Carlito (Carlos Colon Jr.) is a professional wrestler known for his time in WWE. He joins Chris Van Vliet for an interview and Q&A in front of a live audience at the Independent Wrestling Expo in Fort Worth, TX. Carlito talks about growing up with his famous father, Carlos Colon Sr., how he got started in wrestling, getting signed to WWE and wrestling for Ohio Valley Wrestling, winning the US Title in his debut match against John Cena, why he thinks the apple spitting gimmick came from Razor Ramon, returning at the 2021 Royal Rumble and much more!
On how long he knew about the Royal Rumble match:
“I would say about a month out. I was just doing what I had been doing before. No one had really seen me but I have looked like that for years now. But yeah when you are off TV, everyone thinks that you have died or something.”
On just working the match:
“Yeah pretty much. That’s what I thought. I would come back, do the match, be the surprise entrant, have fun and then back to being dead or whatever [laughs]. They told me about RAW the night before, thank God so I could pack some more clothes. I had no hopes [for anything after], the only goal was to just go out there and put on a good showing. I just wanted to remind people that I am still around.”
On if he is in the best shape he has ever been in:
“That depends, since when? I’ve looked like this for the last 10 years. People say it with such a tone ‘Wow man you look great!’ What does that mean? What did I look like before? When I left WWE I had a lot more free time and you know, I had to do something different. Of course I had Chris Masters guiding me and giving me training information. I just took that and ran with it.”
On his best Chris Masters story:
“I don’t know what stories I can really tell. the only one I really have is when he comes to my house he empties out my fridge. But that is to be expected.”
On whether it was expected that he would become a wrestler:
“I kind of think that now. If people ask me ‘What would you do if you wouldn’t be a wrestler?’ I don’t know, I don;t think I would have had a choice. All of my jobs have been wrestling related. I started in the canteen selling food and drinks, then I started selling beer. Then I became the cameraman, then ring crew and eventually graduated to wrestler.”
On if anything hurts:
“Everything hurts. But I knew what I signed up for at the beginning. Like I said I’ve seen it from a young age. I assumed that this is how it was going to end but it is what it is. I do a lot more Shakespeare now, I understand more about the entertainment of it. Just because you are not doing a bunch of things, it doesn’t mean that you are not working. It’s more working harder in different ways without taking bumps. Sometimes it’s more exhausting doing the Shakespeare aspect as opposed to taking bumps.”
On what advice has stuck with him the most:
“Probably the Shakespeare stuff. Just to learn how to protect your body. Protect your body without being lazy, that’s the main thing. People confuse protecting your body with being lazy.”
On where the apple spitting came from:
“That’s funny because I used to get a lot of people saying I was a Razor Ramon rip-off. I don’t know where people got that from. then I was at the Hall of Fame for my dad and the night before him they inducted Razor Ramon. They are showing vignettes and I am like ‘Oh my God my vignettes were rip-offs of his.’ Then one of those he was eating something and spat at a guy. Fast forward to mine, I’m at a fruit stand and I’ve got an apple and I spit in his face. Vince must have seen it and went keep doing it. OK I will do it as many times as you want.”
On if he knew how he would debut by winning the US Title:
“Yeah I think I did. I think it was a couple of days before. I think it was more the trying to keep stuff from everybody. Not just from the dirtsheets but from the boys too. It was the same with Edge’s Money in the Bank cash-in. They told me Cena was going to hit me with a rollup. I’m like can we do something different? They said no. Cena rolls me up, I then hear Edge’s music and I’m like oh OK now it makes sense. The rollup was perfect for what happened next.”
On the standout moment in his career:
“I think the standout is behind the scenes. Just being the guy who wouldn’t take any nonsense and would stand up for himself. I just spoke up and you know, spoke my mind. I got in trouble for that all the time, I just stopped caring and was out of control in the last couple of years of WWE. But I am all zen and all controlled now.”
On what he learned from Vince McMahon:
“Yeah he is a genius and he has a lot of great ideas. Wrestling owes him a lot. I just learned how the business side works. What I like about him and Stephanie is that they are great business people. They are likeable and friendly, but at the same time if it’s not good for business they will pack things up and won’t hesitate for a second. It’s the way that you got to be. Sometimes you’ve got to separate the business from the personal.”
Featured image: The Sports Rush
