Dexter Lumis says his second release from WWE feels “a little more final” than the first one

Lumis: “Well, I think the first release was that there was a lot of shakeups going on in NXT. Triple H, who I considered my boss back then, he went down with a heart issue, and then it just seemed like a Vince McMahon overhaul happened in NXT. We went from black and gold to this splatter paint 2.0, very bright. John Laurinitis is down there every week and keeping tabs on talent now, and it’s like I’m not gonna feel the way I felt when I was an extra trying to get his attention every week.

I’m a man now. I’ve had success at this place, and I’m gonna continue to have success at this place. Doesn’t matter if there’s a regime change. Doesn’t matter if that guy’s somewhat in charge now, I’m gonna do my thing.

But I will say, I did feel like because I know how he operates. I know how that system before the NXT black and gold really came into play. I got hired at 35 years old back in 2009, and back in the FCW days, that was good luck. I think 30 was like the cutoff. So you’re always like, oh boy, I’m now past 30 years old, do I have an opportunity?

Slowly but surely, you start seeing, yes, there are opportunities because I think Triple H understood you don’t really get good at this, like, really, really, really good, until you understand it fully, and you might need 15-20 years in the business to understand that.

I’ve kept my body in shape, and I train hard. I can do athletic stuff, and I’m 35 years old. So why don’t you hire me? I have a lot to offer this company. Now, I don’t know. I just feel like it’s different because TKO, the bottom line is the dollar.”

Van Vliet: “Does this release feel more final than that first one?”

Lumis: “It does feel a little more final. You always hear, you know, the door could always still be open. Never say never; those types of things. But I feel like now, as opposed to back then, I got to go out and prove myself a little bit more.”

Van Vliet: “Were you surprised when you got the call that not only were you being released, the entire group got released?”

Lumis: “I was a little surprised, just because I felt like I was doing the necessary things outside of just being booked and brought to TV every week. The joke that, oh, they just sit in catering and they collect a paycheck, that’s not me. I’m not there for that.

I walked around the building all night, and I talked to important people, and picked veterans’ brains, and I was talking to Paul Heyman quite a bit, who I respect the hell out of, and I was getting some great advice from him.

One of the things he was saying was like, we need to make you a singles guy. This was very late, towards the end of the Wyatt Sicks run. I almost felt like something was brewing, but I just didn’t think like the whole group’s going to be released.”