VIP EXCLUSIVE:
Outside Interference
May 22, 2010
By: Jose Marrero of Wrestleview.com
After a long extended absence it is time for some more “Outside Interference” here on the VIP section here at Wrestleview.com. For those of you who don’t remember how this goes, it’s my little contribution to you VIP subscribers whenever I have a little bit extra in me for the week. I am very pleased to say that in the coming weeks there should be more written content here in the VIP section here at Wrestleview.com and well “Outside Interference” will be leading the charge. Of course I write this literally hours after learning of the release of Carlito from WWE and well I have a lot of things to say about it, so let’s get into it.
Unlike many other people I have to tell you I have always been a fan of Carlos Colon Jr. AKA Carlito. I have been a big fan of the WWC promotion that his father the legendary Carlos Colon Sr. owns and operates and there were few people happier than me when he first arrived at WWE as I felt he had a ton of charisma and would give WWE something different from what they had at the time. Boy what a difference 7 years makes (Carlito came into OVW in 2003). I could go on and on and tell you how badly I felt Carlito was mishandled in WWE throughout the years but really when I think about it he had no one to blame but himself.
Attitude is everything when you get into the wrestling business. Sure it helps if you look good, can talk and work but your attitude can really do a lot to doom you if it’s poor. Carlito’s has been poor on more than one occasion as he hasn’t been happy with much. Fans can point to the many depushes in his career but the fact of the matter is he has been given opportunity after opportunity and well it is this columnists opinion that he has no one to blame but himself. He came into the company with a monster push beating John Cena for the US title his first night in the WWE and had to drop the title prematurely when he hurt his shoulder. Why did he hurt his shoulder? Well it has been well documented that this was due to his steroid use at the time. While it can be argued that maybe this wasn’t his fault as steroid use was a bit more common in WWE with no wellness policy at the time, I will say that he shouldn’t have been using steroids in the first place and what helped him gain his look bought him down immediately after thus bringing an end to his first push in WWE.
From there on out it has been a string of successes followed by disappointments all usually bought by Carlito’s own attitude. Carlito is the only wrestler to win titles his first night on either show as he has won the above mentioned US title his first night on Smackdown and did win the Intercontinental title his first night on Raw when he was drafted to that show. He was given a chance to main event as he was included in the heavily pushed Raw vs. Smackdown Survivor Series match up in 2005 and was one of the six men included in the 2006 Elimination Chamber match with him being the last one eliminated in the match. He was involved in storyline angles with Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson and the Bella Twins as love interests and had feuds with John Cena, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton, the latter of which was Orton’s last feud before his Wrestlemania 22 program and while it is forgotten he came out on the winning end of that program. Of course his last accomplishment of note was his and brother Primo’s victory over The Miz and John Morrison for the first WWE Unified Championship at Wrestlemania 25 last year a match I am proud to say I attended. I could keep going but I think this proves that WWE tried on more than one occasion to give Carlito a chance to shine.
I really can’t say what happened; maybe being the son of a wrestler/promoter spoils a guy. Not everyone can go from being a big fish in a small pond to the environment of the WWE but I think I am not the only person to state that Carlito’s in ring work became lackluster at times and his public comments showed his boredom and dissatisfaction in WWE. One of those comments was a cheap shot on HHH. I say it was a cheap shot because as much as wrestlers pick on HHH, Carlito taking shots at him for being the son in law of the boss was sort of the pot calling the kettle black. I mean for years Carlito was pushed to the moon in his father’s promotion (and when he returns as I imagine he will, he will be pushed again) and well it should be stated there were plenty of talented wrestlers in WWC at the time who allowed the then green Carlito to pin their shoulders to the mat and accumulate power simply because of who he was. Many fans will call his comments on HHH justified and I will call them sour grapes, the whining of a talented wrestler who for the first time in his career didn’t get what he wanted. He threatened to go to TNA when his contract was up but (and I want to state the following here is my personal opinion only) wound up returning to WWE when he realized that his future in that company didn’t just affect him but his brothers future in the company and his father’s future working relationship with WWE. Plus I like to think that he realized that TNA wasn’t going to make him anymore of a name than WWE had.
Now we have his release and all we know as of this time is that he did indeed fail the wellness policy and refuse to go to rehab. I think we can rule out steroid use by the fact that a refusal to go to rehab was involved but I will not speculate as to what drug(s) he may have been on that he refused to get treatment for. I will state that I don’t believe Carlito is addicted to anything as much as I believe he just wanted a way out and for what? All he has to look forward to is being the big fish in the small pond that is WWC as I am sure the fans there are salivating for the five star classic that will be Carlito vs WWC Champion Scott Steiner (for the uninitiated that is sarcasm). For those of you that think he will eventually show up in TNA I really doubt that will happen. What would it say for TNA to sign a wrestler who is only out on the market because WWE released him in a public fashion by saying that he has a drug problem? I mean I suppose Carlito can put a spin on it and say it was something along the line of sleeping pills which got him fired but at the end of the day all the public will see is a drug user who WWE tried to help and left in defiance of them, not exactly a great PR move.
Before I put this one to bed I want to again state that I am a tremendous fan of Carlito, I am just a bit disappointed in him as I never really gave up on him. The great thing about wrestling and well life for that matter is that it is indeed full of second chances for redemption. Here is hoping that Carlito in time realizes his potential and does come back one day and show me and everyone else the star that I always felt he could be.
On that note it’s time to wrap this one up. It feels good to be back here at the helm of “Outside Inteference” I am hoping to bring you more of these as time goes on and of course I could always use your feedback on what you would like to hear about. You can of course do that by hitting me up at wrestlingrumblings@hotmail.com and well that’s it for this installment, next time I will try to do better, and until then, I am out.