he’s not listening. And so I left the conversation, left the room thinking like, ‘That was a waste, that didn’t get anything or anywhere.’”
“And then I get a message from John Cone saying ‘Hey Reg, we’re thinking about sending you back to NXT, how you feel about that?’ I said ‘Cool.’ And that was it, I wasn’t gonna say ‘Nah.’ I would have got fired.”
After his WWE contract expired in 2024, Akeem competed on GCW, ROH and even TNA Wrestling last year.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.