Former NXT star Duke Hudson (Brendan Vink) believes the Chase U faction had the potential to be a successful act on the main roster, and he thinks the presence of a similar group, Alpha Academy, may have been an obstacle to a potential call-up. In a recent interview with That Sweet Pop, Hudson spoke about the core trio of himself, Andre Chase, and Thea Hail, a group he felt was a complete package ready for Raw or SmackDown.
However, he speculated that the comedic storyline involving Chad Gable’s Alpha Academy on the main roster may have made WWE hesitant to introduce another similar act. “Chase U, myself, Chase and Thea, we saw ourselves as the group, the package. It was just the three of us. People would come and go… but it’s the three of us, because that’s the package that works. To us, that was the package of, ‘Please take us to the main roster,'” Hudson said.
He then explained his theory about the Alpha Academy, being careful to note that there was no “beef” between the groups. “At the same time, they had Alpha Academy, which was trying to figure out what they were, and I think kind of… I’m not saying they did anything we were doing or whatever, there’s no beef or anything, but it’s like, you’ve already got these three or four guys that you’re using up there and paying a lot more that is now doing a similar thing. ‘Well, we’ll just keep using that, and we’ll find something else for these other guys.'”
Despite the group never getting the call-up, Hudson remains adamant that they had what it takes to succeed on a bigger stage. “Do I think Chase U had main roster potential? Absolutely. I think any fan that would disagree with that doesn’t understand pro-wrestling,” he stated. “We had a place, even if was just making your guys, your favorites, look good for the next three to five years, we were the best at that.”
The faction achieved championship success while together, with Andre Chase and Duke Hudson holding the NXT Tag Team Championship. The group was eventually disbanded as part of a storyline where Chase lost control of the “university” in a match, which led to the releases of both Hudson and fellow member Riley Osborne in 2025.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit That Sweet Pop with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
