Derrick Bateman on His Release from WWE, Tough Enough NXT Airing Simultaneously, More

The former Derrick Bateman, Michael Hutter, joined Inside The Ropes to discuss his career in WWE. Highlights from the interview:

Differences between developmental now and the territories: “I think every legend you speak to talks about how beneficial the territorial system was and how good it was to get to work with someone different every night, and every place you go there’d be a different style, so you’d be learning all the time. It’s not the same now in developmental but I think they try their best to replicate it as much as possible, which is impossible.”

His thoughts on WWE bringing back Tough Enough in 2011 while NXT was occurring: “First off any show that has Stone Cold on it, berating people is my kinda show. He’s the man. In terms of Tough Enough being there, on one hand it’s cool that it’s exposure for WWE and television, but then another part of me is thinking, “Sweet, Silent Rage is on TV and I’m out here on NXT Redemption ...