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Mike Johnson: You mentioned breaking into Australia and how unique and different that is - you know, we had Rhea Ripley on last week and she was lucky enough to get signed by WWE at a younger age in a much quicker fashion...
Bronson Reed: Yeah.
Mike Johnson: What's it like going through that journey of - you're wrestling, you're trying to network and find your way internationally, what's it like when you finally get that WWE call and what's it like going through that process where after all the hard work, all the bumps, all the blood, sweat and tears, and a lot of highs and lows, you finally get to the end of that journey, and it's really the start of a new chapter, but when you hit that end point, and you go through all this, what was that journey like and what was it like when you finally got the call, "All right, you're coming to WWE"?
Bronson Reed: Yeah, I definitely had the journeyman experience. I started in just such a small town where I come from, where Rhea actually comes from as well, so the difference I think when I started to Rhea is those 5 - 6 years that separate us, is that when I started there was no aspirations - well there was aspirations to getting to WWE, but I don't think anyone in Australia, no one that was involved in wrestling thought that it was something that could be possible, and there was none of us in Australia doing these things on a global stage or global level, so when I started I thought this might be it, I'll just be wrestling a career in Australia and that's sort of what I do, and then after those few years, obviously was able to go to Japan and things steamrolled and guys like Buddy Murphy and then the IIconics obviously joined with WWE, and I felt like it was more attainable so I kept pushing it, I kept trying to wrestle all around the world, and eventually got the call to come here and it's just, sort of surreal, it's something that, you know for me, I've been a fan of wrestling my whole life, since I was a really young child and you grow up watching this product and you know, "One day I'm goning to be there, one day I'll do this", but a kid from a small town in Australia you have a lot of people saying "That's just a far out dream", you have a lot of people saying, "That'll never happen, think of something else, think of a fallback," and for me there was never a fallback - my love and passion has always been for pro wrestling and my driving force was to be able to get to WWE and then once I got here it's just a dream come true, as cliche as it sounds, but that's definitely what it is.
Mike Johnson: So you sign, you come over to the United States, you start to train in the Performance Center, obviously the world goes sideways, so we can't control that, but when things kind of settle down, what do you...what are your goals? Obviously everyone wants to headline Wrestlemania but when you look at where you are now from when you started with the company, obviously you've changed, you've grown, you're not working with Shawn Michaels in the Performance Center unless they deem you're of a certain quality and you're ready for that. Talk about what your goals are for the future, how you'd like to be seen by the company, who you'd like to wrestle, what you'd like to do - what are the goals for Bronson Reed if we sit down a year or two from now, the world gets back to some sort of normalcy, and we're talking about your progress, where would you like to be?
Bronson Reed: For me, you know, I think, for being that, you know I hope people will remember me for the wrestler that I am and that I put on some spectacular matches in the next few years, I hope matches that people will always remember so for me, it's not so much about getting the WWE Championship, obviously it's something that's in the back of my mind, you know, that'd be amazing, that's a dream, but I want to just put on performances that people will always remember, and I've said it many times to many different people but my dream match is me versus Samoa Joe so that's definitely something that I want to happen.
Mike Johnson: That would be...it might be as hard hitting as you and Damian will be on Wednesday night I would assume.
Bronson Reed: [laughs] Yeah, definitely. It's something I've thought of for a long time so if it ever happens I'll make sure it is.
Mike Johnson: Well thankfully for you Samoa Joe is healthy and resting behind the announcers table, waiting for his next moment.
Bronson Reed: [laughs]
Mike Johnson: But as you know, things can flip on a dime in WWE so it's not outside the realm of possibility. Having come from such a small town in Australia, and having had the chance to travel the world and eventually end up with WWE, what's your advice - and I know everybody's journey is different - but what's your advice to the talents that are outside the United States who are trying to find their way and network and get WWE's attention? What advice would you give to them given your own body of work and your own path to WWE?
