WWE NIL Athlete Ruben Banks On Recruitment Process, WWE's Expectations, Advice From Triple H, Changing His Name & More! - Exclusive

Ruben Banks is a track and field athlete who competes in throws for the University of Alabama and is currently a signed to WWE's NIL program. Originally hailing from  Reading in the UK, he transferred from the University of Arkansas, where he broke the school record in throws as a freshman in 2021. His impressive performances out on the field eventually caught the attention of WWE and earlier this summer the gentle 6'4" giant was officially signed to a WWE NIL contract.

When the program launched in December 2021, WWE started with 15 NIL athletes from 13 universities. While WWE states that the program's athletes are "Next In Line," in reality the NIL acronym more broadly stands for "Name, Image and Likeness." In July 2021 the NCAA officially made it legal for collegiate athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness for the purposes of marketing or other promotional endeavors. So, while Banks may already be next in line for a big WWE try-out, he has already begun making money with the biggest pro wrestling company in the world.

In this exclusive interview, Banks talked with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman about how he was recruited into WWE's NIL program, what WWE's expectations of him are and how he hopefully sees his pro wrestling career playing out. 

Nick Hausman: First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me, Ruben. Very excited to hear more about you, your story in the NIL program. But first of all, I was reading your bio, you seem to have moved around a bit in your life.

Ruben Banks: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've lived a lot of places.

You want to run people through a bit about your background? I think it's interesting how many places you've been.

Yeah. Okay. So I was born in West London, Westminster. And then I moved to Binfield, that's kind of on the outskirts, in between London and Reading. So I spent the primary part of my childhood there. Then I moved to Australia for 18 months, lived in Sydney, Parramatta area, and I went to school there for a little bit. And then for my dad's work we moved back, and I spent another two years in England, or three, went to school. Then I had the opportunity to go to IMG Academy in Florida, to throw the hammer with Kibwe Johnson. And then I went to Arkansas for two years, did my first years of school there. And now I've transferred to the University of Alabama.

Man. Did you like getting to move around like that, or was that hard on you?

Okay. The first move to Australia was pretty hard on me, finding school, finding new friends, all that stuff was hard. But then when I moved back, got back in the swing of things, went to IMG, I was like, "I've done this before, I know how it goes, like finding new friends, finding my way around places."

And then from IMG to Arkansas was a really easy transition, just with it being a college prep program. And I was kind of used to having to find new friends, having people go in and out each year, because it was a boarding school, so it wasn't too bad.

Then this last move to Alabama's been the easiest move by far. I know what I'm doing, I know what to do, already know how to get to class, how to get to practice, meeting new people. I'm already pretty good at it.

I enjoy moving around. I like living a lot of places. It's fun.

Nice. Now it sounds like a good skill to have in professional wrestling, because wrestlers move around a lot, and you're always having to meet different people. Do you agree with that?

Definitely, definitely. I guess it's a lot of on the road stuff, from what I've seen on interviews, and documentaries and stuff. With traveling for track, I imagine it's pretty similar, flight to flight, bus to bus, going all around the place, hotel trips, all that stuff. So I think I'm pretty used to that. I mean, I'm not used to the wrestling part, for sure, but I think the traveling around, and on the road lifestyle, I'm pretty used to, just going into competitions and all those things.

Well, before we get into some of the WWE stuff I know a lot of other people have interest in, obviously there's a reason WWE wanted you, and that's because you're very, very good at track and field. But you said throw the hammer. Talk about your specialty here at track and field, and some of the accomplishments that you've had.

Okay. I'm a hammer thrower. If you don't know what that is, you imagine a shot put on a wire and a handle, and you spin around really fast, and you release it. I got into that by ... Well, firstly, I tried it back in the UK with my track coach Dennis Daley at Windsor Slough Eton Hounslow. And then got the opportunity to move to IMG for the shot put.

I've got these long arms, I have a 6'10" wingspan. So Kibwe Johnson at IMG Academy looked at me and he was like, "Yeah, you're good at the shot put, but you ever tried the hammer?" And I was like, "Yeah, I didn't really like it that much." And then we tried it for a month and I was like, "Wait, this is what I want to do." So I've been doing it ever since.

I enjoy it. I love the training for it. It's a lot of heavy lifting. We throw a lot. I throw every day here pretty much, apart from Sundays. It's fun.

It's fun. I wouldn't do anything else. In track and field, I wouldn't do anything else. I'm not good at the discus, so I definitely couldn't do that. It's either hammer or shot put for me.

Dude, 6'10" wingspan?

Yeah.

That's a very wide wingspan that you have. That's going to be a very big choke slam, I would assume, when you deliver them.

Yeah, I bet. It'd be up there with the Undertaker's chokeslam in height, I guess. I'm not seven foot tall, or 6'11", or whatever he is.

I don't know. If you turn sideways like this, you're pretty close.

Yeah.

