Baron Corbin didn’t leave WWE NXT Deadline as the new NXT Champion, but the Lone Wolf is looking to ‘Shake it Off’ with Taylor Swift.
The pop sensation continues to be a force to be reckoned with in the music scene and has been spotted in recent months supporting her boyfriend Kansas City Chief Travis Kelce. During the Chiefs’ most recent game, Corbin was part of a selfie that included Swift.
During the post-Fastlane press conference, WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY was asked about Swift in a question that divided fans. While many saw it as a harmless bit of fun, some took issue with this question and SKY was visibly confused as to why she was being asked about a non-wrestler.
It’s not just WWE that has its eye on Taylor Swift. Recently, Tony Khan revealed that Wembley asked him to have a quick set-up for All In 2024 in order to allow more dates for Taylor Swift’s tour. When AEW’s Claudio Castagnoli was asked about Swift possibly appearing at the August 2024 event, the Swiss wrestler said “I wouldn’t put it past her!”
AEW already has an ‘in’ with Taylor Swift in the form of their Director of Business Development Jeff Jarrett. In interviews, Jeff has revealed that Swift used to babysit his kids and has often said that Swift was a kind, genuine person to the Jarrett family.
WWE Superstars give their all in the ring, but they all have a personal life at home. Sadly, Baron Corbin didn’t have a great update to share recently, as he just suffered a great personal loss.
Baron Corbin is known for sharing glimpses of his personal life, whether it be his grilling exploits, or sharing a good cigar. He lives quite a good life after years of work in WWE, but the Lone Wolf’d most recent post was not a happy one.
Baron Corbin recently shared sad news on his Instagram. He posted about the passing of his cherished dog, Xander. He also included a caption that explained how Xander was not just a pet but a best friend, companion, and protector to Corbin and his family.
”Big man Xander left us yesterday and it has crushed our world. He was a best friend, companion, protector, pain in the butt, supportive, bed hog,funny, and so many more things but most of all he gave you unconditional love 24/7. Him and my children shared a bond like no other. We will all miss everything about him even his horrible breath when he liked your face. Hopefully where ever his spirit has gone they serve a5 steak bc he can be a little bougie. I could write and write and turn this into a novel about him, but I will just say thank you for being the best dog to us for nearly 10 yrs!!!! There will never be Another Xander!!”
The WWE free agent also included photos of Xander, resting, and getting lots of love as well. This was certainly an emotional post for Baron Corbin to share, especially on the eve of such an important match in his career.
Baron Corbin will face Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship at the NXT Deadline Premium Live Event on December 9th. Corbin plans to dedicate the match to his dog, Xander. We will have to see if he pulls down the big win for his old friend.
We’re sending out our best to Baron Corbin, and his entire family. This must be a difficult time for Corbin, but he has a ton of memories of Xander to cherish for the rest of his life.
What’s your take on this sad update from Baron Corbin? Can you relate to his loss? Let us know what you think by engaging with us on social media!
WWE made the call to end the pairing of Baron Corbin and John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield this week, but that wasn’t always the plan.
In late 2022, the former WWE Champion was introduced as Corbin’s manager, something that Layfield had openly spoken in favor of doing for years.
Despite a four-match winning streak with JBL in his corner, Corbin has been win-less on TV and at WWE live events since the November 21, 2022, edition of Raw.
Wasn’t The Plan
During this week’s Raw, the pairing of JBL and Corbin ended via backstage segment, after the latter suffered another loss, this time to Dexter Lumis.
During the latest Wrestling ObserverRadio show, Dave Meltzer said that this wasn’t what WWE intended when they began the pairing.
“They gave up on it… this wasn’t the plan. The guy in charge, that’s Paul (Levesque), felt it wasn’t working and that was it.”
Dave Meltzer.
The End of Corbin’s Push
It was in 2016 that Corbin made an impactful main roster debut, winning the Andre the Giant WrestleMania battle royal.
A year later, Corbin was seemingly on the cusp of a World Championship reign when he captured the Money in the Bank briefcase, but his cash-in was unsuccessful.
