Bobby Roode made his name in TNA, first as a tag team specialist and then as a singles star.
He left the company in March 2016 after being there for 12 years. Appearing on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia, Roode discussed why he felt it was time to finally move on from the company he helped build.
?I was reaching that 40 years old, in and around that age and I was like, ?I don?t think I can do this.? I don?t think I can go out there and sit at home for 6-8 weeks and then have me come to work and expect me to work 8 days in a row, twice a day in a studio of 200 people and really be able to give it my all. For me, just the passion was starting to go away and in my mind I was thinking like, ?If I don?t want to leave my house and I don?t want to do what I?ve loved to do for the last 17 years, then I really have to rethink what I want to do here.??
Days after his parted ways with TNA, Roode appeared in the audience at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. He would make his NXT television debut on Aug. 3. During his time with the brand, Roode would win the NXT World Title from Shinsuke Nakamura and main event multiple TakeOver events.
But, as Roode explained, that wasn't necessarily the first plan during his initial meeting with Triple H.
"He goes. ?Hey, what do you want to do here? You?re going to be 40 years old. I know you?ve had a long career and been in the business for a while. Do you want to come down and be a coach? What are you looking to do?? and I was like, ?I?m going to be honest, I don?t want to coach-I mean eventually, I?d love to, but the schedule that I?ve had the last 3 years at TNA has been very light and I feel like I?ve got a lot left in the tank and a lot left to give and I?d love to have an opportunity there, that?s all I want is an opportunity.? ?Okay cool. We?ll give you an opportunity. We?ll give a shot and see where it goes.? So they flew me down to WrestleMania 32, went down there, met Hunter face to face. Kind of met everybody, met the crew, and I just immediately felt at home. I know what I said, ?I don?t like change.? but I walked in there and everybody was really cool.?
Roode made his main roster debut on the Aug. 22 edition of SmackDown last year. He would win the United States Title in January of this year, defeating Jinder Mahal in the finals of a tournament for the vacant title. He is currently part of the Raw brand following the Superstar Shakeup.
If you are going to use the quotes above, please credit Lilian Garcia's 'Chasing Glory' podcast with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.