Myles Borne has heard the knock that he skipped the grind by coming into WWE through amateur wrestling instead of the indies, and he is not buying that for a second.
Speaking to Complex Graps, Borne said he understands why some fans and wrestlers think that way, because every world protects its own. Still, he made it clear that amateur wrestling was not some easy shortcut into WWE.
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, everybody has a different background that they’ve come from. You know, I’ve never really… when I first got to the WWE, I didn’t even know about this side of things. But I experienced a little bit of it and started seeing it, and it was nothing like… you know, all the energy in the PC is good. Everyone’s supportive. But there are some, you know, side conversations about, like, outside of NXT, of course, like the fan base, you know, ‘Oh, he didn’t pay these dues. He didn’t come through the indies. He’s just another athlete,’ whatever.”
Borne admitted he gets the mentality, because amateur wrestlers had the same reaction when outsiders entered their space.
“I understand that. I get it. You know, as a wrestler, when we had outsiders come into our world, it was the same way. We were like, ‘Oh, you’re in our world now. You know, it’s going to be a little tough for you guys.’”
Then he pushed back hard. Borne said he did not come from just any sport. He came from amateur wrestling, which he called one of the hardest sports there is.
“But then again, I didn’t come from just an average sport. And no knock against any sport. I come from, I believe, one of the hardest sports there is. It’s amateur wrestling. You’re in a fight every day. And it’s a grind. You’re cutting weight. You can’t eat all the time. You’re having to dehydrate yourself. And on top of that, you’re having to perform at the elite level.”
Borne said the difference is that amateur wrestlers are not always walking into competition feeling fresh, fueled, and ready. Sometimes they are drained, dehydrated, and still expected to fight at a high level.
“This isn’t like another sport where you can feel good, have nutrition, you’re hydrated, everything’s top tier, and then go perform. You feel like crap, and you’re going out there and you’re grinding. Someone else’s blood is on top of you, someone else’s spit. It’s just… it’s just… it’s just a nasty, grinding sport.”
So when people say he never paid his dues, Bourne sees it the other way around. In his mind, he paid plenty. Just not in the same places fans usually look. And he had one more warning for anyone who thinks his background will not matter once the bell rings.
“So when people say, ‘Oh, I didn’t pay my dues,’ I think, actually, no, I paid more dues. You know, we paid… we paid more, okay? I put my body through so much more than anybody knows about who wasn’t in those dark sauna rooms. So absolutely, when they say that, I say, ‘Okay, fine. If that’s what you think, you’re going to be fooled. The moment we lock up in that ring, you’re going to realize, yeah, you might have came from the indies, but my background… it transitioned perfectly into what we do now.’”
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