5 major takeaways from Sportskeeda's exclusive interview with former WWE star Bronson Reed

Former WWE Superstar Bronson Reed had an incredibly successful run as a member of the NXT roster. However, just weeks after winning and dropping the NXT North American Championship, Bronson Reed was released by WWE on August 6, 2021.

Before his release, Reed competed in many dark matches ahead of Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown.

Many assumed the former NXT North American would be called up to the WWE main roster. Hence, fans and WWE Superstars were caught off guard by his sudden departure.

Sportskeeda Wrestling's Rick Ucchino and Kevin Kellam recently interviewed Bronson Reed, now known as JONAH, during another episode of InSide Kradle.

A variety of topics were discussed in the interview, including his WWE career, shocking WWE departure, and plans for his post-WWE career.

Let's take a closer look at five things we learned from former WWE Superstar Bronson Reed's Sportskeeda interview.

#5 Bronson Reed on if he would re-join WWE in the future

Despite the seemingly ongoing "budget cuts" in WWE over the last 18 months, some released names like Zelina Vega and Samoa Joe have returned to the company.

Bronson Reed was asked if he would follow a similar path and return to WWE in the future. The former North American Champion admitted that he couldn't rule anything out, but it's not a thrilling prospect for him:

"I don't ever close any door, you know. I think, you know, I am not a fan of sort of the direction they are taking, where they want to not proactively seek independent wrestlers. Being an independent wrestler myself that wrestled all across the world for, you know, 13 years before I actually got signed to WWE, I think that's a wrong move on their part. For the time being it's not somewhere I would want to be, I watch the product and it's not something that I actually would want to do." said Reed said.

#4 Bronson Reed on why his WWE NXT North American Championship run was cut short

Expand Tweet

Former WWE Superstar Bronson Reed was on top of the world when he captured the NXT North American Championship earlier this year. He defeated Johnny Gargano inside a Steel Cage to capture the gold.

However, he held the title for only 42 days before losing it to Isaiah "Swerve" Scott. Reed laid out possible WWE plans for a lengthy North American Championship run and a potential NXT Championship chase.

However, he admitted that plans change in WWE on a week-to-week basis:

"Some people get told what their future might hold what the story might be going, you know, further down the track and I was sort of given that by Hunter himself and I worked closely with Shawn Michaels, as well. So I sort of had tracked out that I was going to be North American Champion, be sort of that strong North American Champion that defends his belt all the way till the end of the year and eventually, face off with the NXT Champion. So that was the story that was going to happen but then obviously, with WWE, things change on a week-to-week basis," said Bronson Reed

#3 Bronson Reed reveals names he would like to face in his post-WWE career

Since departing WWE, many fans have speculated about where Bronson Reed will land next in professional wrestling. Promotions such as All Elite Wrestling, IMPACT Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Major League Wrestling have all been touted as possible destinations for him.

When naming which wrestlers he would like to face in the future, Bronson Reed singled out some interesting names from IMPACT and AEW:

"Outside of there, I have been watching IMPACT, I've been watching AEW, I've been watching New Japan, I've been watching the Indies as well. So I always see... I think styles make match-ups, so it's not always the big guy vs. big guy work, but there are a lot of big guys that I could have matches with. Miro in AEW would be a great match-up for me, Moose in IMPACT is someone I'd like to get in the ring with and pretty much the whole New Japan roster," said Reed.

#2 Bronson Reed talks possibly facing Samoa Joe in WWE

Expand Tweet

Former WWE Champion Samoa Joe made his shocking return to NXT this summer after being released in April.

Initially returning as an on-screen figure, the Samoan Submission Machine competed in his first in-ring match in 18 months at NXT TakeOver 36 to capture the NXT Championship for a record third time.

Bronson Reed revealed he would have squared off against Samoa Joe had the Australian star not been released:

"I am always watching wrestling, so I'm looking out for opponents. There were obviously a few in WWE that I really wanted to work with. Samoa Joe probably being the biggest one of them, which was probably on the books but didn't happen," revealed Reed.

#1 Bronson Reed shares details from John Laurinaitis' call about his WWE release

Fans and professional wrestlers were shocked when WWE announced Bronson Reed's release on August 6, 2021.

Recalling the phone call from Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis, Reed admitted that he thought it was going to be about an upcoming call-up to the WWE main roster:

"I made sure when I did get the call for my release - which I thought was a call to be going up to RAW or SmackDown at the time. It was actually a Friday night, I was watching at home, I get a call from Connecticut. I think, 'Okay, better answer this, must be work.' And it's John Laurinaitis, I answered nicely thinking, 'Okay, here we go," and he said, 'We have to exercise our right to release you.' Big shock, I was taken for words, I didn't know what to say," Reed recalled.