"Triple H approached me" - Released star recalls his early days in WWE (Exclusive)

Former NXT star Tino Sabbatelli recently spoke about how NXT top brass reached out to recruit him to WWE.

Sababatelli started his stint with WWE back in 2014 when he was signed to a developmental contract. His first match aired on TV in 2016 when he teamed up with Madcap Moss. He was later released from the company in April 2020. The 38-year-old was then rehired in October 2020 and continued working there until June 2021.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted podcast, the former NXT star mentioned that former NXT Head of Talent Canyon Ceman reached out to him at the behest of Triple H. Sabbatelli pointed out that he had been a casual fan, but he grew to love the business as he became a part of it.

"To be honest with you, Triple H approached me, actually it was Canyon Ceman at that time. He ran the NXT Head of Talent Department. He approached me with an opportunity. I was always a casual fan, you know, Stone Cold, The Rock. But I wasn't like a diehard at that point. I fell in love with the business and became a diehard obviously. That's why I work in it," he said. (From 11:40 - 12:03)

You can watch the full video here:

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Tino Sabbatelli is dating a current WWE star

During the conversation, Tino also spoke about dating current NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose. The two met during their time in the Performance Center and have been together since.

The former NXT star mentioned that Mandy was an amazing person and very down-to-earth as opposed to her on-screen character. He stated that he felt very grateful for having a person like her in his life.

While Sabbatelli may be done with WWE for now, the star still has big plans for the future. Time will tell what his next chapter holds for him.

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