Shane Haste Reflects On WWE Raw Appearances: I Was Used To Being A ‘Fill-In Guy’, It Was Fun

ColinTAugust 22, 2022

Shane Haste, formerly known as Shane Thorne, reflects on his time on WWE Raw.

Haste signed with WWE in 2016, and he was a full-time member of the NXT roster until he and Duke Hudson moved to Raw in March 2020. Haste made a handful of appearances on Raw and often competed on Main Event at a time when WWE was utilizing an all-hands-on-deck approach due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a new interview with Fightful, Haste looked back on his brief run on the red brand and explained that a lot of it stemmed from the way that the main roster was limited due to COVID-19 and travel restrictions. He pointed out that he and Duke Hudson weren’t being featured in NXT, so they were often used for Main Event tapings during this time period. As a result, they got seen by the right people, so they received the opportunity to work on Raw.

“A lot of it was that a lot of main roster talent and things like that couldn’t travel. So they had to use who was in Orlando, and then myself and Hudson weren’t really doing anything set in stone on NXT. So a lot of people who weren’t doing anything on NXT got used on Main Event and then you just get seen. You’re in the right place at the right time, you get seen and then they’re like, ‘Alright, we’ve seen they’re able to work on Main Event. Let’s bring them into RAW,’ because they still need the people for that, too. So it was very much right place at the right time and being an incredible wrestler,” Haste said.

He continued by noting that, at the time, talent were constantly testing positive for COVID-19, so WWE frequently had to change its plans on the fly in an effort to put together a show. He stated that, at times, he’d get a call about going to the taping just a few hours in advance. Haste also described how he was used to being a “fill-in guy”, so he focused on going out to the ring and doing his best.

“I think it was just people that were rolling with it. ‘Cause everyone was getting tested all the time, too. So people would pop for COVID and then you’d have to pull them off, this and that. So they were very much making it up as they went along and trying to put a product out there. There were sometimes I’d get a call in the morning saying, ‘Can you be here in a few hours to wrestle this person for Main Event?’ and it was like, ‘Yep, whatever.’ You get used to it. Especially in the position I was in at NXT because years before that I was just being a fill in kind of guy. I was used to it. Like I said, I’m a good wrestler—toot-toot my own horn—so it’s not too hard, and at that point as well. I was just trying to do me. I didn’t have to put too much thought into ‘What’s this gonna do for my character?’ ‘What’s this gonna do for that?’ I don’t have any storylines. I don’t have a character to hold me to do anything with. So I’m just doing whatever I want to do. I was a heel at the time, so, I’m like, ‘I’m not winning, who cares?’ I’m just gonna go out there and put on a good show,” he said.

Haste stated that he’d answer the call when WWE looked his way and made it clear that he had fun working with the group of talent around him. He recalled how they bounced ideas off of each other because they were aiming to stand out.

“Yeah. ‘Alright, cool.’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, we’ll do it, man.’ We had fun working with those guys, too. It was a lot of back and forth and bouncing off ideas, just trying to do the best thing we could at the time. We’re all just trying to get noticed,” he said.

Haste was subsequently repackaged as Slapjack, a member of Retribution, in August 2020. The group was a featured act for several months before it broke up in March 2021. Slapjack moved to SmackDown and, aside from an appearance in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in April, only competed in dark matches ahead of his release in November.

In the same interview, Haste stated that he hopes to work with Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews following their releases from NXT UK. You can check out his comments here.