CJ Parker Talks Leaving NXT, His Character, Changes in Developmental

CJ Parker left WWE following WrestleMania, much to the disappointment of many in NXT. Parker was popular among his colleagues, and considered to be a quality worker.

He recently talked with Rolling Stone about leaving the organization. Below are some of the highlights from the conversation.

Parker talked about what made him leave WWE in the first place:

“I think it just came down to personal growth as a performer. For a couple years now I watched guys come in, all these guys who are now very good friends of mine, who had experienced things and made themselves stars before they got to NXT. So just for my wrestling soul, I want to experience those things too. I want to earn my stripes the old-fashioned way. I want to wrestle in front of small crowds and go from the ground up. I’m 25, so if I was going to do that, if I was going to travel the world and live out of a suitcase, then now’s the time.”

He discussed his character, and how it developed:

“That character was a lot of me. It was a team effort to get it going, with the sign and coming through the crowd and talking about global warming and recycling and being very left-wing and liberal with it. As it started to go, it was then up to me to do with it what I wanted. The look, the gear, what was written on the signs – everything was me. That’s what you have to do, take an idea and make it your own.”

The man now known as “CJP” also talked about how much NXT has changed since he started in 2011:

“Everything. It was everything times 100. The roster got bigger, the coaching staff got bigger, the facility got bigger, what was expected of you as a performer got bigger. It went from FCW to NXT and got bigger, badder and better. It was classic WWE. When they want something to take off, it does. That’s exactly what the developmental system did in the past couple years.

We didn’t do as many live events [in 2011]. There weren’t as many people coming to the live events that we did do for FCW. The TV show obviously changed a lot. There was one camera then, instead of four or five at Full Sail. NXT at Full Sail is like a mini-Raw. Back in FCW, it was pretty much like a live event with one camera. There wasn’t really much pressure on you. But everything got bigger. We became stars in a way. At FCW, nobody really knows you, it was on its own island from the rest of the WWE. But then, when Triple H put his hand into it and put the time and energy into the developmental system, it grew and became its own brand. And that’s exactly what NXT is, it’s not really developmental anymore, it’s the third brand.”

More from the interview can be found here.

Editor’s Note

Seems like he went out on good terms, which were his terms. Good for him.

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