Former NXT wrestler Damon Kemp (real name Bobby Steveson) wants to wrestle “anywhere and everywhere” following the expiration of his WWE contract.
Last month, it was revealed that Kemp was departing WWE with the promotion deciding not to renew his contract. His deal is officially up today (August 12) and he’s now a free agent. Kemp is taking bookings for both matches and appearances.
“As of today I am no longer contracted with WWE,” he wrote on social media. “I want to wrestle anywhere and everywhere. For bookings/appearances contact [email protected].”
Kemp had been with WWE since joining the Performance Center in 2021. In NXT, he was a member of the No Quarter Catch Crew with Charlie Dempsey, Myles Borne, and Tavion Heights.
Before starting in pro wrestling, Kemp was an amateur wrestler at the University of Minnesota. His brother, Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, also wrestled at the school. Gable Steveson was released from his WWE contract this May and is now looking to make it in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the return of Rhea Ripley on WWE Raw, your full show report, John Cena media hype for his retirement, WWE house show notes, ratings, Dana White talks a bunch of deals that almost happened, plus more.
A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: John Cena’s retirement gets news coverage 8:08: Damon Kemp’s WWE contract not being renewed, Tyler Bate injured, WWE not running a lot of house shows this summer, NXT lineup 20:40: Ratings 27:50: Dana White’s claims on Fox News 33:22: WWE Raw report
Kemp, real name Bobby Steveson, announced Monday on X he is now a free agent.
“As of today I am no longer under contract with WWE,” he wrote. “Forever grateful for the people I met and the experiences I’ve had.”
As of today I am no longer under contract with WWE. Forever grateful for the people I met and the experiences I’ve had. For business inquiries – [email protected]
Fightful reported that Kemp’s contract was not renewed by WWE and isn’t a part of cuts.
Recently Kemp had been a member of the No Quarter Catch Crew along with Charlie Dempsey and Myles Borne. His last match was on the most recent episode of NXT when he lost to Tavion Heights. The stipulation of the match was if Kemp lost, Heights would be added to the group.
Kemp is the brother of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, who was also signed to WWE before being released in May. Gable and Kemp interacted with each other briefly in the company, with Gable being in Eddy Thorpe’s corner when he defeated Kemp in a NXT Underground match back in June of last year.
A high-level amateur wrestler from the University of Minnesota, Kemp qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2017. In 2021, he signed with WWE and was introduced in storyline as the newest member of Roderick Strong’s Diamond Mine stable. Once the stable disbanded, he embarked on a singles run before joining the No Quarter Catch Crew.
Two matches have been added to the lineup for WWE NXT this week.
Dana Brooke vs. Lyra Valkyria has been booked for the show. Brooke is coming off a loss in tag action on August 29 when she and Kelani Jordan lost to Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice. Valkyria’s last match on WWE programming was a victory in mixed tag action with Dragon Lee over Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley on August 22.
WWE has also announced a six-man tag match for Tuesday’s show. Charlie Dempsey, Drew Gulak & Damon Kemp will team together to wrestle Brooks Jensen, Josh Briggs & Myles Borne.
Last week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before Monday’s Raw. It featured the debuts of two NXT regulars in Damon Kemp and Tony D’Angelo.
Shelton Benjamin defeated Damon Kemp (5:49)
This was a good match with Kemp looking good and getting a handshake from Benjamin after the match. It was good to see how Benjamin gave most of the match to Kemp.
On his way to the ring, they gave Kemp an inset promo in which he put himself over as the new “gold standard” in WWE. Both men are University of Minnesota alumni, but Kemp claimed that it was time for Benjamin to move over.
So while Kemp has worked some 205 Live tapings, this was his first Main Event outing and, as you might expect, they did lots of mat work early on.
The turning point was when Kemp got the better of Benjamin that led to him rolling out of the ring to take a breather. When he climbed back in, Kemp went for a handshake and slapped Benjamin as he accepted it. The veteran’s facial expression at the disrespect shown was a picture.
Benjamin took a beating from there on out with very little hope. He finally rallied after kicking out of a Perfect Plex. Shelton nailed Kemp with a German suplex and a splash to the corner before hitting Paydirt for the win.
To his credit, Benjamin gave Kemp the benefit of the doubt in storyline and, in shaking his hand, showed him that he respected him after the bell.
Akira Tozawa defeated Tony D’Angelo (7:12)
A rare win for Tozawa went over well with the crowd and D’Angelo played his part perfectly in helping that happen. This was good, basic stuff but had one of the most engaged crowds for a Main Event match in recent memory.
They replayed Tozawa’s loss against Bronson Reed from last week’s show and Tozawa came out with his ribs and abdomen taped up, selling the loss. At the time, the match was far from a squash, but the replay made Redd look like a force to be reckoned with.