On his show, Meltzer stated that despite multiple opportunities, the Lone Wolf just hasn’t reached the status WWE hoped for him.
“There’s nothing wrong or right with him but in the pantheon of stars, he’s just not at that top star level. I think they wanted him to be at that level and they gave him every chance to be at that level. He’s just a guy. A tall guy but he’s just a guy.”
Baron Corbin gave his take on Braun Strowman’s social media comments about “flippy flopper” wrestlers following WWE Crown Jewel, where he had a match with Omos.
Storwman’s comments drew criticism from fans and some wrestlers on social media. WWE later referenced it last week on SmackDown during a backstage segment with Ricochet.
While speaking on Corey Graves’ “After The Bell” podcast, Corbin said that if someone is not willing to stand for what they say then they are just looking for attention. He also stated that calling yourself the best big man when no one else is saying that then it’s not valid.
Corbin on Strowman
Happy Baron Corbin
“I think, yeah, do you but whatever it is, stand behind it. If you cower and back down after, then you didn’t really mean it, you were doing it for clout, doing it for show, doing it for social media. I don’t do anything for social media and I also don’t go out and label myself whatever it is.”
“If you’re gonna go out and tweet, ‘I’m the greatest big man this business has ever seen,’ if you’re saying it and you’re the one that’s having to put the title, nobody else is saying it about you, then you’re full of crap and so if you’re gonna go out there and you’re gonna bash little guys, look, I have some respect for guys like Rey Mysterio who have done unbelievable things at his size and his stature and he is iconic and there will be a lot of people that will come along in the future that will get compared to him and wanna be him but there will never be another Rey Mysterio. There is a place for those guys like we talked about. It may not be the main event but there is a place for them so if you’re gonna go out on social media and say those things and the minute people start firing back at you, you back down or you cower away or you try to say it was a joke, that’s when I get irritated. Stand behind what you say, be a man and back it up and also, for me, I’m going out there, for ten years now, I’ve irritated people and not cared how they felt.”
Corbin stated that it’s not his job is to make anyone that watches the product happy, but that is Braun’s job right now as a babyface. He stated that Strowman should take pride in being a big man and putting on a show like that, but he’s out once Strowman starts making up his own star rating.
Corbin lost a match to Drew McIntyre on Monday Night Raw this week because of outside interference by Akira Tozawa.
Baron Corbin recently returned on WWE RAW with the legendary John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield as his manager.
JBL picked up Corbin in his limo on the September 2nd edition of SmackDown and they had not appeared on TV since Corbin’s return last week.
Rey Mysterio approached Triple H on a recent episode of SmackDown and tried to quit due to conflict with his son, Dominik Mysterio, and The Judgment Day. The Game opted to trade Corbin to the RAW roster and bring Mysterio to SmackDown instead.
Baron battled Dolph Ziggler in a long match on RAW as JBL joined commentary. JBL referred to Corbin as the “Modern Day Wrestling God” after he defeated The Showoff.
Jim Cornette on Baron Corbin & JBL
Wrestling legend Jim Cornette praised JBL for his promo and on episode 266 of Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru. Jim and co-host Brian Last joked that JBL’s suit was a little too big for him.
Jim praised JBL for his promo ability and noted how he got the crowd to turn against him right away.
He acknowledged the people’s cheers and etc, and then went right into the f***ing best heel promo, the most natural.
He’s got the personality, the delivery, the material, it was all off the top of his head. He buried Oklahoma and praised Texas, like if you anyone from Oklahoma and Texas, that is all they do.
Cornette wondered if even the great JBL will be able to get Baron Corbin over with the crowd despite being a great promo.
JBL is a great promo. But can even he get Baron Corbin over? But it’s not Happy Corbin anymore. They’re trying.
It’s Baron Corbin. We were watching the show when he became homeless Corbin and then he became Happy Corbin, but did we ever just see a Baron Corbin? Before that he was the possum king, King Corbin.
Have we ever just seen Baron Corbin try to be serious?
The 61-year-old noted that Corbin’s new gear looks horrendous and compared him to “some kind of a mole creature” that resides underground.
