Lexis King feels NXT’s BirthRight works because ‘people hate nepotism’
A few months ago, Lexis King and a few other wrestlers from wrestling-heritage families formed the BirthRight faction in WWE NXT.
Consisting of Charlie Dempsey (son of William Regal), Uriah Connors (son of Fit Finlay), Arianna Grace (daughter of Santino Marella), Channing Stacks, and Lexis King (son of Brian Pillman), the faction came together to become the new dominant heel group of NXT.
WWE NXT Speed Champion Lexis King recently opened up about being a second-generation wrestler and discussed why it helped work the BirthRight faction.
“Everyone knows who you are. Everybody knows you’re Brian Pillman’s son. Everybody knows this is (William) Regal’s son, this is Fit Finlay’s son, that he is a fourth-generation wrestler, Uriah Connors. Why are we not leaning into that?’” King said while speaking on the Busted Open After Dark.
“I think that was the ultimate powder keg for us, to just say Hey, the fans know who you are, there’s heat there, people hate nepotism. They cry nepotism,” the current Speed Champion stated.
WWE’s Lexis King shares the pros and cons of nepotism
In the same interview, he further opened up and shared the pros and cons of nepotism. King believes that nepotism can only take a person to a certain height, following which it’s their work ethic that keeps them there.
“‘Oh, they only got this because of that.’ You know what? We did. Thank you. But it opened the door, and what did we do when we got through the door? We started working harder than anybody in the room, because you carry that shadow, you carry that weight, the office makes you work harder.
“The boys hold you to a higher standard. You can’t just show up, you have a reputation. You have an expectation and you have to work twice as hard just to get to the same level that your parents did. Our fathers were legends, my father passed away at his peak, so he will be remembered even greater than perhaps he was,” King added. “So for people to tell us it’s easy, sure, keep thinking that. I’m just going to keep showing up on your television and having great matches, and defending my title.”
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
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