Aleah James recalls her reaction to the news that NXT UK was set to disband in August 2022.
Last year, WWE announced that they were dissolving their NXT UK brand in order to expand and revamp the product into NXT Europe. As a result, several NXT UK performers were released from their contracts. While some wrestlers, such as Aleah James, remained on board with WWE, the situation still rippled multiple shockwaves throughout the now defunct locker room.
Speaking with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay, Aleah James shared her initial reaction to finding out that NXT UK was disbanding.
“[I was] mainly upset for everyone,” James said. “The way that all of a sudden it was something and then it was something else. There was no kind of a slow transition. It was there and then it was gone. It was just kind of getting used to that new reality of like, okay, that’s not where I’m going to be going in a couple of weeks’ time and wrestling. That’s a good time to meet up with everyone. Even though you’re wrestling and you’re doing your job, you’re still seeing this group of people that become like your people for like three weeks at a time. So, it was also just realizing that that was coming to an end. It was a shock definitely for everyone.”
NXT UK Memories
In late July, James revealed that her contract with WWE had expired. As she now begins her journey into free agency, James took a brief moment to reflect on her time in NXT UK, which is where she met her current boyfriend, Noam Dar.
“Obviously, I met him there, and making a lot of friends with people that I may maybe not have crossed paths with if I wasn’t there. Just the deep end nature of it. I feel like that I’ll always remember how nervous I felt,” James said. “And then it was always going to be okay. So, whenever I’m in a situation with wrestling, I always think to myself, ‘Well, it’s not going to be as scary as that was,’ until it is.
Watch our full interview with Aleah James below:
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