- The Chicago Reader spoke with Colt Cabana and CM Punk this past week about Cabana’s release from WWE and more. Here are some quotes:
Colt Cabana on his time with WWE and his departure:
“I was just another guy in their system. It was a very negative vibe. You start doubting everything about yourself as a wrestler. All the confidence you ever had gets beaten out of you. I was investing in my future. I said, ‘I’m going to take the hit on money here because I know I’m doing the right thing. In four years, I’m going to be on global television. I’m going to be a big star. I don’t look like [WWE star] John Cena. I don’t have these giant muscles. But I do have a natural charisma. Wrestling needs to be different, and I have a way different style than all these guys. I wasn’t given a chance to shine like that. So next thing you know, I get four matches, I lose all of them, I get thrown out of battle royals, and I get fired.”
“Those first few months were depressing. I grew up watching the WWF; it’s all I wanted to do. They told me that I wasn’t good enough. Me knowing that that was a lie—that I just didn’t get the right opportunity—was fucking heartbreaking. I had to move back with my parents. It was awful.”
CM Punk on Colt’s time with WWE:
“At times, I think the people who love wrestling are punished. He’s a guy that would and could do anything. For anybody to say, ‘We have nothing for you’ to him is laughable. I speak my mind. Our system is broken, and the proof is letting a talent of Colt’s caliber slip through the cracks.”
CM Punk on mentioning Colt on WWE TV:
“Having the platform to say things on live television would be a total waste if I wasn’t trying to help my friends. It’d be one thing if he sucked, but he’s a goldmine. I believe everybody needs to witness his brilliance.”
Colt on going back to WWE:
“My goal is to go back to WWE. I’d like to be successful and get a real opportunity. But the reason I’m doing podcasts and comedy and trying everything out is that I just can’t wait for them to say, ‘Hey Colt, we like you now’—which a lot of wrestlers do. They wrestle, but they’re not making moves; they’re just hoping they’ll be picked. I can’t afford to do that.”
Punk on being proud of Cabana:
“I’m extremely proud of him. Fired on a Friday, booked on Saturday. He hustles like nobody else I know. I honestly can’t say I’d have the stomach for it after making it to the WWE. However, it boils down to his love of wrestling. It’s his art. It’s his livelihood. He’s proven to be a talent that can transcend wrestling.”
Colt Cabana on his time with WWE and his departure:
“I was just another guy in their system. It was a very negative vibe. You start doubting everything about yourself as a wrestler. All the confidence you ever had gets beaten out of you. I was investing in my future. I said, ‘I’m going to take the hit on money here because I know I’m doing the right thing. In four years, I’m going to be on global television. I’m going to be a big star. I don’t look like [WWE star] John Cena. I don’t have these giant muscles. But I do have a natural charisma. Wrestling needs to be different, and I have a way different style than all these guys. I wasn’t given a chance to shine like that. So next thing you know, I get four matches, I lose all of them, I get thrown out of battle royals, and I get fired.”
“Those first few months were depressing. I grew up watching the WWF; it’s all I wanted to do. They told me that I wasn’t good enough. Me knowing that that was a lie—that I just didn’t get the right opportunity—was fucking heartbreaking. I had to move back with my parents. It was awful.”
CM Punk on Colt’s time with WWE:
“At times, I think the people who love wrestling are punished. He’s a guy that would and could do anything. For anybody to say, ‘We have nothing for you’ to him is laughable. I speak my mind. Our system is broken, and the proof is letting a talent of Colt’s caliber slip through the cracks.”
CM Punk on mentioning Colt on WWE TV:
“Having the platform to say things on live television would be a total waste if I wasn’t trying to help my friends. It’d be one thing if he sucked, but he’s a goldmine. I believe everybody needs to witness his brilliance.”
Colt on going back to WWE:
“My goal is to go back to WWE. I’d like to be successful and get a real opportunity. But the reason I’m doing podcasts and comedy and trying everything out is that I just can’t wait for them to say, ‘Hey Colt, we like you now’—which a lot of wrestlers do. They wrestle, but they’re not making moves; they’re just hoping they’ll be picked. I can’t afford to do that.”
Punk on being proud of Cabana:
“I’m extremely proud of him. Fired on a Friday, booked on Saturday. He hustles like nobody else I know. I honestly can’t say I’d have the stomach for it after making it to the WWE. However, it boils down to his love of wrestling. It’s his art. It’s his livelihood. He’s proven to be a talent that can transcend wrestling.”