Lexis King has high praise for fellow BirthRight member Uriah Connors.
The reigning WWE Speed Men’s Champion recently appeared on Busted Open After Dark, where he discussed WWE NXT’s BirthRight faction and singled out Connors as a key figure behind the group’s success.
BirthRight consists of King, Charlie Dempsey, Arianna Grace, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and Connors, with William Regal and Fit Finlay occasionally appearing alongside the faction to offer guidance.
While King jokingly referred to himself as the “face” of the group, he credited Connors with being the driving force behind much of what the faction does.
“Uriah Connors, call him Brogan Finlay if you want,” King began. “He is unreal. I like to call myself the face of the group. I mean, let’s be honest. But, he’s the mind of it all. There’s that natural wrestling ability. I don’t know if people can be born with it. I certainly didn’t grow up in the business. I think we’ve talked about this before. I was kind of shunned away from it. There was a lot of negative energy there with me so I didn’t get into wrestling, I didn’t start studying film and training until I was 23.”
King went on to explain that Connors’ wrestling upbringing gave him a natural advantage and has helped make him a valuable resource within the faction.
“But this kid, I’m sure he was in a ring at the age of 13 and he just has it in him,” he said. “It’s just natural. He’s sort of our quarterback in that sense and he puts our matches together whenever it involves the group and stuff, and hell, even in my own work, I’m starting to go to him for advice and stuff because this business has evolved so much, and there’s a lot of differing advice, whether it’s the old school guys versus the new school guys and I think NXT, we have a younger audience, we have a younger roster. So we need a lot of that young, sort of indie flair to our work and our matches and I think Brogan just has the formula figured out.”
King’s praise didn’t stop there, as he also pointed to Connors’ path to WWE as proof that he earned his opportunity rather than receiving special treatment because of his family name.
“He also had a small tenure on the indies before he got here,” he continued. “He didn’t come here looking for a free lunch. Hell, he failed his first tryout, I think. So, WWE said, hey, you’re not cutting it. They weren’t gonna give him a free shot just because of who his dad was. His dad’s a coach here. He should have been able to walk in, right? Nepotism, but no, he tried out, he failed, he came back like a year or so later. I’m not too sure on the dates on that but, he finally earned his shot and he continues to grow. He’s been continuing to get in shape and to mold his physique.”
According to King, Connors has become one of the key creative voices within BirthRight and someone he increasingly turns to for advice as the NXT star continues to develop his own career.