Cameron Grimes On NXT 2.0 – ‘It Was A Very Weird Transition Period’
Cameron Grimes was a guest on the latest episode of Out of Character with Ryan Satin, where he discussed a plethora of topics ranging from his time with Ted DiBiase on NXT, the NXT 2.0 rebranding, being a company guy, and more.
When asked whether his pairing with DiBiase was the highlight of his NXT career, Grimes concurred,
“Yeah, for sure. I don’t think I can get any bigger. Of course, you know, I would have loved to have wrestled for the NXT Championship and maybe have held that. But they brought an entire championship back, the Million Dollar Championship belt out of [an] 11-year, 12-year absence. They brought a complete championship back just for me ultimately. So yeah, that’s going to be a highlight, not even in just NXT, but my entire career.”
Discussing the ‘NXT 2.0’ era and how it was a “very weird transition period,” Grimes said,
“Yeah, that was, you know, very interesting to be honest. I feel like if you were a fan of the product at the time, I feel like I was gearing up like you said. The character kind of started as a very outlandish, over the top character, but then I started kind of gearing into a more serious and more real-life side of who I am. And then right at that time is when the NXT 2.0 thing started. So I feel like a lot of the time and the emphasis was put on a lot of the newer, up-and-coming people that we were trying to establish, all the new stars. Because a lot of our talent had moved, and now there was a lot of spots that needed to be filled. So you have to establish these new characters. You have to give these people new time. So, you know, it was a very weird transition period, but ultimately that’s where I always wanted to be. I always wanted to be in WWE. So, it didn’t matter if it was 1, 2, 3, I was there and I was going to do my job to the best of my ability.”
Sharing how several stars of NXT era from around 2017-2021, easily the hottest the ‘black & gold brand’ had ever been, were PWG alumni and had worked together earlier on the indies, Grimes reflected,
“Right yeah, 100%. I feel like I was the one in the last of that era of that PWG [roster]. PWG still happens now, but as a fan of the company, you’ve been there through the years, you’ve seen it. There was a special era there at that time. And I feel like I was one of the last guys that got to see just a little bit of that last little bit of the air.”
Even while working the indies or in Impact Wrestling, Grimes shared that he was always eager to eventually make it to WWE, and how he molded himself to be fit for the sports entertainment style as well over the years.
“But at the same time, ultimately, I’ve always wanted to be a WWE Superstar and even when I was working for PWG, I was working for Impact Wrestling. So, I was already kind of learning the television style. So I feel like that’s the best thing about me, ultimately, is that you couldn’t just label me as that super indie guy like you said. Because I was trying to show also that I can be that WWE Superstar, that sports entertainer, whatever that side of it is as well. So is that due from age? Maybe, because I’m still kind of young, it can be molded into kind of whatever. But ultimately I just want to do whatever is best for the job at the time, whatever the company needs. That’s kind of always been what I’ve done.”
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