Thanks to untimely injuries, Eddie Dennis has had a bit of a stop-start WWE career thus far.

Still, the six-foot-six Welshman is a big name in the British scene and his upcoming TakeOver bout with Trent Seven is another opportunity for the former teacher to gain some valuable momentum in NXT UK and, thus, WWE.

WWE 5 Eddie Dennis in action with NXT UK

talkSPORT had the chance to sit down with Dennis prior to Christmas and we discussed his WWE career thus far, the British independent scene, NXT TakeOvers, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and much, much more.

Hi Eddie! First off, let’s talk about the gym you teach at in Brixton, Knucklelocks Gym. I’ve said I’m going to come along next year now so tell us who it’s come about and how it’s doing?

It’s not really my school, I just coach there. The school used to be called the ProJo. It’s always been based in-and-around the Brixton area and then Darrell Allen took over and renamed it Knucklelocks Gym – he was sort of the head trainer even when it was the ProJo. I’ve been involved helping out with him for years and years and years and when I initially went full-time back in 2017, I picked up a lot more classes because it was just a good way to supplement wrestling and if I wasn’t in the ring on a show, being in a ring training was a good way to be spending my time.

They’ve got a number of different trainers and I think that’s one of the reasons it has such a good reputation because you get a broad spectrum of what wrestling is. For myself, selfishly, it helps me get into a ring at least once a week! I did most of my rehab there, great little facility. Highly recommended!

Let’s talk about the injury you suffered earlier this year. You suffered a torn pectoral muscle back on March 23 at a Pro Wrestling CHAOS show in Bristol. Was there a part of you worried about how WWE would feel about you getting injured at an indie event?

I certainly wasn’t thinking ‘Oh no, what are the consequences of this injury’ with the regards to it happening on an independent show because I’ve never been given the impression from anyone involved with the organisation. They’re very understanding with what we d and how physical it is [laughs]. They know the element of risk that’s involved every time we do it. It was an event approved by WWE, WWE knew I was there and that it was going on, it’s just an unfortunate incident.

WWE 5 Eddie Dennis dominating Sid Scala

I was devastated. It happened a day before I was meant to fly out and spend a week at the Performance Center in Orlando before flying to New York for WrestleMania weekend and being involved at Axxess with the NXT UK tapings. So I missed out on a lot of stuff that would have been pretty special opportunities. It wasn’t the nicest experience in the world having to unpack my bags.

The year prior I was injured during WrestleMania, too. So even though I wasn’t signed with the company yet in January 2018, I was still scheduled to fly out to WrestleMania in New Orleans with Progress and there was some rumours that some of us would be involved in Axxess matches that year. I did actually fly out for that one with Progress and I did some promos and stuff. But, having missed out on it the year prior and just starting to get momentum behind me after debuting in July of 2018 and then doing that programme with [Dave] Mastiff that culminated at Blackpool that put more steam behind me, did the programme with Mark [Andrews] in Progress that culminated at Wembley and I’m thinking everything is looking pretty rosy – then the second injury hits mere moments before I could exercise that demon. Fingers crossed, 2020! [Laughs].

Let’s go back to TakeOver: Blackpool I where you battled Dave Mastiff. Talk to us about how the atmosphere was like backstage during the show and how you felt things went during your match?

A lot of it is a bit of a blur. The tag opened the show and the crowd… the crwod was good anyway, we did some pre-TakeOver matches and the crowd seemed good for that and as soon as the crowd knew the red light was on and we were live around the world, and the inaugural Tag Team championship match came on, the crowd kicked it up and it was wild. On one token, when you start hearing those reactions and you’re backstage, everyone is buzzing and everyone wants to go out and perform in front of those people, but when you’re one of the select few who are performing in front of those people, there’s a part of you like ‘Ah, man. I hope they’re not quiet for mine! They’re loving this!’

WWE 5 Eddie Dennis went to war with Dave Mastiff in Blackpool

And me and Dave were probably the sleeper match of the card. The one people were talking about the least maybe. So we went out there with a bit of a chip on our shoulder and a but of a point to prove I think. And what was nice – there’s a lot of different stuff that’s artistically satisfying about pro wrestling – but one of the things that nice about pro wrestling is when you walk out and the crowd aren’t wild but by the end, they’re really kicking off, that’s really artistically stimulating. It’s a bit surreal to go back to the hotel room and think ‘I just performed on a live special’. TakeOver is the benchmark for wrestling right now and to be on one was special.

You say TakeOvers are the benchmark; I’ve preached for a while now that I think they are the best wrestling shows on the planet.

There’s something about the spectacle that is WrestleMania that is really hard to match, but when we’re talking about a show from bell-to-bell, I think it’s hard to argue that TakeOver shows aren’t the best in the world right now.

