WWE star and acting Monday Night Raw General Manager Baron Corbin was recently interviewed by Cultaholic’s Adam Pacitti at the WWE Performance Center. Corbin talked about people making assumptions about him due to his NFL background, why he thinks so many professional wrestling fans hate him, and a hilarious interaction he had with an older fan. Here are the highlights:
People making assumptions about him because of his NFL background:
“Yeah, you definitely come in with…a target on your back. I came from the NFL, so people didn’t like that, or they just try to make assumptions, and I think when you assume, you look stupid,” Corbin said.
“People assume, ‘He doesn’t know anything about wrestling, they’re bringing him here because he was an NFL guy, or a big guy.’ People give that misconception when you walk in, especially guys who have been doing it for 10 or 15 years, all over the world. They have a bit of jealousy or whatever it may be.
“You just got to prove them wrong. [You] got to prove why you’re here, and who you want to become. I think that prevails over everything, because I’ve made it and [I’m] finding myself to be very successful in WWE.”
Main roster stars supporting one another:
“I think everybody wants everybody to be successful. There is that competitive nature, in a sense that everybody wants to be the best, but if A.J. Styles is more successful, and Braun Strowman is more successful, that makes the company more successful,” Corbin said.
“It makes a guy like me more successful, because I step in the ring with those guys…they immediately associate you with that level.”
Why so many professional wrestling fans hate him:
“You know what? I haven’t figured it out,” answers Corbin. “Sometimes I just go, ‘Is it me? Am I really just not that likeable?’ The cool thing is, when you go out there and see a lady get mad, or a guy get mad, or they hate you because you didn’t come from the independents, or whatever, what I like to do is just pour kerosene on that fire.”
An interaction he had with an 85-year-old fan:
“He was giving me the finger and yelling at me. He was probably 85, and I’m not kidding on 85. So, of course, what do I have to do? I have to agitate him more. It got to the point where his wife, who was sitting behind him, was holding on to his overalls, because he was trying to come after me. I just like to pour kerosene on fires.”
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions
