Rhyno on His Debut With NXT, Being Released by WWE in 2005

Current NXT superstar and former ECW Television Champion Rhyno recently sat down with Alex Obert of Journey of a Frontman during an appearance at “House of Hardcore 8” in Philadelphia.

During the interview, “The Man Beast” discussed his debut with the NXT brand, as well as his release from World Wrestling Entertainment in 2005:

Q: How was your first appearance in NXT set up? It came out of nowhere.

Rhyno: “Yeah, it really came out of nowhere. I was just finishing up a loop one day and they’re like, ‘Hey, you wanna come down to NXT?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ That’s all I’ve heard about, NXT this and NXT that from the fans. Really, if you’re gonna make a splash, you want to do it where everybody’s talking about.”

Q: What was the feeling like when you walked out of the curtain for your first match?

“I was ready. If you look at all the competitors in NXT from the Divas to Kevin Owens the champion, from the guy that just got there, they have something to prove and nothing’s gonna get in their way until they prove it. They want to prove that they’re the best. They’re there for a reason. They may have felt rejection, I mean look at me throughout my career. I think that as human beings, we understand rejection and we don’t like it. When you’re rejected, you have nothing else to lose. And when you have nothing else to lose and you’re competing in the ring, you’re a pretty dangerous competitor. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Q: In 2005, you had one of the most interesting years in wrestling. You got released from WWE, you appear on RAW and at ECW One Night Stand two months later, then you debut in TNA the following month. How did you feel about all that?

“Well I was released from WWE for a little incident, but it’s not a secret. It involved alcohol and I was going through a difficult time in my life. Alcohol wasn’t an issue, I just happened to be drinking. And I was very irresponsible. As a man, you have to take responsibility for your actions. Every action. There was no physicality, I just threw a flower pot. I laugh at it now and my ex-wife laughs at it now. But like I said, you have to be a man and stand up. No matter what was said or done, there is no excuse for the behavior. And when you behave, you have to be responsible. I understand what I had to do, I had to work hard and work towards the indies. We already had the One Night Stand booked and I fulfilled my commitment with that. They wanted me to honor that commitment and we did good business. We professionally parted ways. They were good on their part and did everything as far as they were contractually obligated to, they did not try to mess around or anything. It was just one of those things where it was a very good learning experience. But it was a good situation for me. I made it a good situation by learning from the mistake and that mistake becomes an error, then I move forward in my career. I put my nose to the grindstone and worked to keep my career going. I moved forward, there’s no dispute about it. I began to create some good memories like working with “The Monster” Abyss, he’s a great talent. I worked on the independents and developed a great relationship with the fans. I met and interacted with them, one on one, on a smaller intimate level. You have that time and you have that ability. When you’re doing the bigger venues, it’s harder because there’s so many more fans and it can get chaotic.”

To check out the interview in its entirety, click here.

Editor’s Note

It makes you feel good to see a hard worker like Rhyno get himself back in the public eye by being down in NXT. It’s unlikely he’ll be down there much longer, but the matches he can put on with some of the younger superstars makes it totally worth it.  

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