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After a very strong weekend in Toronto, with SmackDown, Money in the Bank, and NXT Heatwave all coming to fans from The Six, WWE is riding high, with millions of additional dollars in the bank, a dozen storyline advances, and the potential to make things even more interesting on RAW when Sami Zayn, Damian Priest, and the rest of the show's winners will be able to address fans for the first time since their PLE wins.
And yet, in the hours before RAW kicks off, fans are instead talking about who won't be on the Red Brand, the Blue Brand, or NXT any time soon is Damon Kemp, the long-time WWE prospect and brother of Gable Steveson, who took to social media to let the world know that his contract with the promotion had come to an end.
An impressive college wrestler in his own right, Kemp – real name Bobby Steveson – came to WWE in August of 2021 after a successful college career at the University of Minnesota. He began his career as a singles star on the promotion's supplemental shows, joined Roderick Strong in his then-faction Diamond Mine, and eventually became a member of No Quarter Catch Crew, where he wrestled alongside Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak. While it's surprising to see the 25-year-old leave WWE when he was just on TV at the end of June, who knows, maybe the decision was mutual, as after watching his brother leave the promotion and sign with the Buffalo Bills, maybe the older Steveson is looking to make a change too.
Ethan Page has plenty to say as the new NXT Champion.
Speaking of NXT Heatwave, after securing the unlikeliest of wins in the main event of the show, taking a Trick Shot from the reigning champion to secure an unconscious pin on Je'Von Evans to become the NXT Champion, “All Ego” Ethan Page was able to address the WWE Universe for the first time as a major promotion's world champion, and believe you me, he had a lot to say.
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“Well, most people would say it feels amazing, it feels great. But to be honest with you, I mean, I knew this was gonna happen. [Laughs] Six weeks. I walked in the first night, and I attacked who? Oh, that’s right, this bum’s name is still in this belt, and as soon I’m done with this interview, I’m gonna be getting these things changed,” Ethan Page declared via Fightful. “That’s right, I attacked Trick Williams. My first attempt didn’t really play in my favor. I clearly learned from my lesson since I’m a wily veteran of the game, and it took me 17 years to get to the WWE Universe and only six weeks to become champion. Now I’m the face of NXT. That’s what everyone’s saying, right?”
Asked if his title rein will have an asterisk because of the finish, Page laughed it off, saying he wasn't lucky but instead a performer who earned the opportunity he capitalized on.
“You’re gonna say I got lucky? I earned everything I have in the last 17 years of my career. Tonight is no different,” Page noted. “This championship is earned, and I’m gonna prove it. I’m going to be a fighting champion. I’m going to be the man in NXT, but not to prove it to you, people doubting me, saying things like, ‘Oh, you got lucky.’ No, ‘All Ego’ was born to be champion. Now, I finally have the hardware to prove it.”
Now, for fans of professional wrestling, Page's championship pedigree has never been disputed, as he's held over a dozen titles over his professional wrestling career across nearly two decades in the trenches, but this was the first time he secured a major singles title in a televised American promotion, with the majority of his success in AEW, TNA, and Ring of Honor coming as a tag teamer alongside multi-time TNA World Champion Josh Alexander. While some may quibble with giving Page the belt so soon after he came over from AEW, with the internet openly debating Shawn Michaels' booking of “All Ego” versus Tony Khan's decision to belt up Mercedes Mone, for now at least, NXT has a new champion, and as a result, Tuesday night will be a must-watch show for any true fan of graps and professional wrestling.
