Former NXT wrestler comments on Bray Wyatt, Bill DeMott, Seth Rollins, Big E Langston, the developmental performer he feels will be the best Diva ever, and more

Art of Wrestling interview with James Bronson
Host: Robert Krupar
Interview available at http://www.artofwrestling.cz

Bronson on conflicting reports concerning your injuries have surfaced online: "I’m not sure who is reporting what, but the reason it would be 'conflicting' is because no one has ever actually asked me about the injury. A lot of people in WWE still don’t know what happened, so there’s no way people outside the company would have any idea. But just so that there’s no further fake confusion, here’s the deal. I legally cannot discuss how the injury happened, but it didn’t happen during a match. I’m allowed to say that. The doctor informed me that on a severity scale of 1-10  it was a 9.5-10, and I needed surgery ASAP. Basically all the spongy tissue in my L4-L5 disc shot out and pinned my spinal cord nerves. There’s a difference between wear and tear, and horrible injuries. I knocked this one out of the park, it was a terrible injury. It started with me not being able to put my socks on, and two days before surgery I couldn’t walk anymore. I don’t recommend it. Surgery was pretty amazing, I felt better immediately afterwards and was able to walk without pain for the first time in 6 months. If it wasn’t for Dr. Maroon and his staff, I’d probably be crippled. I’m not 100 percent better yet, but I will make a full recovery. However, my contract recently expired and I’m not going back to developmental with my back like this. That would be stupid."

On how he would describe his training in NXT? "I received a lot of support from and trained with some amazing trainers and talent like Dr. Tom Pritchard, Norman Smiley, Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes, Rob MacIntyre, Terry Taylor, Vader, William Regal, Robbie Brookside, Triple H, Sean Waltman, Steve Keirn. I was very fortunate to learn from those people. Not to mention all the road guys, peers, TV productions people and producers I had the pleasure to work with. I consider myself very lucky. I dropped all those names, but you’ll have to pick them up for me since my back sucks. Here’s an unsolicited tip for any aspiring pro-wrestlers, or students of anything really.  If you have a coach/teacher who doesn’t like what you are doing, or maybe takes a dump on something you did…  Take responsibility for it, and then ask them specifically what you need to do to change it.  If the person you ask cannot give you a real answer, and instead belittles you or gives you a riddle that is absolutely meaningless, they’re not a good coach. Listening to criticism is going to be 90% of your career, giving direct information that makes you improve on your mistakes is the difference between a real coach and someone who is a waste of time."

Bronson's Name Assocation:

Bill DeMott: He’s got slogans for days.

Kassius Ohno: I’ve known him for many years, he is a great guy, very talented and I wish nothing but the best for him.

Corey Graves: He smells great, you would think otherwise but man he smells good. I miss our workouts at Rob’s together.

Bo Dallas: I’d let him date my daughter, but I don’t have kids. He’s got fire for days.

Bray Wyatt: I’m very happy for his success, he’s extremely talented and did not have an easy road to get where he is.

Paige: She will eventually be named best diva ever.

Big E Langston: I have an enormous amount of respect for Big E. I’ve had a lot of ring time with him, and he’s another guy who deserves the success he has.

Seth Rollins: There’s no way he wasn’t going to get to where he is. His promos with Bill Carr are still my favorite though. I could not do this interview without a Bill Carr reference, I love that guy.

Bronson discussed a lot more topics with The Krupy. If you would like to know something about his future plans, or something about his hobbies, use the link at the top of the page.