His gear still looks horrendous. I don’t what the f***. He’s so hairless. He looks like some kind of mole creature. That lives underground and has no hair. I don’t know.
But his gear looks horrendous, which accentuates the paleness and lack of features he has. He seems to have lost weight. He’s trying to get in better shape.
His work, some of it looked okay. His physical appearance to me is odd and off-putting. I don’t know how to explain it.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru with a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Happy Corbin left in JBL’s limo on the September 3rd edition of SmackDown and made his triumphant return tonight on WWE RAW.
Following Rey Mysterio being moved to SmackDown, it was announced that Corbin was traded to RAW. JBL introduced Baron Corbin tonight and joined commentary for his match against Dolph Ziggler.
JBL hyped up Corbin on commentary and compared him to Michael Jordan as Baron connected with the End of Days on Ziggler for the pinfall victory.
Byron Saxton caught up with JBL and Baron Corbin backstage following the match. Saxton asked why WWE Hall of Famer JBL decided to lend his support to Baron Corbin. JBL said the choice was easy.
This is the emergence, the debut, of the modern-day “Wrestling God”. The era of dominance, this man is a cornerstone. This is what you build a company on. So this has nothing to do with my return.
I came back for one reason, and one reason only, and that is because this man is here. There is a lot of people out there you think ‘oh, I could be that guy’. You can’t be him. So ask him the questions because that is the man.
Saxton asked Corbin how it felt to have JBL’s support in his career and Baron said anything is possible with the Hall of Famer’s guidance. Corbin added that landscape has officially changed to end the interview.
How do you think it feels? I went out there on Monday Night RAW on my first night and I dominated Dolph Ziggler.
With this man’s guidance, his wisdom, he’s a Hall of Famer and he’s passing this stuff onto me. The sky? There is no limit.
We are changing the game. Like he said, a modern-day “Wrestling God”. The landscape has officially changed.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit RAW Talk and give a H/T to SEScoops.
Madcap Moss is one of the fastest rising stars on the WWE roster. His storyline with Baron Corbin has helped the young star evolve past his days as the 24/7 champion and develop a personality fans can get behind. Corbin who has served as a mentor to Moss in many ways, believes that the former NXT star can realistically challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Title in not-too-distant future.
The Lone Wolf recently appeared on Out of Character. The host Ryan Satin mentioned how Madcap has reached a new level in the last few months. Agreeing with it, Corbin explained that Moss has developed his personality compared to his initial days on the main roster:
“Absolutely. His personality is there which is important. Before he was just kind of like a call man, it was like a guy you created on 2K [who] you played with.” said Baron Corbin, “It was just Joe Somebody, but now his personality has really come through. It’s allowed him to show who he really is.”
He continued, “I think this whole thing, the evolution of Madcap Moss has really done good for him. I think he’s gonna be a star. I think he’s a guy that six months from now could be going to face Roman Reigns for WWE championship. I can see it now. With his ability, his in-ring work, and his psychology that he’s learned and done and then just his character development.”
Corbin is not alone as Paul Heyman has previously said that nobody has a clue about Moss’ talent and he will be a future main eventer.
WWE’s Money in the Bank is just a few weeks away and the qualifying matches are underway on both the RAW and Smackdown brands.
So far for the women, Lacey Evans, Alexa Bliss, Raquel Rodriguez, and Liv Morgan have qualified. For the men, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre have earned their way into the Money in The Bank ladder match.
After those names qualified the match graphics on the screen showed seven participants for both the men’s and women’s matches. This is a change from previous years that usually saw eight participants in both matches.
While the graphics show seven participants according to WWE’s website, they mention there will be eight participants this year. It could be an oversight, or it could mean we are in for some surprises for this PPV.
There are three potential surprise returns we could see at the Money in the Bank this year if all the participants are not revealed ahead of time.
Bayley
(via WWE)
I believe speak for most wrestling fans when I say we are all anticipating her return.
