NXT has proven its ability to help bring along stars and develop plenty more, but who helps out the most?
Aiden English is known for being one of the nicest guys in wrestling, so he had plenty to since praise about.
"God, I’ve had so many. I’m going to include NXT trainers in that too, just ‘cause it’s such a big part and they produced so many great shows," said English, real name Matt Rehwoldt.
When we pitched a sarcastic title for the headline of this article, Rehwoldt seemed all about it.
"Yes! “Aiden English buries Norman Smiley!” Something no one has ever said in the history of wrestling. No, I’m going to start with him just because he’s set my career on the path it is, right? Whatever he said obviously resonated with someone and he’s the reason I’m here and even after that, continued to be one of the most positive and intelligent and well-spoken and most giving men that I’ve ever had the ability to train under. Guys like Arn Anderson was great. I had a great, great relationship with Billy Gunn when he was at NXT. He had such a great approach to teaching that I think is very, very important. He showed you how to have fun with it all," Rehwoldt said.
Rehwoldt admitted that there were also coaches and producers that he'd clash with that would eventually teach him lessons.
"I’m gonna say this, almost begrudgingly, and if he sees this he’ll know why. But, I have a love for Terry Taylor, who a lot of people have butted heads with and I did too. ‘Cause he can be very opinionated and he comes from that old school kind of mindset. But, it’s so funny. He’s like your parents because he’s sitting there, he’s raising you as a wrestler, and you’re fighting, “No, why can’t I do this? Why is it a bad idea? Why are you telling me it’s not a good idea to do this? That’s crazy. That’s so old. That’s from your generation.” You grow up, you go and perform on all these stages and you go, “I mean, I’m still right, but hot damn, he was right about X, Y and Z. Crap," Rehwoldt recalled, laughing. "Some of it you’re not going to learn until you’ve had enough experience where you grow up in those situations. You’re like, “Oh, holy crap. They were right.” So, that was a big eye opening thing for me. So, I do appreciate everything from him."
You can check out our full interview with Matt Rehwoldt at the top of the page, and make sure to check out Wrestling With Whiskey, as well as his Youtube and Twitch Channel!