Stu Bennett recently spoke with Andrew Thompson with POST Wrestling and discussed a variety of topics related to his career. One highlight includes Bennett’s discussion of the plans Lucha Underground had for a Nexus-like group in season five.
“So they were very clear on the pitch with me for that one. It kind of came out of the blue but they told me, ‘Look, we haven’t got funding yet or approval for a season five but we want a big finish to season four and we’ve got some ideas. We’ve been building this character, this mythical character for a little while and we think you’d be the perfect fit for it. Here’s what we’re suggesting, we’ll film it, we’ll put it out,” Bennett said. “Hopefully we’ll get funding for the fifth one but we can’t guarantee it. What do you say?’ And coincidentally, I was gonna be in L.A. when they were filming anyway so I agreed to do it.
“It was a very short film cycle. I think they needed me for about three or four hours just to film that little segment so I went and did it and unfortunately, it seems like Lucha Underground is done and dusted now. Maybe it’ll come back one day but the plan was that I was gonna be this kind of character who was controlling an army of guys. I think they were gonna call me The Lord. The Lord of Wrestling or something like that and I was gonna be controlling these guys who were gonna come in and take over The Temple and attack everyone. A bit like my Nexus days if I’m quite honest with you,” Bennett said. “It sounded a bit like that so who knows where it could’ve gone. I don’t think the idea was fully fleshed out but, that was the rough pitch that was given to me.”
Transcription credit of Andrew Thompson of Post Wrestling.
On a related note, Stu Bennett also spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about his new film, I Am Vengeance: Retaliation, which is available on VOD services now. which is available on VOD services now. Bennett talked about the original incarnation of the Nexus stable and said that it’s very rare to create a new and organic moment in professional wrestling but that’s exactly what they did with Nexus’ WWE debut.
“The biggest strength was the shock factor of that. That day that we attacked the ring, I think there was a level of believability to it and after we attacked and ripped the ring apart, we beat up John Cena, we came to the back as a group,” Bennett said, “just the carnage in the ring and the looks of the people in the crowd and there was a combination of both shock and fear on the faces in the crowd. It’s very rare that you can get that level of visceral, very real reaction from a fan base. That’s why people still talk about it to this day, it was so shocking, it was so unbelievable.
“It’s very hard to make those moments in pro wrestling happen because let’s face it, WWE alone is pumping out ten-plus hours of wrestling content and then you’ve got AEW and everything else. We’ve all seen everything now,” Bennett said, “so it’s very hard to get something new and when it does happen it’s magic and lightning in a bottle.
“In terms of it falling apart, I don’t think storyline wise it was the right thing to lose at SummerSlam, for example. I don’t think it necessarily had the support of certain people in management, certain people writing the show that it would have needed to last longer than it did. But in terms of a shocking moment,” Bennett added, “it’s one of the greatest in recent memory. We’ll always have that and people still love talking about it to this day.”
Check out the full interview below:
Related: Stu Bennett On Why Nexus’ Shocking WWE Debut Still Resonates With Fans, Why The Storyline Fell Apart