Bayley has not appeared on TV since July 2, 2021, due to a torn ACL she suffered from a freak accident while training at the WWE Performance Center. She has teased a bit on social media while she has been out, leaving fans guessing as to when we may see the “Role Model” make her grand return.
The latest tease was a post of what appears to be a laced-up boot she posted on both Twitter and Instagram. If she is cleared and ready, what bigger return than the Money in the Bank match where she could possibly snag the briefcase giving her the opportunity at a title shot?
Right before Bayley got injured, she was in a hot feud with Bianca Belair, who at the time was the Smackdown Women’s Champion. Bianca Belair is now the RAW women’s champion and there is some unfinished business, especially for Bayley.
Either way, Bayley making her return and capturing the briefcase would at the least be entertaining, especially given the obnoxious trolling character she was when she left.
An argument can also be made that if you are returning fresh from an ACL injury would you want to put her in a ladder match first thing coming back? While she should be cleared regardless, I can see them exercising caution as well.
This without a doubt would be the biggest return audience pop they could garner right now.
Charlotte Flair
(via WWE)
No matter how you feel about Charlotte Flair, she shines bright on a big stage.
Last we saw Charlotte Flair was her saying “I quit!” at Wrestlemania Backlash in her “I Quit” match against Ronda Rousey. WWE reported later on the PPV that Charlotte had suffered a fracture of the radius as a result of the armbar, but it was reported this was all part of storyline to write Flair off TV.
As we now know she was being written off so she and her now-husband, AEW star Andrade El Idolo, could get married. It was never reported how long she would be absent, so we fully expect her to pop up now that they are back from their honeymoon.
Charlotte Flair always seems to find herself in the title picture, so it isn’t far-fetched to think that she may make her grand return and be a surprise entrant in the ladder match. If she were to win the Money in the Bank briefcase it would be an easy way to set up a rematch between herself and Ronda Rousey.
It would also be a change in the norm, as Charlotte Flair has been the one cashed in on three times of the four winners.
Whether she wins the match or not, this would be a great way for her to make her comeback and set up a SummerSlam match since the PPV is set for three weeks after Money in the Bank this year.
Bum A** Corbin
(via WWE)
Baron Corbin has gone through many transformations over years, but none have been more endearing, welcoming, and entertaining as Bum Corbin.
Last we saw Bum Corbin was back around SummerSlam 2021 in Las Vegas where his luck turned around and he became Happy Corbin. This past Smackdown after losing to Madcap Moss in a Last Laugh match, Corbin addressed commentator Pat McAfee upset about his criticisms over the last year and for coining the nickname Bum A** Corbin.
He then threatened to drag him into the ring, hinting at maybe a future match. Pat McAfee did not let Corbin go without a response, and with the help of the WWE Universe laughed Baron Corbin out of the arena.
Money in the Bank is being held in Las Vegas this year where Bum Corbin won “big” and became Happy Corbin. It would be poetic if this year Happy Corbin enters the Money in the Bank ladder match, loses, and tries his luck at the casinos again, except this time he loses.
Down on his luck again, we may see the return of Bum A** Corbin? Corbin arguably did some of his best character work as Bum Corbin, I think it would be a welcomed return by most fans.
Money in the Bank is one of the most fun Pay-Per-Views of the year and a lot of people look forward to the surprises. The unknown of the briefcase winners and potential cash-ins make it all the more exciting.
If any of these surprise returns were to happen this year, it would shake things up for the rest of the year in WWE.
Happy Corbin has become quite chummy with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
Corbin can be seen on the SmackDown brand every Friday night. He’s currently involved in a feud with former two-time WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. The two will share the squared circle on night one of WrestleMania 38 on April 2.
Happy Corbin-Vince McMahon Dynamic
During an appearance on the Johnny Dare Morning Show, Happy Corbin detailed his relationship with Vince McMahon and how things between the two can be both funny and frustrating.
“Vince, he’s amazing. We have a crazy relationship because he’s a big kid at times who is also the most powerful CEO you’ve ever met in your life. He’s got that business swagger, the way he walks around, but if you’re not looking he’ll smack you in the back of their head if you have that relationship with him. He’s hit me a couple of times.
