WWE NXT star Tony D’Angelo has opened up about his championship reign. The former champion believes the roster’s inexperience affected his run.

D’Angelo won the NXT Championship at WWE Stand & Deliver. He defeated Joe Hendry, Ethan Page, and Ricky Saints in a fatal four-way match. However, his reign ended after 147 days at NXT Heatwave.

Now, D’Angelo has explained why his first title run was difficult. He believes the changing NXT roster played a major role.

Why Tony D’Angelo said WWE NXT lacked experienced talent during his reign

Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Tony D’Angelo discussed his championship run. He explained that he had fewer experienced opponents to work with. He also stressed that the situation wasn’t the newer talent’s fault.

He said, “I didn’t have a whole lot to work with, so to speak. A lot of people with inexperience, which is not their fault. They, as in the main roster, took a bunch of people, and those were all the people that had experience and had been in main events and long matches and knew how, you know, their promos were tip-top.”

The former champion believes NXT lost several experienced performers. “I think had I been champion in a different era, I think people would talk differently about it for sure, but I’m not offended. It is what it is. I think I still showed that I can be champion and carry a brand, and it was a difficult time because, like Shawn [Michaels] said, everybody left. So I held it together when we were in this little transition period. And I’m okay with that. I really am.” [H/T: f4wonline]

D’Angelo’s reign included successful title defenses against Naraku. He defeated him at The Great American Bash and again in a Street Fight. However, Grayson Waller eventually dethroned him at NXT Heatwave in a fatal four way match.

He is now preparing for another championship opportunity. He is scheduled to face Grayson Waller at Halloween Havoc 2026 this weekend for the title.

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