In his first interview since his WWE contract was not renewed, Carlito shared candid details about his recent two-year run with the company, revealing that the biggest difference between this run and his first was simply “showing up to work happy.” Speaking on “Busted Open Radio” last week, the veteran star discussed creating his own role, his relationship with Triple H, and his disappointment with how his storyline ended.
When asked by Bully Ray what made this run so much more positive, Carlito contrasted the current locker room atmosphere with the past. “It was weird, showing up to work happy,” he began. “It was just, you know, just all the tension and just all the old school bullshit… people walking around on eggshells, you know, because it was the only game in town. And they like, they like the boys, knowing that… Now that, you know, with AEW being around too, it’s helped. You know, they can’t bully, because [there’s] a place for people to go… But I think Hunter has done a good job, too, of just cleaning all that crap out… it’s a new generation, you just can’t get away with certain things you can before… A bunch of that BS is gone now, and people just go there, show up and do the work.”
Despite enjoying his time, Carlito said he wasn’t shocked that his contract wasn’t renewed. “I wasn’t too surprised or too shocked, you know, I mean, I signed for two years, and it actually went better than I then I thought it would go,” he said. His main critique was the lack of a proper conclusion to his storyline with The Judgment Day. “The only thing is, I’m a professional… they could have told me, and I would have… at least let me finish out the story for the for the Judgment Day so they can keep on going,” he stated. “I think it’s a disrespect to the fans that… they somebody just dropped storylines.”
He also revealed that the comedic role he settled into with the otherwise serious faction was his own creation. “That was… all my ideas. Because I was like, I took literally, nothing… and I made something with it,” he explained. He said the writers gave him freedom after seeing his ideas work: “Every week it was great. Let me just hand me a thing and say, you know, ‘do what you do.'”
Carlito offered a frank assessment of his relationship with WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, suggesting his character was never a favorite. “I’m not getting pushed and and Hunter is not a fan of Carlito,” he claimed. “I think, personally, he likes me, but I think he never was a big fan of the character.” Carlito noted that despite knowing he wouldn’t be prioritized due to his age, his two-year run “went better than I thought it would.”
Now that his time with WWE has concluded, Carlito says he is already busy fielding offers for his next chapter. “Yeah, I still got a bunch of emails I gotta get back to. So people, you know, be patient with me,” he said. “I gotta do my own calendar again.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