Bronson Reed: Yeah I think it's a big thing to seek out knowledge, so I think for guys that wat to eventually get to a place like this to make sure that you are training at a reputable wrestling school so you do learn from someone that has a good reputation amongst the wrestling world, and then from there, networking can be a very hard thing but I think the best thing to do is to let your work speak for itself, so if you do have some standout matches or something that you can send other promoters - like it's always good to be able to connect with people, and if people see that you're working hard, generally that's when things start to connect and things start to happen. I think if you just stick at it - I see a lot of performers, this is the same in Australia in my hometown, so many guys that had so much potential but after 2 - 3 years of being on the independent scene, for some people it becomes too much, they want more too quick, and it can be, for some, it can be a very long road to get to where you want to be, so I think as long as you're giving it your all and essentially don't quit, you'll definitely be able to get somewhere.
Mike Johnson: In NXT over the last several months we've seen you run afoul of several different performers, including the Undisputed Era and Karrion Kross - any thoughts on having the chance to step in the ring with those talents down the line?
Bronson Reed: Yeah, you know, I'd welcome being able to wrestle Roderick Strong again, also all the members of Undisputed Era, I think I can have great singles matches with all of them. Kyle is someone I'm definitely interested in wrestling, I've never wrestled him before and he's someone that I think brings something unique to the table every time he's in that ring, and Karrion Kross is definitely someone I want to get in there with again. We had such a hard hitting fight I think there's more to be done between me and Kross.
Mike Johnson: So fans who have seen you thus far, for the most part, see the physical beast that you are in the ring...
Bronson Reed: Yeah.
Mike Johnson: What would you like fans to discover about Bronson Reed that maybe they don't know already through your in-ring exploits?
Bronson Reed: I hope that they stop to see that, obviously I am a physical specimen, I'm someone that's completely different - I'm 320 pounds, there's a lot of force that comes behind that, but coming up I made sure to learn every style possible - I learned the catch-as-catch can style of wrestling coming up, I worked with some British wrestlers, I've done lucha libre, Japanese-style wrestling has been ingrained into me, so I hope people start to see these little specs of those styles coming into my matches and you'll see a little more out of Bronson Reed to what you just expect to see a heavyweight can be.
Mike Johnson: So Bronson, as we start to wrap this up I want to thank you for sitting down with us. Why should fans go out of their way, cause there's so many choices right now, especially on Wednesday nights, why should they go out of their way to make sure that they're watching the USA Network when NXT airs at 8 PM Eastern?
Bronson Reed: I think right now we have such unique personalities amongst NXT at the moment and a have lot of guys that have really come like we said from the journeyman experience on the independents to get to where we are right now and I think we bring something different to anything else, and definitely myself and Damian Priest are going to do something that you're definitely going to want to watch.
Mike Johnson: We talked about your journey and your path to get to WWE NXT, one group of people who have been with you from day one are the fans, whether it be fans in Australia, fans in Japan, fans in the United States, the discerning fans obviously have followed your career for many years, what's your message to everyone who's supported you over the years who now get to see you on this platform?
Bronson Reed: You know it means a lot to me, especially those ones that have followed me from my Australia days and then all the way through, and I feel like as much as it's my journey it's a journey for them as well, whenever you can follow someone in sports or in entertainment, and you've seen them on the independent level, or not on the main stage, it always means more once you see them on that main stage, so I can't thank the fans enough, you know, there's some things that I love and I'd like to embrace more and as I've continued to grow I get more new fans from social media and WWE. I just want them to know that I appreciate them a lot.
Mike Johnson: Well everybody - Australia's most fearsome exploit to date Bronson Reed can be found on Twitter. You can follow him @BronsonReedWWE and of course this Wednesday at 8 PM he will be waging war with Damian Priest and we will see him on Saturday the 22nd in the NXT North American Championship ladder match. Sir, I want to thank you so much for sitting down and talking to us, I hope we get the chance to cross paths again and do it down the line, and we wish you nothing but the best personally and professionally, and I hope things calm down a bit so you get a chance to go home to Australia to see some family when the time is right, but more than that we wish you nothing but the best in health and happiness, and we look forward to seeing what comes Wednesday against Damian and beyond, so I thank you for you time.
Bronson Reed: Thank you so much, Mike. Thanks for having me.
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