The Challenge's Mark Long Teases WWE NXT Run

"NXT" may soon be getting a new crossover star.

In an exclusive interview with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman, reality television star Mark Long teased a possible "NXT" run in the near future. 

"I was always a wrestling fan," Long told Wrestling Inc. "And now that I live in Orlando, the [Performance Center] is right here. The head writer of 'NXT,' Johnny [Russo], is like, 'Whenever you want to come up, we'll do something.' So, I'm just trying to pace it and time it perfectly around something. And you will see me doing something for them in 2023."

Long, who earned notoriety over the last three decades with appearances on reality competition shows like MTV's "Real World vs. Road Rules," "The Challenge," and "Battle of the Sexes," will take on Noah Kekoa (formerly known as Kona Reeves in WWE) November 6 in Boca Raton Championship Wrestling.

Long recently appeared in a backstage segment on "NXT" with Grayson Waller ahead of Halloween Havoc and told Wrestling Inc., "I think it's time for me to finally dip my toe in the WWE world."

"I can't see myself not doing something for them in 2023, especially if we can couple that around the premiere of one of my shows," he said, adding that he met Shawn Michaels while backstage at the recent "NXT" taping and that he looks the part physically at 6-foot-3 and 235-pounds.

"It just makes too much sense."

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