In an interview with F4WOnline, Parker Boudreaux talked about his first run with WWE, a developmental deal leading up to his time on NXT as Harland.
Recalling his time at the Performance Center and getting ready for the run on NXT programming, Boudreaux said:
For me, it was amazing because right when I got there, you know, of course everybody was saying the Brock Lesnar stuff, but then once they saw me train and, you know, work, you know, some promos and do the stuff, they gave me my character and that was Harland. I got the Harland character a couple of months into training, after probably like six, seven months of training, I got the Harland character.
And so what an honor, because I didn’t think I was gonna get on TV that quickly, because there were a lot of people at the PC. I don’t think a lot of people know this, but a lot of people at the PC, there’s five to seven years that you go without even being on TV sometimes. Like, there’s some people that are just at the PC for years and years and never have seen TV, who are just training, maybe waiting for that great moment.
Boudreaux noted that he received a pay raise from the company, which made his release two weeks later all the more surprising:
I was grateful for my time in WWE because I could definitely see myself back in WWE soon. And just what an honor to be in the WWE, and I was on TV every Tuesday. I was doing a great job, I thought, because I got a raise, you know, two weeks before I got released. So, um, when I got released, obviously, it was super blindsiding and super unexpected, probably the most unexpected thing in a while. But looking back at it, of course, now I just realize that’s the pro wrestling business. It could’ve been anything, you know?
For me, I knew I put my 100% work ethic in there, and now I’ve just grown tremendously internationally, and all these different techniques, living in the dojo in Japan for years. And, you know, just all the things that I’ve done now, I think it’s just showing my passion for it, which I don’t think they maybe was seen when I got from college football to WWE ’cause I just started WWE.
Following his release from WWE, Boudreaux did a tryout for AEW leading to a run in that company from December 2022 until his release in April 2024.