As noted, NXT GM William Regal recently spoke with ESPN.com ahead of the WWE Dubai tryouts scheduled for later this month.
In addition to the highlights we posted from the interview earlier this week, Regal also spoke about helping to develop new talent for WWE over the past five years.
“This will be my 34th year in this industry. The last five years or so that I’ve been a part of talent development have been the most rewarding for me, to watch people thrive in the environment of the Performance Center,” said Regal. “[For example], the Authors of Pain that are with us now [are] the tag team champions at NXT. Gzim [Selmani], I met when he was 19 at the last Dubai tryout three years ago. To watch him go from that, at 19, to being part of the tag team champions [as Rezar] now at NXT, it’s a really rewarding experience. Just to deal with everybody on a daily basis and see the progression. Sometimes you see people, they struggle a little bit, but then there’s always somebody who knows how to help them.”
Regal continued, “It’s a testament to the scouting and recruiting team that goes out to these tryouts and a variety of other events throughout the year. But it also speaks to the amount of time and resources that the WWE has sunk into its facilities in Orlando. The Performance Center features seven training rings, a state-of-the-art gym and nearly every piece of equipment a future WWE superstar could need to sharpen their body and their mind. It’s paid off in a big way over the last four years. Nine out of the 13 matches on the WrestleMania 33 card earlier this month featured at least one superstar who had spent a significant amount of time in NXT and at the Performance Center. Every active main roster title has had at least one NXT alumni as its reigning champion at some point over the last two years.”
Check out the complete William Regal interview at ESPN.com.