25-year-old WWE star says he was "caught off guard" by his release; was booked for the next show
Former NXT Superstar Damon Kemp has shared that he was taken aback when WWE informed him that his deal was not being renewed. He announced on X this past Monday that he is no longer contracted to the company.
The 25-year-old wrestler was part of a faction known as No Quarter Catch Crew during his time on NXT. The group currently consists of Charlie Dempsey, Myles Borne, Tavion Heights, and Wren Sinclair. Drew Gulak used to be the leader, but he also departed the company.
During a recent interaction with Monte & The Pharaoh, Damon Kemp stated that he was caught off guard when he found out that his WWE contract wasn't going to be renewed. He added that he was booked for NXT the day before he got the call from Talent Relations.
"So I’m just sitting on my couch and then I get a call from Talent Relations and then I was like, oh, okay, cool. This might be the call that I’m getting my renewal. We’re moving forward and stuff like that. They’re like, ‘Hey Damon. We appreciate everything but we decided that we are not gonna renew you,’ and I was taken aback for a second and I was kind of processing (...) It’s crazy because I was actually - I was booked for TV that Tuesday. The next day. I was booked and I was completely caught off guard," said Kemp. (H/T POST Wrestling)
Damon Kemp says he still has a future in wrestling after leaving WWE
The former NQCC member competed in amateur wrestling before pursuing a career in sports entertainment. His brother Gable Steveson, who also left WWE, won a gold medal in men's freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Damon Kemp revealed that he still wants to be a pro wrestler and he's interested in signing with another company.
"Yeah, I think so, I know so (there’s a future for me in pro wrestling) because I dedicated three years of my life to this. So I think it’d be pretty stupid just to throw all that talent away just to walk onto something else. But, I would like to keep wrestling. I would like to sign somewhere else pretty soon. I’m hungry to work. I’ve got my eyes on a few companies," said Kemp.
Damon Kemp's last match in WWE took place on the June 25 episode of NXT, where he defeated Tavion Heights.