Andre Chase Recalls Initially Being Told He Wouldn’t Be Used On WWE TV

Andre Chase reveals WWE weren’t originally going to use him on TV.

Having signed in February 2021, Andre Chase became commonplace on NXT TV that September. Chase U became a cornerstone of the brand’s 2.0 era, and many would find it hard to imagine the colourful rebrand without the university as part of the show. However, it now appears we almost didn’t get to see Andre Chase on our screens at all.

Speaking on Between Two Jobs, Andre Chase, now known as Andre Chance, revealed it wasn’t until Shawn Michaels personally watched him wrestle that the company went against their initial decision to not have Chase as an on-screen character.

“They were like, ‘You’re only here for them [younger talent]. You’re only here so they can learn from you, so you can teach them. You’re not gonna be on TV’… I report to the PC and I’m told by the coaches, ‘Make sure you understand you’re not gonna be on TV.’ ‘Yes, I got it. I understand. I’m just supposed to work the PC lives. I get it.’ Sure enough this one day, I’m working a PC live with Julius Creed. Shawn happens to wander over. Afternoon in the warehouse. He wasn’t around like that. He didn’t come to every PC Live… We had a really good match, and luckily, Shawn was there to see it. Afterwards we go to feedback and go to the coaches. Shawn’s like, ‘Why aren’t you on TV?’ And I go, ‘Oh, I don’t know I was told I wasn’t gonna be on TV.’ And he was like, ‘Well why not?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know. They just told me that I wasn’t gonna be on TV.’ He goes, ‘We gotta get you on TV.’ And the next week, I was on 205 Live. It only takes that one. Literally, your life can change in one match.”

-Andre Chance

Andre Chase would go on to have two reigns as one-half of the NXT Tag Team Champions, once with Duke Hudson and once with Ridge Holland. Chase U was one of the most popular aspects of NXT from 2021 to its eventual dissolution in 2024, and, despite a brief attempt to bring it back, the 37-year-old was unfortunately let go from WWE around two months ago.

Elsewhere in the interview, the star revealed the inspiration behind his iconic ‘Chase U’ red sweater. You can read more about that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Andre Chase as soon as we hear more.

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