Tony D’Angelo has revealed that he and Bron Breakker were originally planned as a tag team in WWE NXT, positioned as a modern-day version of the Steiner Brothers, before plans were scrapped when the brand relaunched as NXT 2.0. Speaking on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast, D’Angelo explained that the two were being groomed for the partnership behind the scenes before any of it made it to television.
“When we first got in, me and Bron were in a tag together,” D’Angelo said. “So we were doing that for a minute. Not on TV, but they were priming us. This is what you’re gonna do, kind of like the new age Steiner Brothers type of deal. I was wearing a singlet, but I was wearing a singlet before that anyway, so that wasn’t foreign.”
The concept never made it to air. D’Angelo said Road Dogg delivered the news that the direction was being abandoned when NXT transitioned into its 2.0 era.
“I just remember one day, Road Dogg came up and he was like, hey man, we’re not doing this,” D’Angelo said. “This is right when 2.0 first kicked off. They kind of just said, clean slate, everybody, we kind of have a lane for you, and I had to figure out quick what I was gonna do.”
Both men ultimately found separate success on their own paths. D’Angelo was introduced as the Don of NXT and was later associated with Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, while Breakker was thrust into the NXT singles spotlight and became a multiple-time NXT Champion before eventually rising to the main roster.
The irony of the situation was not lost, given what followed years later. Breakker did eventually form a tag team in NXT, partnering with Baron Corbin to win the NXT Tag Team Championships. The team they defeated to win the titles was D’Angelo and Lorenzo.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit No-Contest Wrestling with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
