Former WWE Superstar Tyler Breeze says he was the first ‘forbidden door’ in modern wrestling after he took on a New Japan legend at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.
At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August 2015, Tyler Breeze was tasked with having the only WWE match of Japanese legend Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger’s career. In front of a packed Barclays Center, Liger was able to get the better of Prince Pretty and defeated Breeze.
Now speaking to Renee Paquette on her Oral Sessions podcast, Tyler Breeze has suggested, with a wry smile, that he was the vaunted ‘forbidden door’ that is now ubiquitous in almost every wrestling company that isn’t WWE:
“A lot of people hold that in high regard as a really good match. Me, personally, it was special because it was him, but in terms of matches that…if you have five matches to watch that’ll make you a fan of mine, I don’t know if that would be on the list because technically it’s not one of the ones I’m proud of.”
“I don’t hold it in the same category as the fatal four-way or the one I had with Sami. It’s very special in what it is. It’s not what I would call ‘a push,’ it was more of an olive branch to New Japan for what we were going to do at the time and where we were going. I very much was (the first forbidden door) before we messed it up [laughs].”
Tyler Breeze then discussed some of the inner workings of the WWE machine. He believes he never received a sustained ‘push’ during his time in the company and says Dolph Ziggler explained how things work in the sports entertainment behemoth:
“Look over my career and see if you can identify a push, push, because there’s not one there. I remember I had this conversation with Dolph, who was like, ‘Look man, it’s very obvious who are their guys and who aren’t their guys.”
“Even when you’re not their guy, you figure out how to have a match with their guy and you steal the ball from them, you steal the show, and they still won’t give it to you. That’s just how it is. The key is, you’ll always work those guys and always be around because you can make them look really good.’ That’s really what my career has been, but when you are on the chopping block every six months, you see the real sides of people.”
“You don’t get everyone worshipping you and talking really good and being on the bandwagon. You get all the ones who know you are on your way out so they show you the real sides of them. Once things go your way and you have a bandwagon, it’s interesting to watch those same people and how they treat you.”
Tyler Breeze was released from his WWE contract on June 25th, 2021, bringing an end to his near eleven-year association with the company.