Bobby Roode on wanting to work at Wrestlemania, NXT championship reign, more

In a recent interview with Jim Varsallone, NXT champion Bobby Roode spoke on a myriad of topics including his NXT championship reign, representing the NXT brand, wanting to work at Wrestlemania, performing on RAW, SmackDown, and much more.

Bobby Roode returned to the WWE last year, after his initial departure from the company back in 2004. The 40-year old earned a name for himself in TNA (now re-branded as Impact Wrestling), winning the TNA World Heavyweight championship twice.

Roode debuted in the NXT brand last year and is now the NXT champion- a title that he won off of Shinsuke Nakamura earlier this year.

The Glorious One spoke about his NXT championship reign, besides giving his thoughts on fellow performers-

“Being in that situation, it’s a pressure situation, but when you get into this business, it’s something you dream about. You do what you do to be a champion, and when you’re the champion, you’re the focal point of the company, the brand. You have an opportunity to perform in main events and have an opportunity to perform with top level talent. That’s the main thing that I truly enjoy, being able to go out there and get in the ring with top performers and be the top storylines and feel like you’re the face of the company, the face of the brand. There’s a lot of pressure that’s involved with that, but I enjoy it.” 

“Honestly, the guys and girls in the locker room, the talent that we have, they’re just passionate about what they do—and every night they want to go out there, like you saw in Chicago, every match was a main event, and everybody wants to steal the show. That’s the intent of everyone.”

“Even the guys and girls in the (Performance Center) who you haven’t seen on television yet, they have the incentive on these live shows, whether it’s on the Fort Pierce and Cocoa shows or whatever it is, to go out there and steal the show and to learn. I think that’s the difference. These guys are hungry. They’re young, and they want to be the next John Cena. They want to be the next Roman Reigns. I think that’s what makes NXT so special.”

Furthermore, on wanting to perform on RAW and SmackDown, besides competing at Wrestlemania as well, Roode stated-

“As a performer, you always want more. I’m not downplaying my experience in NXT and what I’m doing now. It’s been amazing. I truly think NXT is the hottest brand, but as a performer, you always want to take it to the next level, and you always want to get better, and you always want to be seen by more people, and you always want to perform in front of more people, and there’s no better place to do that than either on Raw or SmackDown and WrestleMania—For me the goal at the end of the day is to be a part of a WrestleMania, and I’m going to keep plugging away until I get there.”

Bobby Roode presently holds the NXT championship and is involved in a feud against Japanese Superstar Hideo Itami.

Roode is an established veteran in the NXT locker room, and without a doubt is itching for a main-roster push on RAW or SmackDown. It’ll be interesting to see when and how the WWE decide to use the talented performer on either of its flagship shows.

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