PJ Black Discusses Choosing ROH Over NXT Last Year: "(NXT) Promises A Lot Of Things, Which 90% Of The Time They Can’t Keep To"
The "Darewolf" speaks...
Mar 15, 2019
"The Darewolf" PJ Black hasn't been inside a WWE ring in more than four years, having secured his release the weekend of the 2015 Royal Rumble. The three-time former WWE Tag Team Champion (as Justin Gabriel) did, however, have an offer to return to the company via NXT, after bumping into Vince McMahon and Triple H backstage at the 2018 Survivor Series in Los Angeles, where Black currently resides.
Black weighed the proposal next to an outstanding offer from Ring of Honor, made after he'd worked their Survival of the Fittest event in November. After some consideration, Black went with ROH.
Speaking with CBS Los Angeles
on the eve of Ring of Honor's 17th Anniversary Show in Las Vegas, Black discusses his decision to choose ROH, while offering some frank thoughts on life in WWE, particularly NXT.
"In NXT, I don’t want to say too much about how they work, but they promise a lot of things, which 90% of the time they can’t keep to," Black claimed in the interview.
"They’d be like ‘oh, you’ll be on the main roster in six months or seven months, or whatever it is, and even if you’re not, you’ll still get your pay increase or whatever it is.’ I know for a fact because I speak to guys on a daily basis. All my friends are still in the WWE and in NXT, and I speak to these guys all the time, and I know for a fact none of the stuff that they were promised happened. Obviously, there are exceptions here and there, small exceptions, but those guys are just happy to be around and still be making money and being on TV. "
Black also discusses the creative disconnect between NXT and the main roster, as well as ROH, AEW, and his love of skydiving.