Let's talk a little bit about WWE. So I went to the team and I was like, we haven't talked to any of the NIL athletes yet. You're really our first we've had on the site. So there is some interest here, we don't know too much. So first of all, how do you even find out, get approached, about the NIL program with WWE?

Firstly, it started with the first inaugural [WWE NIL] class that came out. So I noticed Isaac, I forget his last name, he was here at the University of Alabama before I got here. I noticed they selected him, and I was like, "Oh, that's interesting. I never really thought about going from track to wrestling." I was like, "Oh, but it kind of makes sense, with the size, and the power, and the athleticism, trying to carry that over."

So one day in the study hall, it was a Tuesday morning at 7:30, I was sitting there with my other teammate, Ben Ryer, he's at University of Oklahoma now, and I was like, "I might just send in that recruiting form. I might." And he's just like, "You think they'll select you?" I was like, "If they don't, nothing wrong with that. Let's just see what happens."

So I sent in the form. I didn't hear much for a couple weeks. And then I got a call from one of the agents there, and he talked me through the process, and what it was all about. So the whole goal in mind is, once I've graduated from college, and I have that degree in hand, I'll move over to Orlando, Florida and start my training.

So WWE is encouraging you to finish your schooling before coming over and beginning training? Just to make that clear.

Definitely, definitely. They're very big on, myself, I can't speak for other people, finishing your degree, getting the credentials you wanted. And then once you're done with that, go ahead and move over.

So what was your pro wrestling fandom prior to applying to be a recruit to be a WWE superstar?

I'll be honest, in my later, from age 12 and onwards, until recently, I stopped watching, because most kids, they feel like they grow out of it. But growing up, big WWE family. My mom hated it, but everyone else loved it.

I remember my favorite wrestler growing up when I was really young was Booker T. I love Booker T. I remember I loved Batista. I love watching Batista wrestle, Batista bomb and all that stuff. Goldberg, all those characters. Let me think, who else? My twin brother, I have a twin brother, he plays in Connecticut, he plays basketball.

I read that. You guys always messing with people? You got any good twin magic stories?

Nah, we haven't done that, because we're not identical, we're fraternal. I look more like my older brother than my twin brother.

Fair enough.

My twin brother, he always like Kane. I was more a Batista and Booker T guy. I remember when we were young, my mom got super mad at this, we pulled out all the clothes from our closet, and we built ourselves a ring. We stacked clothes up to make the four corners. We didn't have any ropes, obviously.

We built ourselves a ring, and me and my two other brothers, we wrestled. And we were choke slamming each other, body slamming each other. I know WWE doesn't want to hear that. Don't try it at home. But we were definitely trying it at home. We were body slamming each other. Even my little sister, it's kind of messed up, I'll give her an attitude adjustment, I'll just throw her over my shoulder.

So a lot of wrestling growing up. Obviously, I got out of it when I was a little bit older. But ever since the NIL thing came back around, I've been paying attention. Even reminiscing through all the old WrestleMania tapes. There's this one video on YouTube, it's the Undertakers entrances from his first WrestleMania and onwards, I just watch that back and forth. I love his entrance, to how he does things, his whole character around him.

Yeah, man. Well, entrance is part of the match, right?

Yeah.

Good tape study.

You bring up how you stopped watching, like a lot of people do in high school and stuff like that. But that was, not derogatory, that was Vince McMahon era. This is a brand new era you're coming into here with WWE, right?

Right. Triple H is head of creative now, so things are kind of moving in a different direction. It's been interesting to see so far.

Yeah. How does it feel to be, like you're the freshest of fresh talent. You're not even talent, you're a thought of a talent, right?

Right.

But to be in that pipeline there, and knowing that this is a whole new terrain, how exciting, daunting, how does that affect you, knowing that the business is so different right now?

I'll say daunting, for one, because this is definitely a new world for me. To be honest, I never really thought about wrestling as a career until quite recently, when this NIL program launched. So it is quite daunting just seeing different fan bases, and relearning all the things I had forgotten over the years.

But it's definitely exciting, man, seeing where it's going. Seeing a lot of the other people in my recruiting class, and the recruiting class before me, like Zachary, the wrestle from Hofstra, he's just huge. And I've talked to AJ Ferrari as well, he's in the first class.

It's exciting, man. I'm very excited for it. I'm more excited to see Isaac from Alabama have his debut, at whatever point that's at. It's going to be exciting, man. I'm happy.

And that was going to be one of my questions was, who have you had a chance to talk to yet? Did you meet Triple H when you were getting recruited? Who have you spoken with?

Yeah, so I met Triple H. I didn't meet him as I was getting recruited. I spoke to some of the talent development, so Christian Hosner ... I forget, there's an Australian guy, I forgot his name. I'm sorry about that. But talking to them, learning about things again.

And then I met Triple H at the College Football Hall of Fame, for our announcement. Very cool conversation. It was childhood Ruben, adult Ruben collided with Triple H. And I was like, "Dude, I've been ..."

