Dexter Lumis isn’t completely ruling out another WWE run someday, but he definitely doesn’t sound as confident about returning this time around. After being released for the second time following WrestleMania 42, Lumis admitted that this WWE exit feels “a little more final” than the first.
While speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Lumis compared his latest departure to his 2022 release. Back then, he felt there were bigger circumstances surrounding his exit, including Triple H’s health issues and WWE completely changing the direction of NXT.
“Well, I think the first release was there was a lot of shakeups going on in NXT. And, you know, Triple H, who I considered my boss back then, you know, he went down with a heart issue and then it just seemed like a Vince McMahon overhaul happened in NXT.”
Lumis watched Black and Gold NXT turn into the much brighter NXT 2.0, while John Laurinaitis became increasingly involved with evaluating talent. Even with all of that happening, Lumis refused to treat himself like someone who still needed to convince WWE that he belonged there.
“I’m not gonna feel the way I felt when I was an extra trying to get his attention every week. You know, I’m a man now. Like, I’ve had success at this place and I’m gonna continue to have success at this place.”
That first release eventually proved temporary. Lumis returned to WWE later in 2022 under Triple H and ultimately became part of the Wyatt Sicks. This time feels different to him. Lumis believes Triple H understood that wrestlers can take 15 or even 20 years to completely understand the business and still have plenty to offer later in their careers. He isn’t as sure how much that philosophy matters in WWE’s current TKO era.
“Now, I don’t know. I just feel like there’s a—it’s different because TKO is, you know, the bottom line is the dollar.”
That led Van Vliet to ask the obvious question: does this WWE release feel more final than the first one? Lumis didn’t dance around it, but he did admit that he has to prove himself before returning to WWE.
“It does feel a little more final. Um, you always hear, you know, the door could always still be open, never say never, those types of things. But I feel like now, as opposed to back then, you know, I gotta go out and prove myself a little, a little bit more.”
He’s already started doing exactly that. Lumis returned to the ring as Samuel Shaw in July, teaming with former Wyatt Sicks stablemate Joe Gacy at Atomic Legacy Wrestling’s Star Spangled Slammer 10. Lumis has already been released once, returned and found another major WWE opportunity, so he knows better than most that wrestling doors can reopen. He just isn’t counting on that happening again—and for now, Samuel Shaw has some proving to do outside WWE.
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