“You know when someone does something and you instantly just get angry and want to punch them in the face, but you haven’t seen who or what it was yet? He’s done that to me a few times. If I’m not paying attention or if I have a shirt on or something, he walks up, and I hate being slapped or smacked, and he smacks me in the back or across the back of the neck and I turn around ready to kill, and I see it’s him and he’s just belly laughing and there’s literally nothing I can do. It’s funny but it’s also frustrating.”
While Corbin hasn’t won a world title in WWE, he’s been given prominent roles. At one point, he was an authority figure on Monday Night Raw. He’s also mixed it up with plenty of main eventers.
Baron Corbin has adopted a number of different monikers since being called up to the main roster in 2016. From Constable to King Corbin and from Sad to Happy Corbin, the lone wolf has embraced whatever character he has been given.
The former US champion talked about his different names on the latest episode of Out Of Character podcast with Ryan Satin. When asked which one of them is his favorite, the WWE star picked the one that irritated people the most:
“Whichever one irritates the people the most, constable irritated people because most people were like ‘I don’t know what a Constable is,’ and I also didn’t as well. Happy irritates people a lot too so I like that one as well, it gives confusion too.”
Baron Corbin also discussed his current character of Happy Corbin. He mentioned how after staying around him for so many years Vince McMahon has started laying out characters for him based on their interactions. He revealed that one such interaction led to him getting his current gimmick:
“Could’ve been something with Vince where I’m making him laugh or just having fun being one of the guys with him and then he goes ‘I’ve got one of these ideas where you’re just over the top happy.’ He always tells me that people don’t like you, they’re really not going to like you when you’re happy all the time.”
Corbin later revealed that he didn’t know about the Happy Corbin name change beforehand and he learned about it on Twitter. The same thing was true with his new music and he didn’t know that the officials were going to change his entrance music before he showed up at the arena.
WWE Superstar Baron Corbin recently spoke to Alex McCarthy of TalkSPORT during the company’s tour of the United Kingdom.
Corbin discussed several topics during the interview, but one that was particularly intriguing was his assessment of the follow-up to his feud with Kurt Angle.
Baron Corbin defeated Angle in his retirement match at WrestleMania 35, and the former General Manager of RAW lamented at how the heat of the result did not get capitalized on.
“I wish we would have [done more], I wish we would have really capitalised on the momentum that gave me because that’s an incredible opportunity,” Corbin began.
Baron Corbin on Kurt Angle Match
“When you look at the guy, and not just what he’s accomplished in WWE, but what he’s accomplished in life, for him to step out… Yeah, everyone is going to have a dream match for their final match and I can’t ever imagine Kurt Angle was like ‘I want to wrestle Baron Corbin for my last match in WWE!’
“He had history, he was Cena’s first match in WWE and I understand that completely. Who wouldn’t want to go out wrestling John Cena as their last match? It’s a phenomenal thing to do if you’re in the ring with him or Kurt – doesn’t matter.
“To me, it was more than I could have ever wished for to be in that position with Kurt, because he’s a living legend, Hall of Famer, gold medallist; you can list his accolades all day long and that’s who I got to share the ring with at WrestleMania, one-on-one” the SmackDown Superstar concluded.
Baron Corbin has discussed the significant change to his character.
Corbin debuted on WWE’s main roster as “The Lone Wolf.” He then went on to become the Constable of Monday Night Raw, which saw him take on a role as an authority figure. Once that gimmick ran its course, he became “King Corbin.” Nowadays, Corbin finds himself on WWE SmackDown going through financial struggles.
During an appearance on 104.5 The Zone, Corbin explained why it was the right time to portray a character who lost all of his riches.
“Right I’m doing what now is so different than anything I’ve done. And I’m a believer that it’s like evolve or die. I don’t want to spend ten years doing the same thing. So a lot of this, when I’m getting to evolve from ‘The Lone Wolf’ to ‘The Constable’ to ‘The King’ to what I’m doing now, to me it’s this really fun evolution, and it’s just a fun ride. Because you see a lot of guys don’t want to change or they want to continue the same thing, and the fans, it’s hard to keep them invested.
