Report: WWE NXT 2.0 Announcers Banned From Mentioning Rick Steiner

Bronson Reichsteiner, son of Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner, made his WWE TV debut on the first NXT 2.0 broadcast earlier this week. Beyond a 'dog-faced gremlin' mention from Vic Joseph, though, Reichsteiner's wrestling heritage wasn't mentioned and he was billed as Bron Breakker. 

According to Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, this is because WWE told NXT 2.0 announcers Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix and Wade Barrett to not mention Rick Steiner on commentary. 

"WWE, they do weird things all the time. This guy comes out in a singlet like Rick Steiner and a haircut like Rick Steiner, looks like the son of Rick Steiner, and they never say, 'second-generation wrestler.' They never bring up Rick Steiner, they never bring up Scott Steiner. [The dog-faced gremlin] was an inside wink wink because the guys were told they cannot say Rick Steiner so Vic Joseph decided to be cute and he wasn't banned from saying dog-faced gremlin. But those announcers were absolutely told you cannot mention - Why you would do this and ban the mention of Rick Steiner's name is just weird," Meltzer said.

Other second-generation wrestlers in Von Wagner and Brooks Jensen also made their TV debuts on the first NXT 2.0 broadcast and their families' pasts in the industry were also ignored by WWE. Von Wagner is the son of Wayne Bloom, while Brooks Jensen is the son of Bull Buchanan. 

Bron Breakker looks set for big things in NXT 2.0, though. He defeated established star LA Knight in his first televised match and Breakker ended the show face-to-face with new NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa.