Leon Ruff's reaction to being told he was winning the NXT North American title
Who doesn't love a good underdog story, both in NXT and outside of wrestling? Be it in professional sports, movies, or professional wrestling, if done right, an inspirational story can launch someone's career.
Just ask Sean Waltman, who became known as the 123 Kid after picking up a shocking victory over Razor Ramon on Monday Night RAW in the 1990s. Last week on NXT, Leon Ruff had his "123 Kid" moment when he shockingly defeated Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship.
Tonight on WWE NXT, Gargano will get his rematch against Ruff for the championship he insists he never lost. But he did, and you can't erase the history books. No matter what happens tonight, Ruff can always say that he was once the NXT North American Champion.
Leon Ruff thought someone was pranking him when he found out about winning the NXT North American Championship
Doing the media rounds this week, Leon Ruff sat down with Sports Illustrated to discuss a variety of topics relating to the biggest win of his professional wrestling career last week on NXT.
When asked what his initial reaction was to find out he was winning the North American Championship, he couldn't believe it.
"I found out that morning from one of the producers, and my initial reaction was that somebody was playing a prank on me. When I found it was really happening, there was a lot of excitement. I first heard in the morning, right before training, and I was very nervous. I texted Coach [Matt] Bloom and asked him what was really going on. And he said, “You don’t know what’s going on? You have a match today against Johnny Gargano, and you’re going over.” That was around 10:30 in the morning."
Will Ruff shock the world again by defeating Gargano two weeks in a row tonight on WWE NXT? Tune in to find out.