“We live in such a fast-paced world now where two weeks is a long time. We used to tell stories over six months or a year, and now the audience can be a little impatient and they wanna get where we’re going quick but I think this story we’re telling right, they’re really enjoying the ride, which is different. Because normally after two or three weeks, they’re like alright, what are we doing? Where are we going? But now they’re going well I can’t wait to see what happens next. I think this is a fun story that people have been invested in.”
Corbin has gone as far as to beg the WWE Universe for a minimum of $1,000. He also asked Drew McIntyre for $100,000 and even stole Big E’s Money in the Bank briefcase before losing their match on the SummerSlam kickoff show.
As of late, Baron Corbin has been rolling out videos where he’s had a string of luck in Las Vegas. While he ended up being down to a few hundred bucks after one bad night, Corbin seems to have hit his stride again, purchasing a luxury car.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated King Corbin to earn the King of the Ring crown recently Smackdown. Since suffering the loss, Corbin has been looking mighty depressed as of late. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, Corbin is about to become a whole lot happier on screen, however.
“He’s changing from this Baron Corbin, who lost all his money in the stock market or whatever and now he’s broke and they reposesss his car and he’s going to transition to ‘Happy Corbin’,” said Dave Meltzer on the show.
In fact, WWE has field to trademark the term “Happy Corbin” on June 25th, 2021.
It seems as though while Corbin is feeling down now, something is going to happen to make him feel a whole lot better. When and how the new “Happy Corbin” will debut is not currently known.
From May 14th to June 18th, Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura had 5 singles matches on Smackdown. Nakamura won the series 3-2, including the 5th and deciding match which was for the crown.
Corbin won the first match between the two which was on the Smackdown taped May 14th. Nakamura then won the second match the following week on the May 21st Smackdown. Corbin then took a 2-1 lead in the series by winning their match two weeks later on the June 4th Smackdown. Nakamura then won their 4th match on the June 11th Smackdown followed by winning the “Battle for the Crown” on June 18th’s show.
It’s looking more likely that WWE is moving away from Baron Corbin’s king character and going towards a new character for him.
WWE has filed a trademark for “Happy Corbin.” This may end up being his new name going forward after going by the name “King Corbin.”
This comes after WWE released a video on social media last week after SmackDown where Corbin was seen unhappy and despondent about losing his crown following a program with Shinsuke Nakamura
In the clip, Corbin was asked if he feels that his career is slipping away from him in addition to it being noted that he lost “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on investments when he was still “a wealthy man” but that is no longer the case.
It should be noted that WWE had King Corbin’s name reverted back to Baron Corbin on the official WWE website following his loss to Nakamura and he’s also changed it on social media. Perhaps, when the storyline reaches the point where Corbin has validated himself again, he will go by this name.
Old school fans may recall WCW doing an angle in the early 90s with Diamond Dallas Page where he “lost everything” to the point where he was homeless and had to rebuild himself.
WWE Superstar Baron Corbin appeared on this week’s episode of After The Bell with host Corey Graves. The outspoken SmackDown star tackled numerous topics on the show, with one of the most prominent being how he deals with fans online. Particularly, as Corbin puts it, “morons” on social media.
Baron Corbin Owns Neckbeards
Corbin argues that vocal ‘Internet fans’ only represent a 5% sliver of the WWE audience and don’t know what they’re talking about when they’re critical of him.
“It is crazy, it’s never ending, it’s crazy to me,” Corbin began. “We say social media, like that’s like 5% of our audience. Because the little kids and the parents out there? They don’t understand the terms that these morons use. You have these idiot neckbeards that want to critique everything that you do and then be like ‘you’ve got four moves.’ Actually I can do about 600 but when I do four it irritates you more.”
“‘That irritates you? Now I’m going to wear two. Thank you.’ Like, it’s so simple.”
Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin would elaborate further, discussing how he uses the comments he gets online to further his character building.
