43-year-old former WWE Superstar claims the NXT audience never "truly respected" Dana Brooke 

A former WWE Superstar recently claimed that the NXT audience never truly embraced Dana Brooke.

The former 15-time 24/7 Champion returned to NXT to battle Cora Jade in a singles match last night. Dana was in control of the action but appeared to injured her knee doing a cartwheel. She sold the injury for several minutes but refused to be stretchered out and continued the bout. However, the injury was too much to overcome, and Cora Jade picked up the victory.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, WWE legend Mickie James discussed Dana Brooke's initial run in NXT and claimed the fans there never warmed up to her.

"That audience never really truly respected Dana when she was down there before, and then that’s one of the reasons why they moved her up to the main roster. I love Dana. I’ve worked with Dana. I think she’s a fabulous person. I think she really has tried really, really hard, in the last couple of years especially, to be more respected for her in-ring work and for her ability," said Mickie James. [H/T: Ringside News]

EliteRockers©

@EliteClubSOB

Where are my Dana Brooke fans at???

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Where are my Dana Brooke fans at??? https://t.co/UlMIG0xYAS

Mickie James on Dana Brooke being the wrong superstar to send to WWE NXT

WWE has sent superstars such as Mustafa Ali, Natalya, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, and Seth Rollins to NXT to have rivalries against younger superstars.

It is a great idea, as it allows the younger talent to work with an experienced wrestler in front of a national audience. However, Mickie James doesn't think Dana Brooke was the right choice for a situation like that because the NXT audience respects the workhorses in the company.

"I felt like Dana Brooke was the wrong choice to send to NXT in the first place. It’s one thing when you send a Seth Rollins or you send [Natalya] back, because they have the respect and they’re workhorses, you know what I mean? Dana was taught [the] WWE style system, and now there’s this whole new generation of that same kind of system, but more elaborate," she added. [H/T: Ringside News]

WWE

@WWE

.@DanaBrookeWWE never tapped, but the ref had to do something with that injured knee

@CoraJadeWWE wins by referee's stoppage.

#NXTGoldRush

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.@DanaBrookeWWE never tapped, but the ref had to do something with that injured knee 😬

@CoraJadeWWE wins by referee's stoppage.

#NXTGoldRush https://t.co/eHxasNkacw

Dana certainly has her loyal fans but she received a lot of criticism after her performance last night on NXT. It will be interesting to see how the 34-year-old rebounds from her loss to Cora Jade during last night's episode of NXT.

Do you think Dana Brooke is under-utilized in WWE? Do you agree with Mickie James and think the company should have put a different superstar in that spot? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

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