Baron Corbin Names WWE NXT Stars That Have Impressed Him
Baron Corbin has named three wrestlers that have really stood out during his recent time spent on the WWE NXT brand.
Over the last two months, Baron Corbin has been a “free agent” in WWE in terms of storylines. Corbin wasn’t drafted in the last WWE Draft, so that means he is allowed to go on any brand any time he wants.
During his time as a free agent, Corbin has been a regular performer on the WWE NXT brand that is trying to revive his career after having a terrible run on Raw over the past year.
While on NXT, Corbin has beaten Trick Williams, beaten Ilja Dragunov in a #1 Contender’s Match for a NXT Title shot and also lost to the NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes on the June 27th edition of NXT.
Baron Corbin appeared on WWE’s After The Bell podcast with Corey Graves & Kevin Patrick to talk about some impressive NXT wrestlers, starting with Ilja Dragunov.
“The two main guys that caught my eye out the gate were, I’ve already been in the ring with, was Ilja. I think he’s a special, special competitor. He is physical. I mean, him and I beat the crap out of each other and it felt good. Like, it’s good to lay somebody across the face or, you know, a good solid forearm to the jugular, or slam them down as hard as you can and you see them kind of half-smile in pain.”
“There’s something to that. There’s a grit, and that elevates everybody to get in there and get with a guy who is ready to go to war and Ilja is one of those competitors. He is special. He is confident. We talked about confidence. He believes it, man. He has a special in-ring ability and he can gather sympathy and he is aggressive and he’s violent and I love it.”
As he continued, Corbin also praised the NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes.
“Melo, I think, is another special competitor. He’s finding himself extremely well down there. He has that talk, that swagger, and then he’s smooth and the ring, man. I beat the crap out of him.”
“I put him through the wringer and he survived and he came out on top and that was awesome for him and I think that’s a notch in his belt. He looked great in there against Finn Balor on Monday Night Raw. The kid has talent.”
Bron Breakker has yet to wrestle Baron Corbin on television, but Corbin had a lot of good things to say about the former two-time NXT Champion as well while adding that he’s going to take himself to a place like that.
“I think Bron Breakker is another guy who’s just, I mean, the dude is just rough and has no regard for anybody but himself, which is great, because you need that.”
“That’s where I’m taking myself. I’m back to like, I played the game, man. I’m over it. I’m over being people I’m not. I’m over the internet going, ‘Oh, man. He’s a safe, solid, trustworthy, dependable guy. That’s why he gets these things.’ We’re not going there anymore, man. My goal is to rip people’s heads off and I think that’s what he walks into the ring wanting to do as well.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Corbin praised John Cena for helping him a lot early in his WWE career.