“I actually can use social media as a cheat code” Corbin stated. “Because they’re literally going, you know @John4576213 on his 12th profile is like ‘hey man, your vest looks dumb.’ and I go, ‘okay that irritates you? Now I’m going to wear two. Thank you.’ Like, it’s so simple.”
Do The Fans Understand ‘Heat?’
Corbin finished by discussing his reaction from the live crowds as well as those fans online. “They want to say, like, ‘oh he’s got go away heat.’ When I walk out that curtain? Everybody is booing me. That’s, like, they just don’t understand about heat. ‘This bad guy is getting boo’ed or he must not be good because I would like him if he was good.’ THAT’S NOT THE POINT. You know what I’m saying? They just don’t understand it and I, and it blows my mind I’m like, you people can’t be this stupid. Like my job is to make you literally hate me and I’ve had been in the ring with guys on all levels, and standing there and hearing the boos, and they’ll go ‘hey man, and they’ll turn the microphone so people can’t hear him and they’ll whisper ‘this is Vickie Guerrero heat I haven’t heard this in five years.’
What do you think of Baron Corbin’s presentation in WWE? Let us know in the comments
Baron Corbin is regularly featured on WWE TV and the former US Champion is presented as one of the top heels of the company on the regular programming.
However, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of room for advancement in his current role within the company and it appears that the Lone Wolf is frustrated with this situation.
Baron Corbin recently appeared on the After The Bell podcast where he said that he wants the spot in the company where top guys like Brock Lesnar and The Rock would want to work with him and discussed how he is frustrated in his current situation:
“I want that spot [with Lesnar and The Rock]. That’s why it’s a double-edged sword for me because you [WWE] put me up there at the top but you’re not handing me the ball.
Give me the ball, so now I’m frustrated going, ‘What do I got to do to take that?’ And then I’ve finished with Roman, so I have to cycle back through, so now I’ve got to scratch and claw to get back to that top spot.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Corbin mentioned how he has spent the last 18 months headlining live events against the likes of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns but he still doesn’t feel like the company has “handed him the ball” to become one of their top guys.
Baron Corbin has been presented as one of the top heels of WWE in recent months. However, some fans have complained about his raise to this status saying that the heat he has with the audience is ‘go away heat.’
The King Of Ring 2019 winner recently had an interview with
The Houston Chronicle where he talked about things like his ongoing feud with
Roman Reigns and more.
Talking about fans’ comments about his heel persona, the former Constable of Raw claimed that he takes pride in being a ‘true heel’. Baron Corbin explained that he doesn’t want to be a cool heel and discussed the phrase ‘go away heat’:
“I take pride in being a true heel; I take pride in
really irritating people in that way so much that they are trying to make up
words like ‘go away heat.’ This is actual irritation that I am causing people.
And I am trying to do it as much as possible.” said Corbin, “I don’t want to be cool. I want to walk out and watch people’s faces just turned to anger and frustration. I am getting the middle finger from an 8-year old kid to a 90-year old grandmother.”
Baron Corbin continued by saying that he thinks it’s fantastic and more people should take pride in the ability to generate this kind of reaction from fans. He detailed his comments further saying that he doesn’t take cheap shots to get the heat.
Corbin said that he is not the guy who comes out and says ‘your town sucks’ and he takes pride in everything he does. You can check out his full interview at this link.
WWE Superstar Baron Corbin has reflected on his feud with Roman Reigns. During the rivalry, Corbin utilized a can of real dog food, dunking its contents over “The Big Dog.” Speaking with the Houston Chronicle, Corbin talked about how doing so was a “blast” for him.
Old School
Corbin spoke about the pride he takes in playing the bad guy, helping the WWE Universe get behind babyfaces like Roman Reigns. He stated how “Every once in a while you used to get the ‘Let’s go Roman,’ ‘Roman Sucks’ chants. Now, no one is saying ‘Roman sucks.’ It is always ‘Corbin sucks.’”
When asked about a rivalry highlight, Corbin shared how “covering him in dog food was a blast aside from the smell – it got on me as well. But that level of guttural hatred that I heard when we were doing it was awesome and the moment was right. I think it was old school and it was just nasty. And I think outside the box. It was a lot of fun to do.”
