WWE Hall Of Famer Tells Velveteen Dream Not To Quit
A WWE Hall of Famer has talked about what he told Velveteen Dream about possibly resuming his wrestling career.
Velveteen Dream was once considered a top prospect in WWE when he was part of the NXT roster. He started out on WWE television as Patrick Clark on Tough Enough, but then he became this unique character known as Velveteen Dream and held the NXT North American Title while also impressing a lot of people with the charisma that he showed.
In May 2021, Velveteen Dream was released by WWE. In April 2020, Dream was accused of sending indecent images to a minor, and this was followed by more allegations later that year. Clark denied any wrongdoing, but eventually, WWE felt like they had to let him go.
The former WWE superstar was arrested in August 2022 for First Degree Battery and Trespassing. Dream was arrested again just six days later on charges relating to possessing drug paraphernalia. This second arrest was reportedly tied to a conviction in November 2021 on drug-related charges.
Booker T is a two-time WWE Hall of Famer who has been an announcer on NXT for two years and also runs his wrestling school called Reality Of Wrestling. On his Hall of Fame radio show/podcast, Booker spoke about talking to Patrick Clark/Velveteen Dream and what he told him.
“I talked to Patrick Clark about three months ago. He reached out to me, he was trying to figure maybe a way to get back into the business. I told him to give me a call, and I don’t know, something happened, I don’t know what happened, I hadn’t talked to him. But I was wondering that myself. I wonder if this kid could get back in the business.”
“I knew Patrick Clark before he was on Tough Enough. I knew him…as a kid. Then when he got on Tough Enough, I was like, man, this kid has got so much talent. Then when he got to NXT and created that Velveteen Dream character and gimmick, I was like, man, this is money. This is gold. This thing could go a long time for years. It was a throwback like Macho Man Savage, something like that. It was kind of like a throwback gimmick that he made work. But I don’t know, man.”
“I wonder if there’s a way back in the business for him. But I tell you, it’s gonna be hard. He’s gonna have to put it in a whole lot of work because one thing I said when I came home from prison, I said, I didn’t expect people to trust me. I said I gotta earn people’s trust. People are gonna look at me like I’m a criminal, and that’s the way they should look at me. It’s gonna be up to me to prove myself. So if I could tell Patrick Clark anything, don’t quit. Get out there and just earn it.”
Booker T Thinks That Velveteen Dream Would Have To Earn Trust Again
Patrick Clark aka Velveteen Dream is back in the news because he issued a video apologizing to WWE, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels among others.
As he continued on his podcast, Booker T talked about what Clark would have to do to earn the trust of people in life and in wrestling again.
“You gotta earn it. A spot is not something that, ‘Well, everybody should get.’ I really feel like, in certain situations, especially in a situation like he’s in right now, he’s gonna have to earn his way back, and it’s gonna take a lot of hard work. It’s gonna take getting someone to trust you.”
“I’m not even talking about all the way back to the wrestling business. I’m just talking about in general. Brother was definitely going through some troubled times, so finding his way back, it would really be a remarkable thing.”
Patrick Clark was signed to a WWE deal at 20 years old and he’s currently 28 years old.