JONAH talks Vince McMahon, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and his brief time working dark matches right before getting released by WWE.
Bronson Reed was one of the top names in NXT this year. Holding onto the WWE NXT North American Championship for a short length of time until being dethroned by Isaiah Scott, Bronson appeared ready to go to the main roster as he was taking part in dark matches and even featured on an episode of WWE Main Event in a showcase match.
Then, on August 6, 2021, Bronson Reed was released by WWE and JONAH’s journey began from that moment on. Up until his release, he had a great relationship with both Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
In an exclusive interview with Sean Ross Sapp, JONAH discusses his relationship with both founding fathers of D-Generation X, noting he hasn't had a chance to talk to Triple H since his cardiac event but that he spoke to HBK right after he got released and had a great relationship with him while at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
“I had a great relationship with Shawn and was in those classes at the Performance Center. I was in his class for quite a long time. He was always in my corner and when (the release) happened, he reached out to me and was in shock. He basically told them and told me; go out there, do what I do, and make them regret the decision they made. I am happy to do that, but I'm someone that is not focusing on the fact that I'm not in WWE anymore, I'm focusing on the fact that I am in New Japan, I am doing things with IMPACT, and I'm going to do great things there.”
Speaking about the opportunity he had to compete in dark matches, JONAH said while the call was short notice, he was under the impression that Vince McMahon was enjoying his work prior to his release.
“I think it was the day before SmackDown and I get told, 'we need you at SmackDown.' 'Okay, cool, what am I doing?' 'We're not too sure.' Then I find out it's a dark match the day of and it was fine, I'm happy to do that. I had my first dark match on SmackDown with Bobby Roode and that same day I had a 15-minute interview with Vince McMahon himself. very interesting stuff. You never know what's going to come of it. Main Event for Raw, they bring me in and say, 'we want to see you again.' I had the match with Drew Gulak on Main Event. I spoke with Vince after the match, he liked it and it seemed all good. A few weeks later, I was released.”
On his relationship with Vince McMahon, JONAH would say that he got to speak briefly with the chairman of WWE and he was surprised by Vince’s knowledge of Australian wrestling.
“We spoke about wrestling a lot. I'm such a fan of pro wrestling that we spoke about Australian wrestling history and he was so great that he knew about Australian wrestling as well. Obviously, he should, he's Vince McMahon, he knows everything, but it still gobsmacked me a little because I mentioned a venue where I wrestled back home and he knew it straight away. You don't expect someone like that to remember all the little towns and venues, but I guess this is why he is who he is. It was a very positive meeting. We spoke about wrestling, his vision for the future, and that was pretty much it. At the same time, oddly enough, it must just be...I don't want to use the word stooges, but stooges, he had Bruce Prichard and John Lauranitis in the room, right behind me. [It was like] Steph Brothers where he goes into the job interview and [they lean in from the side]. That's what I felt Bruce and Johnny were doing behind me every time I said something.”
Now, JONAH is completely focused on life after WWE and says New Japan Pro-Wrestling and IMPACT Wrestling take precedence in his life. Learn more here.
JONAH will be featured next on NJPW STRONG Nemesis. Nemesis will take place on December 9 at the Vermont in Hollywood, California. Fightful will have results of the event after it is taped.
