At the G1 Special, Juice Robinson defeated Jay White in an excellent match and became the IWGP US champion for the first time in his career.
Ever since Robinson left NXT, his career has transformed, and the former CJ Parker has grown and evolved as a performer in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Robinson spoke with Uproxx about the differences between working in Japan and NXT, his old WWE character, and several other topics.
Here are some of the highlights:
How things are different in Japan compared to NXT:
"That's a good question. Well, when I was in NXT, I was kind of like a heel, so I would sell a little differently and be a little goofier, maybe a little more cartoony, when I was being beat up, and now as a babyface in Japan I'm really trying to connect with people. I want them to feel the pain, so it's like I'm not trying to make them laugh, or I don't want them think that what I'm doing is funny. I'm trying to make them forget, and actually think that I'm hurt. Sometimes I actually am. I'm just wrestling a totally different style now based on that alone, babyface and heel… I think being a babyface in WWE might be one of the hardest things in wrestling right now. Holy cow. I mean, Roman Reigns, he's excellent, but... no, I couldn't do it."
Having negative feelings about NXT:
"You know, I loved NXT. Just, I just knew I was dead in the water, so I had to get out. So it wasn't that it was bad, it was I turned it bad because I got sad. You know what I mean? So what was happening to me on a daily basis… it wasn't like I was going home every night and crying in my room. I was still having fun and getting along with the coaches and the guys, and having fun at shows and stuff, but I just knew that CJ Parker was never going anywhere, so then I started to have negative feelings… just the whole thing, just my life, so I had to make a change, and now everything's great. But yeah, NXT was fun. It's a lot of fun. You work real hard there… For a while there it seemed like anytime we were… trying to lighten the mood, it was like, 'Hey, get back in line!' It was a little militant there for a while, and everybody knows about that. But they've got a good guy there now, and everything's really – I think it's fun again. It's good to hear. But I'm having more fun, so, haha."