Felix Upton on June 13, 2023
Rocky Romero became a prominent figure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but he never really made it in WWE. Now, as he looks back at his career, he can see that things could have taken an interesting turn in 2016 if things worked out differently for Vince McMahon’s company.
In an interview on the Under The Ring Podcast, Rocky Romero revealed that WWE approached him to participate in the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament in 2016. At the time, they also extended an offer for a coaching position at the WWE Performance Center.
Rocky Romero admitted that he would have likely accepted the tournament opportunity by itself. However, the inclusion of a coaching role led him to believe that WWE didn’t see a long-term future for him as an active in-ring performer.
“So they really wanted me for the Cruiserweight Classic, and I was in between, or about to be, in between contracts. I think I was in between contracts [with New Japan], and we were renegotiating mine, and WWE was very interested.”
“They wanted to offer me the Cruiserweight Classic, and then they wanted to offer me a coaching position, so I think if they didn’t offer me the coaching position and they just offered me the Cruiserweight Classic, then I probably, maybe would have waited a little bit longer to re-sign with New Japan, and I would have done that but them offering me the coaching position made me feel like they didn’t want me to wrestle so that it wasn’t maybe gonna go very far in the Cruiserweight so I decided to not take it and re-sign with New Japan.”
Rocky Romero believes that the recent years of his career have been some of his finest, reinforcing his belief that rejecting the coaching role was the right choice.
“I feel like the last two years have been some of my best years in the business, so I’m glad I did not take the coaching deal.”
Rocky Romero is enjoying a nice run in AEW as part of the Best Friends. He is still competing on a regular basis as well, and that wasn’t a certainty in WWE. It seems that he doesn’t regret the road his career has taken in the slightest.
What’s your take on WWE offering Rocky Romero a coaching gig at the Performance Center? Sound off in the comments!
June 13, 2023 10:06 am
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