Robert Stone credits Samoa Joe for helping him get WWE NXT opportunity
Robert Stone revealed that it was Samoa Joe who helped bring him into NXT after leaving TNA Wrestling.
Stone signed with WWE and reported to the Performance Center in March 2019 after having been with TNA since 2010. During a recent appearance on Busted Open After Dark, Stone said Joe texted him within minutes of him announcing his TNA departure, and a tryout was arranged.
“I let my contract run out. I think I announced on Twitter saying, I’m no longer with TNA wrestling. Immediately, and I mean, within minutes, I get a text from Samoa Joe, our good friend from TNA Wrestling, who saw the news, said, do I have interest in coming to WWE NXT?”
“I told him, absolutely. I guess he put some feelers out maybe to William Regal, who at the time was helping get talent tryouts.”
Stone added that he was waiting to hear back from the company for months after his tryout before they finally told him they were moving forward with the contract. He said that at the time he was being brought in, it was never mentioned that they were interested in converting him to a manager, though the thought had crossed his mind.
“I knew that they also hired Stokely Hathaway. So when I heard that and he was coming in with me, I said, maybe they’re into managers now and that’s what they want me to be because of him. So no one told me, but I had the thought, and then my first week there, they said, do you have any interest in being a manager?”
Later in the interview, Stone was asked if he has any advice to up-and-coming wrestlers and said the best advice is to be patient. He noted that for the past two years his role has been as Ava’s assistant, and he could have been complaining about wanting more screen time, but instead waited for his opportunity.
Stone continued:
“The past two years, I could have been complaining, I want more TV time, I want to be doing this, I could be doing more, but I didn’t. I just said, I know what I bring to the table. I know that everyone that sees me work knows that I’m talented at what I do and my time will come, my opportunity will come.”
Stone’s full appearance on the Busted Open After Dark podcast is available below.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.