Leon Ruff On His Championship Victory, Thinking WWE Calling Him Was A Prank

Leon Ruff surprised the WWE Universe by upsetting Johnny Gargano to win the NXT North American Championship. In an interview with WWE’s The Bump, Ruff reflected on his sudden rise to stardom and how he thought he was being pranked when WWE first contacted him.

Ruff confessed his world has been turned upside down since his victory. “This whole experience has been crazy,” Ruff said. “It’s also been a dream come true. I haven’t been able to sleep, still. I smile a lot, but I do that a lot anyway.”

When WWE first called him with an offer to appear on Monday Night Raw, allowing him to embrace his dream, Ruff recalled thinking it was a prank call. When he realized it was WWE, however, he described how it felt “unbelievable” to be talking with the promotion.

“Monday Night RAW was a brand I couldn’t watch growing up because we had a bedtime, and it came on too late,” Ruff said. “So when I finally started watching RAW, it was a new world to me. To not being able to watch it as a kid, and now I’m going to be featured on Monday Night RAW? It was something I couldn’t believe was happening to me.”

Leon Ruff faced off against Johnny Gargano in a championship rematch during this week’s episode of NXT. Ruff won the match via disqualification after Damien Priest punched him, purposefully costing Gargano the bout.