D’Angelo was great here in the early going. He was surly and looked at Tozawa like he was nothing. He looked huge in his white vest next to Tozawa, who flipped all over for him. Two big moves before the break looked really impressive: an inverted backbreaker and a power bomb.
After a long abdominal stretch on the other side of the commercials, the crowd rallied behind Tozawa who hit a top rope elbow for a two count. D’Angelo hit a vicious clothesline for two before they went to the finish.
They teased a top rope suplex but Tozawa fought his way out and with D’Angelo laying in position, he looked at the crowd who roared with approval. Tozawa hit the top rope senton and they counted along for the win.
Final Thoughts:
This was good stuff on the show this week. It’s always a pleasure to see some fresh faces on Main Event and both newbies did well. The key is to give them opponents who know what they’re doing and with Benjamin and Tozawa, they got more than a safe pair of hands.
Two new matches have been made for NXT Halloween Havoc on October 22.
Alba Fyre will face Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Championship. Meanwhile, Apollo Crews will face Grayson Waller in a singles match.
On Tuesday’s NXT, Fyre told Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne backstage that after she kidnapped Mandy Rose and took her on a “joyride” last week, she was eventually given a match for the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc. Later in the show, Fyre was attacked by Sonya Deville, who later reiterated backstage that she had Toxic Attraction’s back. Fyre will meet Deville in a match next week.
In a vignette that aired on Tuesday, Crews said that he has waited two months for his match against Waller, and promised that after Halloween Havoc he will be leaving Waller in the dark.
Here is the lineup for Halloween Havoc, which will air on Peacock:
NXT Championship: Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh
NXT Women’s Championship: Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre
Grayson Waller vs. Apollo Crews
Ladder match for the NXT North American Championship: Carmelo Hayes vs. Oro Mensah vs. Wes Lee vs. Von Wagner vs. Nathan Frazer
Weapons wild match: Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade
Ambulance match: Damon Kemp vs. Julius Creed – if Julius loses, Brutus Creed will have to leave NXT
Three title matches have been added to next week’s Great American Bash edition of NXT.
Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez will challenge Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacey Jayne) for the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles, while Carmelo Hayes will defend the North American title against Grayson Waller. Meanwhile, The Creed Brothers will defend the NXT Tag Team titles against fellow Diamond Mine members Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp.
Additionally, Wendy Choo will take on Tiffany Stratton, while Trick Williams will face Wes Lee.
Jade and Perez won tonight’s number one contendership match, defeating Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. The two teams confronted one another last week, leading to a brawl over who should face Toxic Attraction next.
On this week’s NXT, Grayson Waller asked Hayes if he could sign some memorabilia. Hayes agreed, but later found out that he had unwittingly signed a contract for a title defense.
Roderick Strong and The Creed Brothers confronted one another in a backstage segment on tonight’s show after dissension during a tag team match against The Dyad and Joe Gacy led to a defeat. Strong was upset and challenged The Creeds to a title match for next week.
Here is the lineup so far for next week’s Great American Bash:
WWE NXT Great American Bash, Tuesday, July 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time —
NXT Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Cameron Grimes
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship: Toxic Attraction (c) vs. Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade
NXT North American Championship: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Grayson Waller
NXT Tag Team Championship: Creed Brothers (c) vs. Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp
Find out everything that went down on the May 10 edition of WWE NXT 2.0. Denise Salcedo breaks it all down on Speak Now Pro Wrestling!
Topics include: the Women’s NXT Breakout Tournament, a new addition to the Diamond Mine, another Joe Gacy promo. a telenovela unfolds between Tony D’ Angelo and Santos Escobar, and Natalya faces Cora Jade in the main event!
Damon Kemp was introduced as the newest member of the group on tonight’s NXT 2.0 episode during a backstage segment involving Roderick Strong and The Creed Brothers.
Dissension continues to be teased between Strong and the Creeds, as Strong interfered in their match last week against The Viking Raiders, leading to a Creed Brothers win.
The Creeds informed Strong that they have a rematch against Viking Raiders on next week’s episode, and Strong responded by introducing Kemp. The Creeds said that new members were supposed to be a group decision, as the issues between the three continue brewing.
Kemp, real name Bobby Steveson, is the older brother of WWE signee and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. He made his in-ring NXT debut on the January 11 episode, losing to Cameron Grimes. Kemp has also appeared on 205 Live, NXT Level Up, and scored a win on last week’s NXT UK episode.
Kemp signed with WWE last year, and his training at the WWE Performance Center was first reported in February 2021.
Several members of the NXT 2.0 roster have been advertised for future episodes of NXT UK.
