Carlito has spoken out on his WWE exit and how he was not too shocked by the news.
At the start of June, the former Intercontinental Champion let fans know that he would be departing the company soon as his contract would not be renewed when it expired. On June 14th, Carlito provided the update that he is now a free agent and available to appear at any promotion.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio on June 16th in what was the first interview since his release, Carlito admitted that he was not exactly shocked, but would have preferred to finish up things with The Judgment Day as opposed to the storyline being suddenly dropped without explanation:
“I wasn’t too surprised or too shocked. I signed for two years, and it actually went better than I thought it would go. The only thing is, I’m a professional, you know what I mean? They could have told me and I would have, you know, ‘Ok, at least let me finish up the story for The Judgment Day, so they can keep on going.’ I think it’s a disrespect to the fans that they just dropped the storylines.”
The former United States Champion was prominently featured as part of the faction during his final months with the company. Since his exit, there has been no reference of his departure by the group or by commentary.
On the same day that Carlito announced his exit, R-Truth also let the world know that he would be departing WWE soon, sparking mass backlash online. Aware of the discourse, WWE elected to bring Truth back at Money in the Bank. Also in the interview, the former Intercontinental Champion admitted he felt worse for Truth, adding that certain stars deserve a proper sendoff:
“But, honestly, I just felt worse for Truth. I mean, if it wasn’t a work, I felt worse for Truth,” Carlito said. “There’s certain guys that I think they should have a proper sendoff. Sure, everybody’s time comes, right? You can’t keep everybody forever, but at least some deserve a proper sendoff. So I was glad to see things work out for him.”
Carlito has just finished up his second run with WWE after previously being a part of the company from 2003 to 2010. During his first stint, Vince McMahon was in charge of the promotion, whereas Triple H has been responsible for creative since his 2023 return at Backlash in Puerto Rico. Later in the interview, the former WWE star spoke about how things have changed over the years:
“I don’t mean to knock on Vince [McMahon], but, you know, he seemed to have his certain things you have to do this way and the next day it changed, whatever, you know, certain rules, just stupidity. They liked people walking around on eggshells,” he said. “Because it was the only game in town and they liked the boys knowing that, you know what I mean? I think now that with AEW being around too, it’s helped. They cant — they know they can’t bully because there’s other places for people to go. That’s added to it.
“But I think Hunter’s done a good job too of just cleaning all that crap out. Plus, it’s just a new generation, you just can’t get away with certain things you could before, you know what I mean? And I just like that a bunch of that BS is gone now. People just go there, show up, and do their work.”
What’s Next For Carlito Following WWE Exit?
Shortly before his WWE departure, Carlito competed at his family’s promotion World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and won the Puerto Rico Championship. The former Judgment Day member is expected to make more appearances in the promotion moving forward.
H/t to F4WOnline for use of transcriptions.
Featured image credit: WWE
