Bron Breakker previews WarGames, talks WWE NXT run so far, Goldberg advice and more

WWE NXT 2.0 has seen more fresh faces than one can count come in and make a splash over the last three months with Bron Breakker being chief among them.

Having only signed with WWE in early 2021, the 24-year-old upstart is barely a year into his pro wrestling career and has already made strides. In fact, he was the first future star to debut as part of the premiere of NXT 2.0 and score an impressive, dominant over LA Knight.

That laid the groundwork for the run he’s had since, including challenging Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship at Halloween Havoc and declaring war on the old guard of NXT. This Sunday, he has his sights set on leading his team of top prospects to victory over Team Black and Gold in WarGames.

Ahead of the event, Breakker sat down with Daily DDT to talk about entering WarGames for the first time in his burgeoning career, carving his own legacy, the origins of his ring name, picking the brain of WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg, and more.

Bron Breakker talks WarGames, his journey to WWE NXT and coming up with his ring name

Mere months into his NXT run, Breakker already finds himself in the main event of WarGames alongside the rest of the brand’s past, present and future stars. He, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller and Tony D’Angelo will represent Team 2.0 to take on NXT Black and Gold, which will consist of Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne and LA Knight.

To say he’s excited for the opportunity to shine on a stage so grand would be an understatement.

“I can’t wait to get in there and mix it up with these guys,” Breakker said. “It’s a big-fight feel. It’s going to be crazy, it’s going to be hardcore, and it’s going to be awesome.”

He believes you can’t fully prepare physically to compete in WarGames. Although Sunday will mark his debut in The Match Beyond, his father Rick Steiner and uncle Scott Steiner have history inside the structure, so he can at least look to them for guidance if need be.

WarGames is just the latest thrilling endeavor he gets to be a part of. He was instantly positioned as the face of NXT 2.0 upon the relaunch of the brand and was also involved in the main event of Halloween Havoc with Ciampa for the NXT Championship.

Despite all that, he has found that he’s been dealing with the pressure just fine.

“I don’t get overwhelmed by pressure, I’m just not that type of person,” he said. “I have to give credit where credit is due: LA Knight, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa. These guys are fantastic. They’re the leaders of NXT. They’re the black-and-gold brand, they’re leaders, they’re veterans. They have every advantage you can think on their side aside from the advantage I just won. I’m just excited for the opportunity to fight them once more.”

Before joining WWE this year, Breakker played football as a running back for Kennesaw State University from 2016 to 2020. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens upon graduating but was released a short time later.

He then took that opportunity to follow in his family’s footsteps and pursue a pro wrestling career, something he had dreamed of doing since he was a kid.

“This is always what I wanted to do,” he said. “More than football, more than anything. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life and continue on the family legacy. Sometimes it’s surreal I’m here in WWE, the greatest company in the world. I’m getting to work for guys like Shawn Michaels and Triple H and Vince [McMahon]. It’s unbelievable.”

In addition to the names mentioned, he credited everyone behind the scenes at NXT who have been willing to help him and the other up-and-comers on the roster. He’s had an amazing amount of resources at his disposal and access to knowledge and skills you won’t find many other places.

The second-generation star has shown incredible promise in such a short span of time, though his ring name caused quite the stir on social media when he debuted on NXT TV back in September. Some believe Rex Steiner was a more natural-sounding moniker, but he admits that Bron Breakker was his idea.

“We were just sitting around one day and I’m like, ‘Well, when I used to block people in football, I used to try to break them in half,'” he said. “That was literally what I tried to do: snap them in half and break them. What if I’m the breaker? I break people, Breakker, and then it came to me. Bron is part of my first name and that’s what we went with.”

At the same time, he wants to pay homage to his father and uncle any chance he gets, which has led to the commentators as well as his rivals referencing them in various promos.

“What my dad and uncle did before me with some of their promos and stuff that they’ve done, they’ve laid all this groundwork,” Breakker said. “There’s all this stuff out there for me to use if I want to. Obviously, I’m not going to bank my entire… that’s not what I’m going for. I want to make a name for myself and stand on my own, but there’s certain things out there we can use.”

Bron Breakker on Rick Steiner nearly appearing at Halloween Havoc, Goldberg’s influence and touring the United Kingdom with the WWE main roster

Ciampa revealed in an interview with talkSPORT following Halloween Havoc that Rick Steiner was scheduled to appear at the event to support his son in his pursuit of the NXT title but that it fell through at the last minute.

Breakker confirmed that was indeed what was supposed to happen and plans changed due to his dad’s busy schedule. However, he added that he’s confident he’ll come down to the Performance Center to watch him wrestle at some point.

“Him and I, we talked about it, but it just didn’t end up working out,” he said. “He’s busy, man. He’s on the school board for the county we grew up in and he’s a real estate agent, so he’s got a lot going on. It’s kind of tough to get him to make it down sometimes because he’s a busy guy. He’ll come down for sure, he’ll make it down eventually.”

Another WCW alum that has been extremely influential on Breakker’s career is Goldberg, who also had success on the gridiron before making the transition to the squared circle. Breakker noted that he’s been in constant communication with the multi-time world champion and his advice has been a huge help for him.

“I have [had conversations with Goldberg],” Breakker said. “I’ve known Goldberg since I was a kid really just because he’s around when I was growing up with WCW and stuff like that. Bill’s been extremely helpful to me. We’ve had discussions about him giving me pointers and advice and things to help me. He’s been unbelievable.”

As if headlining multiple episodes of NXT TV and now WarGames wasn’t enough, Breakker got a small taste of the WWE spotlight when he toured the United Kingdom with the main roster crew in early November.

He had the wonderful opportunity of rubbing shoulders with and learning from the very best in the business today. It’s a feeling he can’t wait to chase and experience again down the road as his stock continues to soar.

“I can’t even describe… it was crazy,” he said. “It was my first time performing in front of a big crowd because we’re at the Performance Center right now with NXT and we’re not traveling. That, getting to learn and work in front of a different crowd every night was just a crazy experience that I hadn’t been exposed to yet. The locker room, just a bunch of professional, fantastic people.

“I can’t say enough good things about the locker rooms on both brands,” he continued. “They were extremely helpful. People like Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Big E, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Riddick Moss, Rick Boggs, Randy Orton. Just everybody. They’re excellent human beings. They took me in as a young cat and they went that extra step and took me under. They gave me pointers and advice. I can’t be thankful enough that I got to do that.”

Don’t miss WWE NXT WarGames on Sunday, December 5th streaming live at 8/7c on Peacock and WWE Network