WWE’s First Deaf Superstar Cuts Debut Promo

WWE NXT serves as developmental territory for the company’s two main brands. The idea is to give amateur male and female wrestlers an opportunity to become WWE’s next breakthrough star. Earlier this year, the company signed Myles Borne to the developmental brand. It turns out that there is more to him than meets the eye.

A bit of research into Borne’s background revealed that the young wrestler is deaf. His inspiring story was featured in a Wilmington Star-News article nearly ten years ago, when Bostian was only 14.

According to the outlet, Bostian was born with a condition called “persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)” It is a condition in which blood does not flow properly to the lungs, preventing oxygen from being picked up and transported to the rest of the body.

“When I was little, I used to make excuses about wrestling and feel bad for myself, and when I saw him I was like, ‘He can’t walk or really hold onto his opponent at all’, and he’s out there wrestling and wins the title. That just inspired me to work even harder because if he doesn’t make excuses I shouldn’t either.”

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Borne collapsed twice during a five-minute flight to the hospital, and his parents were told he had only a 20% chance of survival. Fortunately, PPHN is treatable, but one of its side effects includes hearing loss. As you might expect, the treatment left Borne deaf.

Borne self-taught himself how to lip-read people when he was only two years old. When doctors and his parents discovered this, they were all in tears. With the help of hearing aids and his innate talent to read people, he was successfully able to start his amateur wrestling career. Eventually getting signed by WWE.

Last night’s episode of NXT Level Up, was the first time we saw Borne speak, despite having fought in seven matches on the show this year. Even though he has yet to debut on NXT television, he has certainly piqued fans’ interest. Some fans have also pointed out that he looks similar to Randy Orton. You may check out the clip below.

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