Matt Hardy says a former champion texted him recently after soul-crushing WWE release: "I remember him as a baby"

After a decent run with AEW, Matt Hardy left the company earlier this month and returned to TNA Wrestling. The veteran recently revealed that a former WWE Superstar contacted him after his release from the promotion.

Cameron Grimes was one of the most popular stars in NXT. His charisma and in-ring skills quickly earned him a main roster call last year. However, he was barely given any television time during his run on SmackDown. After floundering on the main roster for almost a year, Grimes was finally released from his contract last week. After his release, the former NXT North American Champion put out an emotional video where he addressed his layoff.

Speaking on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, the former WWE star stated that Cameron Grimes texted him after his release. The former Trevor Lee was trained by The Hardys and Jeff Rudd and recently Matt said that he and Shane Helms had been a father figure for the 30-year-old star since he was always around him.

"I spoke to him [Cameron Grimes] probably right before that video went up and he had just texted me to let me know that had happened and know, I was gonna say both myself and and Shane Helms I feel like we've also kind of been father figures in his life." [From 0:34 - 1:06]

The former TNA World Champion recalled the time when he worked with Grimes in TNA:

"I remember him as a baby being in the ring, playing in a lot of ways much like I think people will have Max burned in their mind when he was a little kid doing stuff with me on TNA. That's how Trevor is kind of burned in my mind in many ways. I remember him being just such a small little child and like loving to get in the ring and loving to play with his dad [Tracy Caddell]. So, I just once again reiterated to him that his dad was so proud of him," said Matt Hardy. [02:05 to 02:31]

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Matt Hardy is proud of Cameron Grimes

Although his run on the main roster didn't go as planned, Cameron Grimes had a memorable run in NXT where he put on incredible matches against some of the top stars in the company.

Grimes' father, Tracy Caddell, was a founding member of OMEGA Championship Wrestling alongside Matt & Jeff Hardy and more. Matt worked with Tracy back in the early 1990s and during the same podcast episode, he spoke about Caddell's love and passion for pro wrestling and how he wanted his son to make it as a professional wrestler if he couldn't make it.

"He was so great and so passionate about that and I know his dream Tracy's dream was if he couldn't make he never got the opportunity to make it, he wanted his son to make it and Trevor did and I just once again reiterated to Trevor his dad was crazy proud of him and I am immensely proud of him and I'm proud of what he's done and he has such a bright future ahead of him," said Matt Hardy. [From 02:31 to 03:20]

It will be interesting to see if Grimes will ever make his return back to WWE after his recent release.