Taylor Rust: Shawn Michaels Told Me He Was Upset About My Release
Image Credit: WWE
Tyler Rust was an early member of Diamond Mine in NXT. Suddenly, he would be released from his contract on Friday, August 6. Now, Taylor Rust is reflecting on the last few months of his career that had been a rollercoaster as Not only was he released from WWE but he landed in Ring of Honor which is currently scheduled to undergo a hiatus in the first quarter of 2022.
Speaking on The Shining Wizards podcast, Taylor not only spoke about his brief time in Ring of Honor but his time in the WWE Performance Center and what Shawn Michaels told him after he was released.
On his most recent roller coaster years: It’s very very unique how it’s all kind of unfolding, ya know? A culmination of a lot of years of hard work on my part, man, finally getting those big payoffs you’ve been working towards. We’re all dealt different hands in life, and this the hands that we got dealt this time, and I was given. ROH is a great company, and if this is the end for them, then this is the end. Maybe it’s not. Hopefully, it’s not. Hopefully, they keep going. Final Battle, I think, is going to do really well, and I’m looking forward to being a part of that show, and we’ll take it all one step at a time. As far as the past two years of my career, it’s been an absolute game-changer the entire step of the way. I had a lot going on in my personal life, and it caused me to take a quick second look at my wrestling career and really put myself into focus. You’re either going to push forward and achieve this big goal you have getting signed to WWE, of being this international talent, of being this sought-after person in this independent professional wrestling scene, or you’re going to call it a day. And I lit that fire, and it pushed me more than I already was, and that’s all I needed. It’s been a really amazing past two years, honestly.
On The Performance Center: That’s an incredible place to go there and train. I remember talking with Drew Gulak about it, just looking around it and being like, “Can you believe a place like this exists now in the wrestling world?” Can you imagine being a completely untrained talent and coming here and this is where you’re going to learn – from the best coaches in the world, the best training facility you’ll have in pro wrestling in the world. The utilization of what they have there is endless, realistically. But I would definitely say I was never intimidated by it. If there’s one thing I’m confident about, it’s what I do in the ring. I’ve been wrestling for about seventeen years now. If I’m not confident in what I’m doing in the ring when I’m being tested by it, I shouldn’t be doing this anymore. Have all the coaches you want, have anyone you want overview my matches, I love it. I want the pressure. I want the center stage when it comes to being in the ring. I want that. You spend enough time doing really, really good matches in front of fifteen people, and I was thinking back to myself back in those days like does this really mean something? You go out there and you deliver these great matches with somebody, but who’s watching it? Fifty people up here in Salem, Oregon? Does it really count? Every opportunity like that in front of their (NXT) guys. Those are the opportunities you work for.
On his relationship with Shawn Michaels: I actually had gotten contacted by Shawn the very next day (after his release). We talked briefly. He basically said that “My number never changes. Please contact me if you ever need anything. I just want you to know that I’m very upset about this, and I hope it’s not the end of us working together.” And that means a lot, coming from someone like him, to know that you’re not an immediate afterthought. And that the relationship that me and him were kind of building wasn’t superficial, and that it was real to the extent that this person is caring about me, genuinely, and not just nine-to-five. And that’s kind of nice to know.
SEE MORE: Tyler Rust Released By WWE