Tony D’Angelo Reveals He Was Originally Set To Team With Bron Breakker Going Into WWE NXT 2.0

Tony D’Angelo has revealed scrapped plans for him to team with Bron Breakker.

In September 2021, WWE veered away from NXT’s black and gold theme to present a more colourful version of the show focused more on homegrown performers, with Tony D’Angelo and Bron Breakker immediately becoming prominent figures on the brand. In terms of character, the two couldn’t be much different, with Breakker a second-generation star looking to follow in his father’s footsteps, and D’Angelo portraying an Italian-American mafia-style gimmick. However, it’s now been revealed that WWE were once planning to introduce them to fans as a team.

Speaking No-Contest Wrestling podcast, Tony D’Angelo discussed WWE’s original plan to have him team with Bron Breakker at the start of NXT 2.0.

“When we first got in, actually, me and Bron were in a tag together. Bron Breakker. So we were doing that for a minute. Not on TV, but they were priming us. They were like, ‘This is what you’re gonna do.’ Kinda like the new age Steiner Brothers type of deal. I just remember one day, Road Dogg came up and he was like, ‘Hey man, we’re not doing this,’ and this is right when 2.0 first kicked off. They kinda just, clean slate everybody. ‘We kinda have a lane for you,’ and I had to figure out quick what I was gonna do.”

-Tony D’Angelo

Breakker was arguably the centrepiece of NXT 2.0, becoming the first of those introduced in September 2021 to win the NXT Championship. Having become a two-time champion on the developmental brand, ‘The Badass’ moved up to the main roster in 2024 and quickly captured the Intercontinental Championship. Now part of The Vision, the star was looking to build momentum towards WrestleMania 42 before a hernia cast his status into doubt.

As for D’Angelo, the 30-year-old has two North American Championships and a reign with the Heritage Cup to look back on, though he’s yet to make the move to RAW or SmackDown. After a lengthy absence, he returned to NXT at Deadline and will be one of three men chasing Joe Hendry’s NXT Championship at Stand & Deliver.

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As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on WWE’s scrapped plans as soon as we hear more.

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