Curt Stallion On Why He Was Glad To Start With WWE 205 Live Over NXT

WWE NXT Superstar Curt Stallion recently spoke with Royal McGregor of the Odessa American newspaper and said he's fortunate he got his start on WWE 205 Live.

Stallion noted that NXT is heavily-produced compared to 205 Live, and that works to his advantage.

"I'm so fortunate that I got to start there," Stallion said of 205 Live. "NXT is so heavily produced and 205 Live isn't as produced as NXT. NXT is very meticulous and they have to get everything down for live television. It's very professional ran. I commend those guys."

Stallion also revealed that he got the phone call from WWE while visiting his best friend's tombstone at the cemetery in his hometown of Crane, Texas. Stallion was under contract to EVOLVE but that deal was coming up and he had returned back home to Texas after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the indies. Stallion said he received a phone call from an unknown number while vising his best friend's grave.

"It was one of those moments that you see in a movie," Stallion said. "I was flabbergasted. I didn't know if it was real. I was dumbfounded really. After it set in, my eyes started to water up and I knew this was for real."

Stallion noted that the cemetery is within walking distance of his grandmother's house, so he ran back to tell her the news of his WWE contract. She didn't believe him at first, but he reassured her that it was really happening. WWE then announced on October 7 that Stallion was among the new WWE Performance Center recruits signed to deals.

Stallion, who lost to NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar on last week's NXT show, said EVOLVE officials had previously told him that they were recommending him to WWE. He admitted it was a long shot to get signed, and he still can't believe he's with the company.

"So many things in my life have gone so wrong so many times," Stallion said. "For this to actually work out, my mind is blown."

Stallion keeps his West Texas roots close to him as his "Suburban Mexican Standoff" theme song mimics a song from a Clint Eastwood movie, and he's billed from Crane on NXT TV. He began his pro wrestling journey with the Old School Wrestling promotion in October 2012. He credits the late Fred Urban III, a former pro wrestler and OSW owner, for his pro wrestling success. Urban passed away in October 2018. He wishes Urban could've shared the joy in signing with WWE after the veteran promoter took a chance on him.

"I can only thank Fred Urban, God rest his soul, for having that Odessa training facility," Stallion said. "I owe so much to Fred. I wish he was still around to see all of this."