On Thursday’s edition of the show, footage was shown of Damon Kemp (Bobby Steveson), Ivy Nile, Von Wagner, and Lash Legend arriving at the BT Sport Studio in London for Wednesday’s tapings.
“Starting next week, the Americans are coming,” Nigel McGuinness said on the broadcast. “NXT Superstars Lash Legend, Ivy Nile, Damon Kemp, and the imposing Von Wagner arrived here earlier this week. I, for one, cannot wait to see what matchups NXT UK General Manager, Johnny Saint, comes up with for this fresh batch of talent.”
Von Wagner was then shown tearing up an autograph Saxon Huxley signed for a young fan, perhaps setting up an angle between the two of them.
Kemp posted a photo of himself in front of the NXT UK logo to social media on Wednesday. Legend and Nile both posted similar photos on April 15.
Jenson has decided to wrestle in blue jeans, along with a giant belt buckle and cowboy boots, just in case there was any illusion of subtlety in his character. This was a cute little match with a cute little finish.
After a chain wrestling sequence, Bodhi landed an arm drag, opening Jensen up to a handful of standing splashes. Jensen reversed momentum with an arm drag of his own before landing some strikes. Jensen locked in a choke that acted as a catalyst to Bodhi’s comeback. Bodhi landed a bunch of strikes and tackles. Bodhi was setting up for a final blow, but Jensen caught him with a knee to end the match.
Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter defeated Fallon Henley and Lash Legend
This was a pretty by-the-book tag match.
The match began with Legend throwing Catanzaro across the ring. Carter tried helping Catanzaro in overwhelming Legend, but was unsuccessful as Legend soon was in complete control.
Henley was able to maintain her team’s lead for a while, but eventually, Catanzaro got the hot tag. Legend tagged in, but was unable to stop Catanzaro’s momentum. Carter held Legend in place as Catanzaro landed a nice splash, leading to the pinfall victory.
Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs were dancing outside of the ring after the finish.
Kushida defeated Damon Kemp
I liked this quite a bit for what it was. Simple and to the point as both men pulled off a nice, focused match.
Kemp opened the match by shooting on Kushida, resulting in an early toss. Kemp didn’t follow up, allowing Kushida to start the ground game following a quick transition. Kushida paid close attention to Kemp’s arm, but eventually Kemp used his strength to regain control.
A German suplex from Kemp was followed with hesitation due to his damaged arm. Kushida was able to take the lead back quickly and maintained it by working on Kemp’s arm again. Kushida fought out of a fireman’s carry and transitioned into an armbar resulting in the submission.
Bobby is the brother of Olympic gold medalist wrestler and WWE signee Gable Steveson. Bobby formerly was an amateur wrestler at the University of Minnesota, where Gable is currently completing his senior season. It was announced in September that Gable had signed an NIL (name, image, and likeness) deal with WWE. Gable will join WWE on a full-time basis when he finishes college.
In October, Gable was drafted to Raw in the WWE Draft.
Minneapolis’ Bobby Steveson, the brother of 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, stands 6-feet tall and weighs 220 pounds. He wrestled at the University of Minnesota, the same alma mater as his brother, former World Champion Brock Lesnar and Raw Superstar Shelton Benjamin.
Solo Sikoa vs. Ru Feng and Ivy Nile vs. Fallon Henley will also air on 205 Live this Friday night. Fallon Henley is Tesha Price’s new WWE name. Price was formerly a regular on AEW Dark and had done enhancement talent work for WWE. She teamed with Erica Yan in a loss to Valentina Feroz & Yulisa Leon on 205 Live last week.
205 Live airs on Peacock/WWE Network at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Fridays.
Recent WWE Performance Center signee Bobby Steveson has gotten his new in-ring name.
Steveson confirmed today that he’ll be going by the name “Damon Kemp” in WWE/NXT. Bobby is the brother of Olympic gold medalist and fellow WWE signee Gable Steveson.
“The name is DAMON KEMP and I’ am going to smash your favorite Super Star.. coming soon,” Bobby tweeted.
WWE filed a trademark for “Damon Kemp” on November 4.
Like his brother, Bobby was an amateur wrestler at the University of Minnesota. WWE wrote about Bobby when he joined the Performance Center this August: “Minneapolis’ Bobby Steveson, the brother of 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, stands 6-feet tall and weighs 220 pounds. He wrestled at the University of Minnesota, the same alma mater as his brother, former World Champion Brock Lesnar, and Raw Superstar Shelton Benjamin.”
Bobby has yet to make his NXT debut.
Gable Steveson’s signing was announced by WWE in September. He’s finishing his senior season at the University of Minnesota before joining WWE on a full-time basis. Gable was drafted to Raw in the WWE Draft last month.
