Taking a more extensive look back on his crowning moment, Borne noted that his mother, who watched on from among the crowd that night, was fully convinced that his title bout would result in a loss. Fortunately for her, she was wrong, and a post-match celebration unfolded.

“I remember I rolled out and go to my mother,” Borne said. “Literally the whole time, she looked at me and she said, ‘I can’t believe you. I thought you were losing.’ The moment Vanity Project comes out and cracks me with the title, she said, ‘I thought that was it.’ I’m so glad that my mother got to witness that live with a genuine reaction.”

The reality of the situation didn’t initially strike Borne in the aftermath. Once he and his family completed their congratulatory dinner, though, a wave of emotions flooded in all at once. Sitting amongst the top was pride.

“I remember I saw the belt sitting there and I said, ‘Wait a minute,'” Borne recalled. “When I was a little kid, this was my dream, to just make it into the WWE. Now I had to literally talk to myself in third person. I was like, ‘Myles, you’re not just in WWE, you are a champion. Wow. That is insane.’ The little me sitting crisscross applesauce in front of that TV going nuts, I wish I could walk into that room, see that little guy and say, ‘Hey, look at this.'”

In the months following his victory, the 26-year-old has successfully defended the NXT North American Championship against Shugars, Dion Lennox, WWE veteran Johnny Gargano, and Page, the latter of whom had cashed in a rematch. Following it, Page received his official call up to WWE’s main roster as a member of the “WWE Raw” brand. Borne remains in “NXT,” determined to continue his reign for as long as he can.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “No-Contest Wrestling” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.