Source: Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast
On episode 109 of Sam Roberts' Wrestling Podcast, independent wrestling linchpin and professional wrestling podcast pioneer Colt Cabana talked about how he did not believe he would ever make it to WWE and how former WWE world champion CM Punk's relationship with the company influenced WWE's interest in him.
During the interview, Cabana admitted that he never thought he would make it to WWE because he did not have the body type WWE wanted for its performers at the time and he was unwilling to take steroids."See, I never thought I was going to be a WWE wrestler, especially at the very beginning. Yeah, I was a fan of everything. I was obsessed with everything, but when I looked at myself, I was a chubby kid, I guess athletic, like I played Division I football, Division I-A football, but when I was in that locker room, I just saw all the other guys."
Cabana continued, "so all these other guys were just giants and they all had abs. I never had abs. They were just like real athletes. I was just kind of, I was good at football, but my body was never like what these guys looked like. I remember some of the football players taking steroids and stuff and being like, 'oh man, I don't want to have to do that!' And I've stayed true to that, thankfully. Again, I think it's self-aware, like, I am my own person, thankfully. But I just knew I wasn't a giant and that's what WWE was, it was giants."
According to Cabana, he never took steroids and he did not want to have to do it to be in WWE.
"In my head, it was like, 'I don't want to take steroids, so I guess I won't go to the WWE' essentially what it was." Cabana added, "[Mark] Jindrak and [Sean] O'Haire, I just didn't look like those guys and those were what they were looking for. I wasn't it, but I wanted to be a wrestler."
Interestingly, Cabana divulged that he started getting invited around WWE again after CM Punk's 'pipebomb' promo.
"After Punk did the 'pipebomb' thing, so I was kind of around a little bit, and so I was kind of invited back into their world a little bit. So yeah, I'd go and just hang out, and so they'd be like, 'of course, have some catering, hang out,' and I had a dark match once." Cabana said, "I'd just go back there when he'd go. I'd jump on his bus and go to Milwaukee [Wisconsin] with him."
Cabana claimed that the whole thing about his professional wrestling career has been that higher ups don't like him, but fringe employees at promotions do.
"[Punk] said my name and that stuff happened and all of a sudden, like, here's the thing about that place, and here's the thing with my career. Management hates me, everybody else on the fringe of every company, loves me."
Cabana shared that Triple H wanted him to be an announcer for NXT. 'Boom Boom' went on to say that he thinks he got released from WWE in 2009 because Kevin Dunn had him fired based on his look alone.
"They wanted me to be, I think, an NXT ring announcer, right? 2014, and I went down there. And 2013… What happened, I think, Punk's DVD came out. I think Triple H watched it, and I think he went, 'oh my God, this guy can talk, like, I didn't know that.' I was in the company for two years, but nobody tells those guys that." Cabana continued, "and I think that's how I got fired too, is Kevin Dunn, literally, is the rumors I hear, allegedly, allegedly, allegedly, a third time, saw me on TV and said, 'this guy? No! Get rid of him!' I think that's what I heard happened."
Cabana professed that he only went for a second tryout with WWE after Punk started getting "pissy" about his position in WWE.
"I did a tryout and then I did a tryout at Titan Towers and I never heard from them for eight months." Cabana added, "so eight months pass, I think, nothing happens. Punk is getting pissy about his position. And so, I think that's one of the things [he complains about], 'you guys don't do this, you don't do this, and then you call Colt and you don't even call him'. And they're like, 'oh my God! We didn't [call him],' so they call me in for another one."
Also, Cabana stated that WWE brass informed him they were no longer interested in him the day after Punk quit WWE.
"They call me back and nothing happens. And I do a second one and I think I did really well and then, eight months, nothing happened. Eight months later, they start sending me down to NXT for three weekends in a row." Cabana continued, "at that time, so what happened was, after the third week, and then, the fourth week, Punk ended up leaving. And then, the day after, I got a call saying, 'I don't think we're interested.'"
Check out the podcast here. If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit Sam Roberts' Wrestling Podcast with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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