Tony D’Angelo has opened up about his five-month absence from WWE NXT television, revealing it was not injury-related but rather a personal reset driven by unexpected life changes, including the news that his wife is expecting their first child. Speaking on No-Contest Wrestling, D’Angelo shut down speculation immediately. “No injury,” D’Angelo said.
“It was just a bit of a reset. I will say I did have a couple of personal things that came up unexpectedly. But honestly, things happen the way they’re supposed to.”
D’Angelo said the time away gave him a perspective on life and work that he had been unable to gain while grinding through the relentless routine of professional wrestling. “I got a reset, I kind of got a different perspective on life and work,” D’Angelo said. “In that time my wife got pregnant.”
He described the mental trap that can come with the non-stop demands of a wrestling career and how easy it is to lose sight of the bigger picture. “You get in this bubble and you’re just so, lift, work, eat, film, you’re just doing that for so long, you kind of forget why you got into this, or that there’s life outside of this,” D’Angelo said.
D’Angelo said he has no regrets about the time away and that it has fundamentally changed how he approaches his career going forward. “Sometimes you need a little reset, and I’m pretty thankful that I got that opportunity,” D’Angelo said. “Now I am what you see on TV. I have a whole new perspective and outlook on what I need to do to achieve my goals and take care of my family.”
D’Angelo disappeared from NXT television in July 2025 before returning in December with a noticeably different gimmick, stepping away from the elaborate Don of NXT persona that had defined his run for years in favor of a more stripped-down version of himself.
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.
