NXT took the show on the road in 2015, traveling outside of Florida with live events in Europe and then the midwest.
The tours were a success for the brand and was the start of semi-regular live event tours with the top stars traveling for live events. NXT executives told the talent that the tours were successful, but the talent didn't reap any rewards.
Speaking to Chris Hero on Shoot Conversations, Mojo and Hero recalled the fallout from the tours.
Mojo Rawley: The one thing I remember about that is after we finished, Canyon spoke to us in the cafeteria and he's like, 'You guys killed it. You sold out every show every night. You guys deserve raises!' Then someone said, 'Are we getting raises?' They're like, 'No,' cause we're all still making nothing. Why even tell us we sold out everything?
Chris Hero: I heard there was like a plaque presented to NXT.
MR: Everyone was livid cause we were making nothing. That was the first time we went on the road and they made big money off the brand. We're like, 'take care of your boys here.'
CH: I remember something similar when NXT got the Hulu deal and it was at Full Sail. It was like, 'To show, it gets $1 million per episode for the company and it's great revenue.' At this time, we were not getting a bonus for being on NXT TV, you just get your downside and that's it. The guys on the main roster, if they come down and work NXT, they get bonus on top. We're like, 'we're still making this much and you guys are bragging about how much money it's making?'
MR: They were doing that a lot. I don't know why they were telling us that, it was making it way worse.
CH: It's confusing. It's like, 'Cool...' It's so funny, if you kick a guy a little bonus, it goes such a long way. It's good to be thought of and be considered.
MR: Especially because we were all trying to figure out how to pay for our next meal. It was bad.
Rawley teamed with Zack Ryder on the tours in 2015 as The Hype Bros.
Elsewhere during the conversation Mojo discussed his starting salary with NXT and being told he would be jumped by others. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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