Talos tells his story.
For just over a year, Jack Talos (Zechariah Smith) was signed with WWE. He officially joined the company in January of 2020 but was released the summer of 2021.
His journey to WWE and his exit were covered during his conversation with Bryan Asbury of Developmentally Speaking. Before his venture into WWE, Talos was with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. There was one game that they played in Georgia and A.J. Styles brought his children to it.
The Floor Manager for the Globetrotters previously worked at WWE and he was able to provide Styles’ family with tickets. It was there that Styles noticed Talos and they had a conversation. Several months later, Talos was contacted about a tryout.
So, we were in Georgia doing a show and my… we’ll call him our Floor Manager for the Harlem Globetrotters. Alex Bright, shout out Alex. Always gotta give a nice shout out. He worked for the WWE for a number of years. We were there doing a show. A.J. Styles decided to bring his kids to a show, Alex got him tickets. We go through the show, the show is, you know, a lot of basketball, a lot of sports entertainment but it’s also a lot of me on the mic talking… And A.J. saw me do the performance and he came up, thanks Alex for the show and you know, he’s like, ‘Hey man, thanks for everything and by the way, about that big guy, what’s he doing? Does he like wrestling? Is that something he’s into?’ And Alex kind of explained to him what I was in the process of doing because me and Alex have talked about it obviously. If you worked at the WWE, I wanna talk to you. He said, ‘Okay. Well hey man, I really wanna meet him. I might even get him a tryout.’ So, never forget it man. I’m in the shower, I got soap in my eyes. All of a sudden, one of our teammates runs in my shower, he’s like, ‘Zech, Zech, get up! Get out here! A.J. Styles wants to meet you.’ So I’m like, ‘Yeah man, whatever. Anyways, I got soap in my eyes. I’m not here for the game. Go on.’ ‘No, no, seriously man, A.J. Styles, outside, he wants to meet you right now.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, alright. I’m gonna whoop your ass if you’re lying to me.’ Sure enough, I go out there and there’s A.J. with his two boys and we sat and we talked and he just kind of asked is this something I’d be interested in. I said, ‘Absolutely.’ About three months later, maybe two months later, Canyon Ceman, who used to work over there gives me a call and I come in, I do one private tryout where it’s just me and a group of guys that are already there. We do that for a week and then they said, ‘Hey, we really like you but we’re probably gonna bring you back for a group tryout’ and I think when I say that, everyone thinks it’s like the big, giant, 100-person tryouts. No, no, no, no. This was like seven guys, all of them All-American wrestlers. It’s so weird for me, because I was 28 at the time but I just never expected to be the oldest guy in the room at that moment. I’m the only non-actual collegiate (wrestler) there. I’m the only basketball player…
He first received an offer from WWE in the summer of 2019, but could not take it as his contract with the Harlem Globetrotters ran into late 2019. He would end up joining WWE in January 2020.
They (WWE) offered me the summer of 2019 going into the fall. I unfortunately was still under contract at that time with the Harlem Globetrotters and that contract wasn’t up until November and so I came in that January of 2020.
As the conversation moved along, Talos mentioned that there was a masked character he was trying to get off the ground.
He did not want to name names, but said there was one person who mattered in the grand scheme of things that was not on board with the character. So he had to find something else.
But as far as using that (masked) character and utilizing him, no, no. That was never really — like I said, all my producers liked that character, and I will not name names even though some of those people aren’t with the company anymore. But, it was told to me basically, when the time came, right before I got released… ‘Everyone loves this character but there’s one specific individual who does not love this character and he’s really the only one that matters so, you should get a different character.’ We kind of worked on this one for like four or five months but whatever. These things happen.
A year-and-a-half into his run, Talos was let go. He did not see it coming. The only inkling he had derived from the conversation about his character and having to switch that up.
All in all, Talos had a ‘stellar’ experience at WWE. He would take the opportunity to return if the offer was presented, but said he’s happy working with the National Wrestling Alliance.
You could not have told me it was coming (WWE release). You could not have convinced me it was coming. Again, I won’t go into details because there are some things in my life I like to keep more private. But, I will say that every indication that I was given, every sign that I was given, we were in a good place and everything was fine. The only indication I had that something was maybe a little amidst was that conversation I had about two weeks before I got dismissed. As far as the reasonings I was given, well, shout out John Laurinaitis. Freakin’ budget cuts kids. Budget cuts. So, other than that, that’s all I got but you know what? Again, I always wanna make this clear as I say these things because as an athlete, you get to a point where closure’s a good thing or at least what you need to know what you need to go work on. So that’s always a little upsetting for someone to just say, ‘Hey, we’re sorry it didn’t work out. It was money’ but it really wasn’t money and they’re not gonna give you a reason. Well now, I don’t have anything to go work on to get better at. You kind of put me in a position to where I don’t know what I can improve on. Especially when you’re in a situation where everyone is telling you you’re doing great, you’re doing fine, everything’s good. So, again, I always wanna make this clear. I am not resentful. WWE taught me a whole new skill, gave me an amazing opportunity, kept me employed throughout the pandemic. My experience with them was nothing but stellar. So, just that little closing segment… Businesses get run, people get fired every day. That’s just the nature of the world.
Yeah, yeah (I’d go back to WWE if the offer was on the table) … For me, a lot of my friends exist in WWE, especially my wrestling friends… I have a plethora of friends on the independents that I love and they’re a great time. In NWA, I’m very loyal, very good with them right now. I love where I work, it’s a great locker room and as far as up-and-coming promotions go — I say up-and-coming — they’re the oldest on the planet but, as far as one with the winds at their back. I think NWA is one of the ones that really do have a strong wind at their back. Regardless of what some people say. I know we’ve been in controversy, here and there, but Jesus Christ. So does all of them. If we’re gonna get bent out of shape over something, we can take our pick (he laughed).
Talos and Daisy Kill had a 68-day reign as NWA United States Tag Team Champions. Those titles were brought back in 2022 and come June 2024, the organization will be reviving the Mid-America Championship.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Developmentally Speaking with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
