Former North American NXT Champion Leon Raff made his AEW debut this week, participating in the latest set of AEW Dark recordings at Universal Studios in Orlando. Ruff, who took home one of the top NXT awards for just over three weeks in 2020, was released by WWE in August 2021 and has since appeared in promotions such as GCW, Terminus and Battle Slam.
Ruff primarily worked as a WWE programming staffer prior to his run in North America, but his unlikely champion status soon made him a fan favorite. He spoke with ComicBook in late November about chasing his dream along with his fiancée, WWE referee Aja Smith.
Oh! This LEONRUFF_ #what_dark pic.twitter.com/sytUmMWyKF
– JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) May 1, 2022
“I’m really glad you asked that question,” said Rove. “It was definitely tough. For those people who don’t know, I didn’t have work coming here.” “I moved with my girlfriend Aja, because she got a job and I was trying to make wrestling take off because that’s all I had at the time. So when I was taking all these matches, I did it because I said to myself ‘Okay, I’m here to sign.’ So I need to do something to cover their living expenses, to help bring money into the family.” It was very scary. This was my first time living on my own trying to be the man of the house, but I’m not bringing in any money. So I’m not just trying to take whatever match they give me, but I want to make sure I do my best so they keep giving me back, so I can keep making more money.”
“The advice I wanted to give people is that the time will never be out,” he added. “You’ll never get that exact dollar amount to make your dreams come true. You just have to go and you have to do it. As scary as it may sound, you’ll always find a way. I don’t have any money to come down here. All I knew was I got an Evolve, on Although there was no guarantee that I would get additional work when I moved here. I knew that ‘well, if I keep doing it right, in the end, I’m going to be signed.’ It was scary, but I knew there was no waiting I could do to prepare me for what I was going to face, did I do it then or later.”
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