Nick Wayne Remembers Nerves Of Joining AEW

ROH World Television Champion Nick Wayne is reaching the final few weeks of being a teenager as he will celebrate his 20th birthday on July 10. Being the youngest member of the AEW roster hasn't stopped him from making a name for himself as Christian Cage's son in AEW, or as one of wrestling's most exciting young prospects in companies like GCW. However, being so young only made him more nervous than most people when he did eventually make his AEW debut on July 12, 2023 against Swerve Strickland, something he opened up about during a recent appearance on the "AEW Unrestricted" podcast.

"So leading up to it, like the closer we got to the date, obviously my nerves would build and whatnot, but weeks before the debut thankfully I was very busy you know?" Wayne said. "The day before–the travel day, I was so nervous all day you know? Like nerves, I like to think is a good thing because it shows you care, but I was just so nervous. I remember the entire day, finally was able to fall asleep, the second I woke up it was like 'Oh my god today's the day.'"

Wayne was originally offered an AEW contract in February 2022 by his close friend Darby Allin, who made a surprise appearance at DEFY's 5th Anniversary Show to deliver the news to Wayne after he had just wrestled Christopher Daniels, which was a moment that the ROH World Television Champion didn't see coming. "Getting presented with the contract was like a complete surprise to me," Wayne said. "I had no idea it was happening, but like I had no idea that Darby was even in town in Seattle, so like the whole thing was just like a complete surprise to me, so that day was–it is forever going to be special to me."

Please credit "AEW Unrestricted" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.