Released WWE Star Addresses Unpopular Faction Split

WWE

A former WWE star who was released earlier this year has commented on an unpopular faction split that he was involved in.

One of the most popular groups in NXT from the 2.0 era onwards was Chase U, led by Andre Chase, and for the majority of its run, made up of Chase, Duke Hudson and Thea Hail.

The group was forced to disband last November when Chase lost a match against Ridge Holland.

Not long after, both Hudson and Riley Osborne were released, and Chase and Hail are no longer featured anywhere near as prominently on NXT TV as they were when the group was its peak.

Hudson, who as noted was released by WWE earlier this year, gave his thoughts on the group never being called up to the main roster, saying he believes they should have had a place on Raw or SmackDown.

Speaking on That Sweet Pop, he said:

“Myself, Chase and Thea, we saw ourselves as the group, the package. It was just the three of us. People would come and go – Riley was in there, they’d have Jacy join or whoever else – it was like, okay, in my head, they’re all coming and going, but it’s the three of us, because that’s the package that works. To us, that was the package of, ‘Please take us to the main roster.’

“At the same time, they had Alpha Academy, which was trying to figure out what they were, and I think kind of… I’m not saying they did anything we were doing or whatever, there’s no beef or anything, but it’s like, okay, you’ve already got these three or four guys that you’re using up there and paying a lot more that is now doing a similar thing. ‘Well, we’ll just keep using that, and we’ll find something else for these other guys.’

“Do I think Chase U had main roster potential? Absolutely. I think any fan that would disagree with that doesn’t understand pro-wrestling. We had a place, even if was just making your guys, your favorites, look good for the next three to five years, we were the best at that.

“Chase U was fundamentally just meant to be enhancement for other talent, but we did such a good job at making everything work, that we often found ourselves in better situations than we were meant to be in. And when we did, we blew it out of the water. Because we’re talent. We’re experienced talent who can hang with anyone.

“If it’s a four-minute job to Lexis King, I’m your man. If it’s a 20-minute pay-per-view match and we get match of the weekend over Money in the Bank weekend, we’re your guys. We can do it all. It’s just, what do you want us to do?”

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Speaking about being added to the group in the first place, Hudson said he was wearing Chase U shirts before he was even in the group, and that’s probably what gave WWE the idea to put him in:

“I think Chase did a very good job of creating something, for someone who I don’t think was ever meant to be what he is. I only have a toy of myself thanks to him. I still had to do the work, and I was meshing into something that I already saw a lot of potential in.

“I’m at home or I’m going to rehearsals, and I’m wearing Chase U shirts. I’m not in Chase U, but I’m wearing the Chase U shirt around, because I loved what they were doing. I don’t know if that’s what gave them the idea, but before I knew it I was in Chase U, and I was like, ‘That’s so funny.’

“That probably is what happened. They probably just went, ‘Let’s just put him in that, maybe he wants to be in that.'”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Andre Chase has since relaunched a new version of Chase U on WWE NXT, with Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors as its current members.

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