I’ve spoken to Triple H quite a lot about NXT UK and he has freely praised Shawn Michaels for the good work he has done with the brand. It seems he does more for it than most people realise?

Shawn [Michaels] is essentially our Triple H I suppose. A lot of people assume that NXT is Triple H’s baby and he oversees that in a similar way to Vince McMahon on the main roster. For us, on a day-to-day basis with NXT UK, it feels more like Shawn Michaels’ baby. What does that entail? It means him sitting down and watching previous episodes with us and talking us through things. When you’ve got Shawn Michaels watching and critiquing what you’re doing, I can’t see how that can’t make you better. And then on the days of the shows you’ve got Shawn overseeing everything, brainstorming ideas and stuff – he’s just an extremely approachable, yet extremely knowledgeable gentleman is ultimately the only way I can describe him.

WWE 5 Triple H and Shawn Michaels at NXT UK

Going back to my previous profession in teaching, you would have teachers who you thought were fantastic teachers and respected, but for whatever reason you just didn’t find them particularly approachable, so they weren’t someone you would ask for advice of or whatever. But Shawn – as ridiculous as it is to say [laughs] – I respect Shawn. It goes without saying, right? He wrestled for an hour at WrestleMania 12 in the greatest professional wrestling match of all-time! But what doesn’t go without saying is how humble and approachable he is. It’s not just that he’s happy to help you out, but you can see it in his eyes he wants you to ask him for his advice. He just loves the business. I think for Shawn – and I haven’t spoken to him about this – but there is that artistic satisfaction we spoke about for him helping young guys and then watching them perform and thinking, I helped that be as good as it was.

Going back to your injury, you must have been delighted to return and find out they already had a programme with Trent Seven lined up for you?

Extremely competitive to be apart of the card. I only got cleared just the week before we started taping the TVs for Hull. To find out ‘Hey, we’re going to use [you] at these Hull TVs and we’re going to work towards a programme between you and Trent Seven at TakeOver,’ you sort of go, ‘Oh, wow!’

Straight out of the training center, trying to get ready and straight into the fire. It’s really cool they had a plan for me, though. As far as working with Trent goes, I’ve never worked with him before and that’s always the first thing I like to stress, just because I think it’s mind-blowing given the circles that we’ve both walked in for the last decade. To have never wrestled each other is bizarre.

WWE 5 Eddie Dennis hits Trent Seven with a microphone

It certainly wasn’t the first time I wrestled Dave Mastiff when I faced him as an example! So we’ve never wrestled before, we’ve only done a few interactions in tag team matches and stuff. He’s an extremely, extremely charismatic individual, almost to a fault [laughs] and he’s certainly one of the founding fathers of this brand. Himself and Tyler and Pete take a lot of pride in the formation of this brand, and rightfully so. But, for me, TakeOver is really just about showing that as much as Trent is a founding father and extremely popular with the audience and a very charismatic dude, I certainly belong in the ring with him. And I can certainly match him every step of the way – and that’s the goal. Trent has what I refer to as BMT in spades – big match temperament. So it’s my job to prove that I’ve got just as much.

Finally, TakeOver Cardiff was a special night for NXT UK and many fans called that the PPV of the year. Did Triple H say anything on what was a very competitive day in wrestling history?

I vividly remember the pre-show game talk that he gave before TakeOver: Cardiff. Because, for those of you that remember, it was on the same day as New Japan at the Copperbox and AEW’s All Out. So there was a lot of competition that day in professional wrestling across planet earth. Triple H sort of like got everyone together – and I wasn’t on the show – but he got everyone together who was backstage and told everyone about the significance of this evening and what we needed to do. That was a goosebumps moments. I won’t say what he said, but it was pretty poetic stuff.

Back on August 31, NXT UK: Cardiff, AEW All Out and NJPW Royal Quest all went down. On a fiercely competitive day in wrestling history, @EddieDennis1986 told me Triple H gave a speech to fire up the troops before TakeOver. Awesome. pic.twitter.com/2zhLc6p1Gs — Alex McCarthy (@AlexM_talkSPORT) December 24, 2019

I left it wanting to go out there and have the greatest match of my life and I wasn’t even cleared to wrestle! Just this frustrated man backstage in his home country while there was a TakeOver taking place. So I can only imagine how Flash [Morgan Webster ] and Mark [Andrews] felt after hearing that from Triple H! I’ll remember that one, I also remember him speaking to me briefly before the match with Dave [Mastiff, Blackpool I], again, I won’t say what he said but he certainly fired me up and I remember him speaking to me after the match with Dave as well and when someone of his stature gives you an endorsement, you don’t soon forget it. Those are the moments that you kind of live for.

NXT UK has just found a new home on BT Sport starting in January with 9pm on Thursday nights the rumoured slot.