Bronson Reed Says Beating Kazuchika Okada Helped Pave The Way For His WWE Return

Bronson Reed is one of the most dominant superstars on WWE Raw right now. The former NXT North American Champion returned to WWE in December 2022 after a brief stint on the independent scene, where he faced some of the best wrestlers in the world.

During his stint in the indies, Bronson Reed faced off against Kazuchika Okada, the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion twice, scoring a shocking upset win over him in the G1 Climax 2022 tournament before losing to him in a rematch at NJPW Declaration of Power.

In a recent interview with Overnight Crowd, Reed looked back on his experience with Okada and what it meant for his WWE return.

“These are things that are unprecedented. People didn’t think that I would be able to do it, but I knew that my time away from WWE, I needed to make sure that I was staying impressive.

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Being able to get a victory over someone like Okada, who you rarely see lay on his shoulders for three seconds, meant a lot to me, but it also meant a lot to me to be able to come back to WWE with purpose and with a newfound chip on my shoulder,” he said.

Bronson Reed was released by WWE along with several other NXT talents in August 2021 due to budget cuts. Following his release, he changed his ring name to JONAH and worked for various promotions such as IMPACT Wrestling and NJPW.

Bronson Reed was one of the few wrestlers rehired by WWE after being released during the pandemic era. He returned in December last year and helped The Miz defeat Dexter Lumis in a ladder match. Stay tuned to Ringside News as we bring you similar stories.

What do you make of this story? Is WWE making good use of Bronson Reed? Sound off in the comments section.