A year ago, Bobby Roode was not yet the NXT champion, not yet a keystone of WWE's third brand.He sat in the audience at NXT TakeOver: Dallas unsure whether he would even sign with the company. The cameras caught a glimpse of himhis face stern as he glared forward. The two sides had held minor talks, but there was no guarantee there would be anything beyond this cameo.Once he did ink a deal with WWE, Roode immediately knew he had made the correct choice. "From the moment I got there, itjust felt right," Roodetold Bleacher Report. "It felt like the place I needed to be."It didn't take long for The Glorious One to leave his imprint on NXT, becoming one of its biggest stars.He adopted a Ric Flair-esque persona, complete with glittery robe and sanctimonious aura, before storming his way up the ladder. He knocked off Andrade "Cien" Almas in his debut match. Five months later, he snatched the NXT Championship fromShinsuke Nakamura in San Antonio.On Saturday, those two will collide again. Roode will defend the NXT title against The King of Strong Style in TakeOver: Orlando's main event.The Ontario native has relished the whirlwind journey."It's been fun so far," he said. "It's been one heck of a ride for the last 365 days."Roode's trek didn't start in Dallas. He has been toiling in rings since 1998.He briefly worked for WWE in the early '00s but couldn't get his career out of first gear.His resume from that period is filled with untelevised matches and bouts on the lower-ranked shows like Sunday Night Heat and Velocity."I was working hard to be noticed and to be seen," Rooderecalled of those days. "For whatever reason, it just wasn't my time there.Instead of quitting or being discouraged, I went somewhere else and continued to try to live my dream. I was able to do that and make a name for myself in the process."His next stop was TNA, the company now known as Impact Wrestling.At that point in his career, he tried to be a sponge. He sought to better himself from the stars who populated that promotion."I got an opportunity there to work with a lot of great guys, to be in the ring with a lot of veterans, to just open my eyes and open my ears to learn from guys like Kurt Angle and Bully Ray and the Hardys," Roode said."You get five or 10 minutes or possibly jump in the car with them to ride to the next town for two to three hours and pick their brains.I used that opportunity a lot."Roode is not the only one to make the leap from Impact Wrestling to WWE in recent years.Samoa Joe wrestles on Raw. Austin Aries is challenging for the Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 33. Eric Young leads the NXT faction Sanity. And Roode's former stablemate AJ Styles is one of WWE's hottest acts.It's a cool experience for Roode to see all these TNA alumni in the WWE spotlight alongside himself."I've always known how good these guys were," he said. "Whether it was used well enough before they got to WWE or not, I don't know, but now WWE is such a huge stage. There are so many eyes and ears taking it in."That's especially true for Styles. Roode called The Phenomenal One a special talent and"possibly the best performer in the world right now."Roode's first go-round with WWE and his long tenure at Impact Wrestling armed him with invaluable experience. He came into NXT having been a cornerstone of a company before, a champion and the man on the marquee.He now finds himself representing an entity that is part-developmental system, part-touring brand, part-unique WWE offshoot. NXT has evolved since its inception in 2012, becoming a buzz-creating element for the company. This isn't just where the future Superstars are developing; it's a branch of WWE that often matches the quality of what the main roster is producing.TheNXT champ takes pride in being the flag-bearer for that brand."It's really good to be a part of it, especially to be the champion and the face of the company," Roodesaid."It's pretty special."And a part of his role is to lead the charge as NXT tries to outdo its main-roster brethren. He believes that the TakeOver events have often matched or surpassed Raw and SmackDown's pay-per-views.Roode wants to continue that pattern in Orlando."The NXT motto is to go out there and steal the show," The Glorious One said."That's our goalto go out there and open eyes and challenge the main-roster guys to try to do better than we did the night before. The NXT TakeOver: Orlando card has the opportunity to be the best TakeOver of all time. The challenge is there. Hopefully, we go in there and set the bar pretty high."The champ will look to set that bar against a hard-hitting showman from Japan. Roode and Nakamura's first battle surged in its final act, turning into a masterful drama.The rematch is fast approaching, with Roode not nearly ready to see his reign end.
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