Exclusive Interview with WWE NXT North American Champion Myles Borne | No-Contest Wrestling

Myles Borne, the WWE NXT North American Champion, joined Chris and TJ on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast, and the conversation covered everything from his amateur background to the cross face that put him on the path he is on today.

Borne grew up an amateur wrestler, starting at age four. The pivot to pro wrestling came through a video game. His parents bought him Smackdown vs Raw in 2007. He sat on the floor playing as John Cena, watched what the avatars could do, and decided he wanted to be in WWE someday. He admitted he did not know it was a real job. He thought wrestlers might just be born into it.

He talked about his welcome-to-pro-wrestling moment, which arrived inside the first two weeks at the Performance Center. Borne wrestled for 21 years before he got there and assumed amateur and pro butted heads. After taking a hip toss that bruised his heels and getting purple marks across his back from the ropes, he called his amateur coach to apologize. Pro is much harder, he said. He demanded 100% respect from his old world for what he was doing now.

Borne is hearing impaired, born with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. He explained that the condition is treatable, but one of the side effects is loss of hearing. As a kid, the visible hearing aids made the playground hard, so he gravitated toward adults, who were patient enough to listen and explain. One coach told his father that Borne could not hear, but he was the best listener in the room.

His parents enrolled him in wrestling for confidence, self-respect and self-defense. He described his father's mantra, repeated over and over. Why not you. He said his father refused to let him fall into the narrative that being hearing impaired meant being behind.

Borne got his shot at WWE through a connection. His father had once coached a player named Sunny Siyaki, who suggested Borne would be good at this and walked him through the application. Months passed. He assumed nothing was happening. Then an email arrived right when COVID hit, followed by a DM from the WWE recruit. They flew him down for a tryout in December 2021. He told his mother he was going to make it.

He also gave an honest answer when asked about the move he hates taking. Oba Femi's Pizza Toss. Borne said he is game for almost anything once the cameras are live, but the Pizza Toss knocks the breath out of him. He has rolled out of a live show after taking it.

The Randy Orton connection got real airtime too. Borne said as a kid he hated Orton, the bad guy who beat up his hero John Cena. He used to take it out on John Cena in the video game to even the score. As he got older, he realized how good Orton was at making him feel something, and the appreciation became fandom. When Borne signed and met Orton, fans started calling him Randy Jr. He took it as a compliment. Orton has told him their bodies move similarly and has shared the long-career blueprint with him. Borne said he is now trying to carve out his own path while still leaning on what Orton taught him about protecting himself.

The interview closed in on the title and the responsibility that comes with NXT being gutted by callups. Borne is now part of the new young vet group expected to keep the developmental show running while the next wave learns to drive.