The past few months have been quite a dramatic change for Bishop Dyer.
For years, performing under the name Baron Corbin, Dyer was on the road and wrestling every single week for WWE. He gained a reputation in NXT, then became a household name on the main roster, and then later came back to NXT for a tag title run alongside Bron Breakker.
But everything changed in November when it was announced that he had parted ways with the WWE.
Going from having a hectic and busy lifestyle to one completely dictated by his own scheduling was a big change for Dyer, as he recently explained during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“That steady paycheck, the consistency of travelling and working and working out and having a goal in front of you” are all things that were always there when working in WWE, he said.
He remembered the mindset back then: “‘I need to be in shape for this, I need to work hard so that I’m moving in the right direction to continue to put myself on top in the WWE.'”
But now that his wrestling career isn’t as intense – having worked three matches since January – Dyer admitted that he has to keep himself busy so as to not slow down as a person. He explained Wednesday that practicing jiu-jitsu has helped him with that.
“The motivation can be a little bit harder some days when I’m like, ‘Ah, I don’t have anything for a month. Do I want to coast and eat junk food for a few days? Do I want to go get my workout in?’ … So jiu-jitsu has kind of filled that void of giving me constant goals. We have a really tough list of black belts at our gym. So when you go there, especially on tournament nights or sparring nights, you’re going in there, and you better be in shape and ready to go.”
The changes have not just been how often Dyer wrestles, but the conditions of his performances as well. After years of working in the high-budget, TV-ready atmosphere of WWE, he says that recent changes have been noticeable when appearing for independent bookings.
While Dyer says it wasn’t a “humble-pie” moment for him, he does believe such moments gave him perspective.
“On the corner, I went to get a bottle of water,” Dyer said, recounting the night before he appeared at The People vs. GCW at Hammerstein Ballroom. “Those are little things you go like, ‘Oh man, I’m doing an independent show, I forgot to bring water.’ Whereas, WWE, you have catering, you have first-class travel, you have all these things that are kind of taken care of for you. You pull up to the building and there’s security, you drive in through there and you park your car, and there’s usually valet. And now it’s like ‘Uh, I don’t even know what door to go in?’ I was getting a bottle of water and staring at MSG going, ‘I’ve main evented MSG right there across the street, and now I’m in this backroad here at Hammerstein.’ But again, Hammerstein is an iconic arena, rock bands have played there, and the GCW crowds were amazing.”
When Dyer worked the GCW show in January, he went by his legal name, Tom Pestock. He officially debuted the “Nomad” Bishop Dyer persona earlier this month when he worked a doubleheader of Maple Leaf Pro events in Ontario.
Dyer explained that his “Nomad” character is meant to show his current outlook in life: He can go around the world and tackle whatever goals he wants, whether it be pro wrestling, grappling, acting, or anything else.
“I didn’t feel like Tom Pestock was the greatest fight name,” he said. “It didn’t have an umph to it like I wanted. So that’s why we went with the new name. And “Nomad,” because now, as we talked, I’m not under contract, I can go wherever. Pick and choose where I want to go. As a nomad would, I’m just kind of floating, going all over. I’d love to get like, four different championships to travel the world with … Having the ability to go where I please when I want is awesome.”
