Dexter Lumis became a featured star in NXT in 2021 when he was involved in a love angle with Indi Hartwell. Lumis worked alongside Hartwell, Johnny Gargano, and Candice LeRae, producing memorable segment and vignettes as their love story unfolded.
It all culminated with a wedding between Lumis and Hartwell where, unlike many wrestling weddings, went off without a hitch.
Speaking to Tommy Dreamer on his House of Hardcore podcast, Lumis named the wedding as his favorite NXT moment.
"I have to go with the wedding. It seems like in our business, especially these days, every match is like, 'let's have a banger of a match.' That is seemingly what the fans are always expecting and that's what they want, a banger of a match. They want two great wrestlers having a great match. We got the main event spot, ten minutes of a wedding that went totally right. No swerve. It went off and was a happy thing, but there was so much craziness and shenanigans happening in that 10 minutes and told so many stories. Indi Hartwell is so good at off-the-cuff reactions and her timing and saying things at the right time. Johnny Gargano is great at that as well. Candice with her facial expressions throughout the wedding. Me flashing the hatchet. It's like a meme and a GIF. That's something I'm very proud of," he said.
After the wedding, Lumis and Indi were featured less as NXT rebranded to NXT 2.0.
Lumis may have been more known for his character work in NXT, but it was a match against Damian Priest the helped him earn the trust of Triple H.
"One night, I had a match with Damian Priest and it was the main event on TV. Hunter came up to me after the match and said, 'great job.' I asked him, 'Are you comfortable putting me in that position more often?' He was like, 'You've proven that you are an attraction here and if we need you to step up and be in the main event, you're a guy we can rely on.' Him telling me that I'm an attraction has always been in the back of my mind. That's so cool, to be an attraction. If you're not on TV for a few weeks and people somewhat forget about you, and then you pop up out of nowhere, that's like the coolest stuff. Those are things I think back on very fondly," he said.
The bout against Priest took place on the October 14, 2020 episode of NXT.
Lumis continued, discussing his relationship with Shawn Michaels and Triple H during his time in the promotion.
"I had a great relationship with Shawn Michaels and Triple H. I owe those guys a lot. We still text to this day and I have a great relationship with those guys. I learned so much from them, it's insane. Another thing that made the three-plus years at NXT such a useful thing to me. The in-between stuff, when you're not necessarily working, Shawn would always sit there and watch tape with you and be like, 'Right here, you should be moving. You should be doing something, even if it feels awkward. Do something here.' Once I started applying those things and he saw it, I feel like that's when he started being like, 'Sam Shaw, you can put him anywhere.' I always wanted to be that. Be an attraction or someone you can rely on," he said.
Lumis was released by WWE in April. He's worked for various promotions, including NWA, since his released, going under the name Sam Shaw again.
Giving general thoughts about his time in NXT, Lumis said, "Three plus years at that place really did so much for me. It's afforded me the luxury to be able to go out to Spokane, Washington, and get a nice payday and be received by those fans like I was something special. They remember those moments and the way I presented my character. I can't tell you how many people came up and were like, 'Your stuff is so different your approach, always staying in character.' That means so much to me that I was able to do that and give that reaction to the fans."
During Starrcast V weekend, he made a surprise appearance at the Johnny Gargano stage show.
Lumis remains a free agent.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
