Former NXT star says WWE banned mention of Hart Dungeon

Many fans remember Vik from his days in WWE as one half of The Ascension. But they may not know that Vik was trained in legends Hart . Family Dungeon.

Vik says there is a good reason for that. He said during his time at WWE, the company banned its performers from mentioning the Hart Dungeon on its show. He also admitted that he’s still not exactly sure why.

Vik told Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling audio file. “Like, this is one of my things, basically. Because that’s one thing in wrestling. Do you understand what I mean? That’s what I watched. Like, all the others from The Dungeon, that it’s just a given. You hear someone from Calgary and you say, ‘That person can work. That guy is going to be a good wrestler. ‘

“When I went to FCW, they just said, ‘No. We don’t let you say that anymore,” Vik continued. “And I said, ‘Hmm. Yes, thank you. ‘ And I think even [William] Regal said that once in NXT and they told him to stop talking. So I really never had a definitive answer as to why. They just told me to put it down. And so I said, ‘Fine’. I don’t have to keep trying to stuff it down your throat if you don’t want to accept what I am.”

The Hart Family Dungeon closed in 2003, just days after the death of the family patriarch Stu Hart. Vik believes he is one of The Dungeon’s last graduates who is still wrestling. He says being able to call himself someone has been very helpful in his career.

“It gave me a lot of credibility when I went somewhere,” Vik recalls. “Even when I went to England for the first time in 2005-06, somewhere around there. They don’t like having a lot of foreigners always coming and working – that’s how I was told even before I got there. Then once I started meeting the men and talking to them and even a lot of the veterans there, I never had any problems. They are all pretty cool to me.

“I felt it always went a long way until I got to FCW and then it was like, ‘Nah. What you are doesn’t matter anymore. ‘”

Vik joined WWE’s development system in 2011. He witnessed FCW’s transformation into NXT, where he became tag champion team as part of The Ascension.

WWE released Vik and his tag team partner Konnor in 2019. They are still active in the US indie scene. Also, Vik recently launched a podcast, Struggling with the struggle.