Ex-WWE Star Says He Needed “Terrible” Jail Experience
A former WWE star is reflecting on his time being incarcerated.
Velveteen Dream had a golden run in NXT, where he won the North American Championship and held it for a record 231 days before Wess Lee broke it (269 days).
Some of his high-profile rivalries on the brand were with Ricochet, Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Roderick Strong.
During his peak, Dream also suffered multiple injuries that kept him out of action for lengthy periods. He was released in May 2021.
He made his return in 2024, wrestling in the independent circuit.
Ex-WWE Champion Discusses Jail Time
Velveteen Dream was arrested twice after his release from WWE.
He recently appeared on Limpin’ Ain’t Easy, engaging in candid talks about his wrestling journey and life after that.
Dream mentioned getting arrested for possession of banned substances, resulting in a court case and probation. He was ordered to complete a 16-week 12-step program, plus 50 days of community service.
After reaching 14 weeks, he opted to do community service, during which he got into a fight and ended up spending 18 days in jail.
He recalled the jail time as being terrible, but also stated that it was something he needed at the time.
During his incarceration, he read the Bible, which had a massive impact on his life.
In hindsight, that was such an important part of my life. I had nothing but myself and reality. And I read the Bible. I didn’t read the whole Bible—I read like the first five books. I made a covenant with God. I was like, ‘If you ever let me touch grass again…’ You know, you see things differently when you’re in jail. Everything’s like bleh. There’s no place for life.
And I was just like, ‘If you ever let me get out of here, I’ll do better.’ Not going to say I’m going to be perfect. I tried that. I said, ‘I’ll just do better.’ Like Maya Angelou said—when you know better, you do better.
And now I see what I didn’t see back then. I understand the influence. Professional wrestler influence. The influence I had on such a wide audience. [H/T: Ringside News]
During his final days with WWE, Velveteen Dream was also accused of sending unsolicited explicit photos of himself to minors.