Mikey Nicholls Explains Why It Was Nerve-Racking To Come To NJPW After Leaving WWE

Mikey Nicholls took a chance on himself.

NJPW talent Mikey Nicholls was once known as “Nick Miller” of the NXT tandem “TM-61” along with Shane Thorne. Miller and Thorne who teamed together for a great portion of their careers were able to make it to the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in NXT but shortly after that milestone, Thorne went down with a knee injury and had to undergo surgery. When Thorne returned, the two then moved away from their babyface personas and transitioned into heel roles. It was in December of 2018 that a report came by way of Pro Wrestling Sheet that Miller was released from his contract and he requested that release to spend time with his family in Australia after the birth of his newborn child.

Just two months after he was released, Miller reemerged on the wrestling scene as “Mikey Nicholls” and was announced for the New Japan Cup. Fast forward to present day and Nicholls is scheduled to team with Juice Robinson at NJPW’s Southern Showdown show in Melbourne to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. Nicholls spoke with NJPW1972.com for an exclusive interview and shared that it was nerve-racking to come into a new environment after being in WWE for the past three years of his career in a tag team.

“It was nerve racking,” Nicholls admits. “A big change of environment, but that nervous energy was good. I think wrestling in singles matches is a bit like riding a bike. You don’t really forget how to do it. It’s just a matter of taking a couple of hits to knock sense into you and make you remember that you can do it. I think having high profile singles matches back to back right away made me produce, made me get better in order to keep up.” Nicholls said. “A great connection [with Juice Robinson], and it’s getting better every time we team. Maybe next year’s G1 Climax is a good long term goal, but in the short term I want to make a mark any way I can. I like to think I’m a good tag partner, but I’m definitely good at choosing partners too. We have a lot in common, and we can definitely do a lot together.”

For the full lineups for both Southern Showdown events on June 29th and June 30th, check out Fightful’s published article about the topic.