For the Wednesday, October 28th NXT broadcast on USA Network, the Halloween Havoc theme has been resurrected after 20 years. It’s made for some unique matches.
Shotzi Blackheart will host, helping set up the stipulations for two Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal bouts, with the NXT women’s champ, Io Shirai defending against Candice LeRae, and NXT North American champ Damian Priest facing Johnny Gargano. There’s a straightforward singles bout, Raquel González against Rhea Ripley.
But then there’s a Haunted House Of Terror match, with Dexter Lumis versus Cameron Grimes.
What will that entail?
“I have absolutely no idea,” said Cameron Grimes in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
“The places that I have been, I have never, ever had to do a Haunted House of Terror match. How do you even prepare for a Haunted House of Terror match?” wondered Grimes.
There was one thing that he knew, though, and repeated it a couple of times.
“I am not scared about this Haunted House of Terror match. As much as it may seem like I may possibly be scared, I am not scared at all when it comes to Dexter Lumis and the Haunted House of Terror match. Not scared at all,” he said, emphasizing it again. “I’m not scared. Just make sure that, ‘I’m not scared’ is in there.”
A comparison is made to NXT TakeOver XXX, where Grimes was in the mix for the vacant NXT North American title in a six-man ladder match, won by Damian Priest.
“You can go back and watch the greats have ladder matches,” he began. “There’s tons of footage of great ladder matches, you can kind of prepare. You can’t prepare for falling off a 20-foot ladder, let me tell you that. But you can scout and see different angles, and ways that you can make your way to the top to grab that championship. What do we do about a Haunted House of Terror match?”
Grimes sat out NXT TakeOver 31. He’s okay with that.
“There is no ‘I’ in team, but there is an ‘me’ in it. You hear what I’m saying? Cameron Grimes only worries about himself. Now, if I couldn’t wrestle for the championship on the TakeOver, then why do I want to be on the TakeOver? Just so I can beat up some other little losers just for a little moment of a spotlight? The spotlight is always only on me. The rocket ship’s built. I just need my seatbelt. And some gold. When I can wrestle for some gold, then I’ll be on the TakeOver, that’s fine.”
The moon has been in the news lately, with scientists discovering that there could be far more water available on the Earth’s satellite than previously believed.
It got Grimes’ mind racing. “If there’s water on the moon, that means we can do a show on the moon. Now, I don’t know if that’s actually gonna happen,” he said. “But who’s to say that the Cameron Grimes Stepping Stone Invitational To The Moon Match doesn’t involve actually the Cameron Grimes On The Moon Match?”
On the more grounded questions, the 27-year-old Grimes was a little less out-there.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NXT recently left its long-time home at Full Sail University to set up shop at the Capitol Wrestling Center inside the WWE Performance Center.
Grimes is fine with that.
“It’s wild, let’s be real. Full Sail was a great place for us to do TV from but we needed to switch up the scenery. And here at the CWC, PC, we have these giant whiteboards. It just gives it a whole different feel, you know what I mean?” he said. “We actually can be more interactive with the audience again and not be stuck back in the times where everything was so terrifying and not knowing if we’re even gonna be able to have shows next week. At least now with the CWC we can bring way more people into the atmosphere and still be safe about it.”
The follow-up question logically is about COVID-19 testing and adapting.
“You’ve got to evolve with the times. People say that the show goes on. You’ve heard that your entire life, the show goes on. But I guess some people don’t think that that is a thing when it’s time for the show to go on. We’re still here, we’re running,” he said. “I ain’t got COVID — I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that but I ain’t got it, Cameron Grimes ain’t got it. And I’ve done my best, I’ve done all the safety precautions that our company has told us to do and I ain’t got it. Some people may not follow instructions as well as other people but Cameron Grimes follows his instructions.”
It’s not a secret that Grimes is Trevor Lee Caddell, a second-generation wrestler, whose father, Tracey Caddell, was one of the main people behind the OMEGA promotion in North Carolina with the Hardy Boys. (Tracey Caddell died in 2018.) There were plenty of lessons that the son took away, establishing a career as Trevor Lee as he polished his craft.
“My fondest memories are in a wrestling ring. This has been in my blood my entire life,” said Grimes. “You look at any sport, second generation football players, second generation baseball players, second generation soccer players, they’re going to be naturally better than anybody that just picks it up at a later time in their life.”
That seemed to be a dig at football players, like former NFL punter Pat McAfee, who recently returned to NXT. That’s not the case, stressed Grimes.
“Pat McAfee? We’re boys! Me and him, we know about going to the moon together. Pat McAfee’s made a million dollars in five different ways, and he’s teaching me that. I’m on my way to making a million dollars in 10 different ways,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love all those football players. But let me tell you, I was bred to be a professional wrestler and I didn’t fail at that.”
As the interview progresses, Grimes has a different thought about the Haunted House of Terror. “We‘re going to repossess that Haunted House of Terror, let me tell you; we’re going to get that thing, we gonna get it on the market, and we gonna get it sent to somebody else, because we ain’t got time for scary stuff.”
What’s next? He has wins over both NXT champion Finn Balor and North American champ Damien Priest; he actually thinks that Johnny Gargano — that “little weaselly guy” — will win on Wednesday night. “If it comes down to Johnny Gargano as the North American champion, I ain’t beat him yet, but you know, I can take anybody at any place at any time, so I don’t see why I couldn’t beat Johnny Gargano. Once I beat Dexter Lumis on Wednesday, and we get past this whole Haunted House of Terror thing, the options are endless. I can pretty much go anywhere, win anything.”
That includes the main roster … or outer space.
“None of it’s in my control but if the rocket ship goes up to the main roster that just means that the rocket ship gets a different color. The rocket ship’s still going to be there and it’s still going to have that jet fuel in it and it’s still going to be going to the moon.”
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