On the morning of August 18, WWE announced that NXT UK would be going on hiatus in September before returning as NXT Europe in 2023.
Later in the day, many NXT UK talents were released including Amir Jordan, who wrestled as Tiger Turan after losing a Loser Leaves NXT UK match to Kenny Williams in June 2021.
Speaking to Cultaholic, Jordan reflected on his NXT UK release.
"Before I left, I was actively trying to get myself out to Florida. 'That's the next step.' That was something I initiated, to try and get out there. At the end of the day, for me, I watched SmackDown at 11 on Saturday afternoons, my dream is to be on SmackDown one day. That is still there. For me, having come back from injury, that's where I was trying to go. It's that thing, something happens, it's out of your control. You can only control what you can control. The world is still going to go on without you. If you let it get you down, the sun is still going to shine in the morning, the hours will still pass by, and you're just going to sit there being annoyed at whatever situation you're in. Obviously, it would have been nice to go out to Florida, sunny place, be part of that and maybe get to the main roster. We all want to do that, be on WrestleMania and stuff. I also want to wrestle, at any point, anywhere, as much as I can. Now, I feel equipped to go out there and wrestle everywhere as much as I can and use the skills I learned from five-six years in the business," he said.
When asked if he knew the release was coming, Jordan said, "Maybe, yes or no. As the year went on, when I'm not doing it, it's hard for me to stay in love with something that is not there all the time. Naturally, you start getting more skeptical. I was getting frustrated because I want to wrestle more. At the end of the day, do you point fingers or think, 'that's just the system that they've had and for whatever reason, they couldn't get tapings done this time around and that's what it is.' It's a business decision from their point of view. Did it enter my mind? Of course it did. The day I signed a WWE contract it entered my mind. At the end of the day, it could end at any point, that experience. I was always like, 'I'm going to try and stay here for as long as I can, hopefully, make a bunch of money and become something.' Over the last few months, I've kind of been preparing and keeping my options open anyway. We all have the internet, we all read and know what's going on. Internally, you can see how things are going. You never want it to happen. It's still fresh, but I'm like, how can I make this a positive? 'Now there are things that you've not been getting from your life, that you can now get.'"
Jordan noted that he's been able to afford a house thanks to WWE and that they paid for both of his shoulder surgeries. He also said that his contract was up in May 2023.
When asked if NXT Europe was ever presented as an option for him, Jordan said, "Not that I know of. We only just found out when everyone else heard, slightly before. That place is still there. If it's NXT or NXT Other Continents, we don't know what the plan is. With WWE, things are always changing and it's a very dynamic business. Sometimes, you get to be a part of that, and right now we're not part of that, but further down the line, there might be an opportunity where we are."
Jordan reiterated that his goal was to make it to WWE SmackDown. As a free agent, he said his goal is to try to help out everywhere.
You can learn more about the expansion to NXT Europe by clicking here.
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