I wanted to just have a conversation with him, because hopefully one day he will be my boss, and try and have a great first impression. And the first thing I said to him, I was like, "I can't believe it's real, you're here." He's like, "Yeah."

I asked him questions about the business. What's it like? What's your favorite parts? What's your least favorite parts? And he kept it very real and honest with me. And I told him, "Man, I've been watching you since I was five years old." Meeting him, I have a really cool picture on my phone, I'll pull it up for you later. It was a very cool conversation, meeting with him and talking with him.

When you're talking to Triple H, obviously this is a very formative moment for you, right? Did you get a piece of advice, or anything from him that stuck out to you as you move forward on this path?

Well, there's one thing he said to me that I thought was quite amazing. It was like, it is not as much about the wrestling, it's about the people you're doing it for. And he spoke about the Make a Wish Foundation, and all the things he'd done it for. And he's like, "That's the most moving part about the job. That's really what's going to motivate you, is bringing smiles to people's faces, making someone's day, making someone's year, doing that for somebody." He said that was the biggest part for him.

And I was like, "Oh, I never really thought about that." I was just thinking about the wrestling and everything that goes alongside about that. And I was like, "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I got to reconsider and see what I could do." And I'm like, "Yeah, I want to make an impact on somebody's life."

And that's a big weight to take on. How do you feel about possibly becoming somebody's childhood hero or something like that? How does that feel?

Ruben Banks: It would be cool, man. It would be amazing. I don't know. Growing up, I was a little more heavy set, and I remember seeing these wrestlers, they're just huge, buff, swoll dudes running around this ring. And I was like, "When I grow up, I want to have big muscles like that." To be able to have that impact on a small kid like that, it would mean a lot to me.

As an NIL athlete here for WWE, what are the expectations? What is expected of you throughout the year as an NIL athlete?

I'll be honest, it's not too much. They're pretty laid back, they're not putting too much on us. Represent the brand, so be careful with posting on social media and all that type of stuff. When we post, to use their tag. If we have an opportunity to talk about it on Instagram, talk about it.

And the biggest thing is to stay in shape and staying looking good. A lot of us were recruited just on our appearances, and that we had the potential to be a star like that. So that's the big thing, is just staying in shape, and stay looking good, as we all do. Because the whole class, everyone is huge.

I was the second biggest ... Was I the second biggest? Probably in height, I was the tallest, but there were some big dudes in my class. When they recruited me, I was like 6'4", 285. Right now, I'm like 6'4", 270. There was Zachary of Hofstra, he's like 6'2", 280. There was Colton, the wrestler from Arizona State, he's like 6'1", 290. Just huge guys, man.

So you're 6'4", with a 6'10" wingspan? That's like Michael Phelps.

Yeah. I'm lanky, very lanky. If you look at my videos, I just got long arms. And my shoulders, they come out real far. That's what helps me throw far in the hammer. Very lanky. My older brother, he's a basketball player. He's like 6'6", 6'7", super lanky. It runs in the family.

Put those limbs to use, man. You're going to find a way to use them here. Let's look a little down the further pipe here, as we start to wrap this up here. First of all, when you go to WWE, or whenever, let's say you get in here, tryout goes very, very well after you graduate, most people get new ring names when they come to WWE. Have you been thinking about what you would like to be called as a professional wrestler? Do you have a ring name in mind yet, or no?

Yes and no, because I remember when this first started coming around, I was thinking of a character, thinking of an idea, just in my bed, late at night, just thinking. And I was just like, if I come into this, I want to come in as Ruben Banks. I think I want to carry my name forward, and play myself basically. Maybe we could shift the storyline a little bit and do that, but I think I want to come in myself as an athlete.

Yeah. Hey, not a bad pitch, right? And Hunter seems to those purebred athletes.

Right.

What's the bucket list stuff for you and WWE? When you think about what you want to do, are there a couple things that you have in mind?

WrestleMania, definitely want to be in WrestleMania card one day. I think being in a Royal Rumble would be really cool. That would be awesome. I remember I loved watching those growing up. I know they don't do it too often anymore, but a table, ladders, and chairs match. It sounds so brutal, but I just want to see what happens.

You're down to do that stuff? You want to fall off ladders, and go through tables and all that craziness? You want that stuff?

Yeah. I'm an adrenaline junkie. I'm a hammer thrower, you see us spinning around. I love roller coasters, I love things like that. Yeah, it's going to hurt. I played rugby growing up. It's definitely going to hurt and stuff, but I'm all for the adrenaline.

I see you doing the Claudio Castagnoli big swing in a circle, and then the guy flies 20 feet forward, or something like that.

I thought about this. I think it'd be a really cool crossover if I just picked the dude up by the legs, and just spun around, and just threw him out the ring. I think that would be so cool. I think that will connect the world of track and field and wrestling like that.

If you could do it, man, more power to you. Ruben, I want to thank you so much, man. This is a great conversation. We're all very excited for you here at Wrestling Inc.

You can support Banks directly by visiting his brand new store, which has over 90 items, here.