Baron Corbin’s Royal Rumble Thoughts
With WWE’s Royal Rumble match coming up this Sunday, Corbin was asked about the 30-man match. He confessed he likes competing in the Rumble as it “keeps you on your toes.”
“There are so things that go awry and stuff like that when you have so many competitors in the ring and it’s exciting and stressful but it’s fun. You have to keep your head on a swivel because you don’t always know who’s coming out next and whatever it may be. You have 29 other people trying to get rid of you. I think it’s awesome. It’s just a huge overload of stress and excitement and that’s what makes it fun.”
Baron Corbin faces Roman Reigns in a Falls Count Anywhere match this Sunday at Royal Rumble. The event takes place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic Fold Medallist Kurt Angle recently appeared on the Chris Van Vliet YouTube channel for a long form interview. The former WWE Superstar discussed a variety of topics on the show, one notably about his retirement following this year’s WrestleMania. Angle lost his last bout against Baron (now King) Corbin, opting to move to a backstage role following the event.
“…No I’m done”
CVV asked Angle about the retirement, mentioning how wrestling retirements are often not actually as final as they seem. “No I’m done,” Angle confirmed. “I knew I was done when I went to Vince and told him that I wanted to retire and just have my last match at this past WrestleMania.”
“I just didn’t want to do it anymore” – Kurt Angle
Angle then made an interesting point about his retirement from in-ring competition, “I believe that he [Vince McMahon] wanted me to go another year but I just didn’t want to do it anymore. I know what I’m capable of now and it’s not enough for me to be comfortable going out there and performing. If I can’t do it like the ‘old’ Kurt Angle then I don’t want to do it anymore.”
“I wanted John last Mania but we already had a storyline going on with Baron Corbin” – Kurt Angle
Angle then revealed that if Vince had his wish then Angle would’ve likely retired at WrestleMania 37, against John Cena. “I chose not to, because I wanted John last Mania but we already had a storyline going on with Baron Corbin. Vince said ‘if you’re going to retire you’re going to finish with Baron Corbin, if you don’t mind, because we’ve got a great storyline here.’ And Vince was right. So I said ‘ok I’ll wrestle Baron and it’ll be my last match.'”
“We didn’t talk to each other beforehand!”
Van Vliet then mentioned how ‘poetic’ it would’ve been for Kurt for finish up his career with John Cena. When Cena debuted on SmackDown he faced Kurt Angle in his debut match, saying that he was there to show his ‘ruthless aggression.’ “I think it was thought of,” Kurt stated. “I think it was thought of for the following year. What was ironic is I did my hoodie with the throwback to Team Angle and Cena did the throwback as well. We didn’t talk to each other beforehand!”
“he’s really good at his job”
Kurt Angle also had praise for the man who he faced in the final match of his career. “Baron’s a great wrestler, he’s a great talent. A lot of people don’t like him but he’s really good at his job. He’s the top heel in the business right now. People might naturally hate him but that’s a good thing. People think ‘he’s got real heat not WWE or wrestling heat, well that’s the point he wants to have ‘real’ heat. I got to wrestle the top heel in the business at WrestleMania, that’s the way I look at it.”
There have been reports of Vince McMahon being high on Baron Corbin and they seem true considering the fact that he has been pushed as one of the top heels of the company in recent times.
During a recent interview on the Cheap Heat podcast, the former NXT star talked about a number of things and he also revealed why he thinks the Boss likes him.
According to Baron Corbin, Mr McMahon is a fan of his, because he is a big dude with legitimate toughness and he is a little bit old school:
“I think Vince McMahon has been a fan of mine because
I’m a big dude, a little bit old school, and have legitimate toughness. He sees
motivation in certain guys and certain guys want to have it and some
don’t.”
Continuing on the topic, King Corbin revealed how they came up with the ideas for his Constable Corbin gimmick including his shaved head look and in ring attire.
Apart from this, Baron Corbin also talked about his match
with Kurt Angle at this year’s edition of WrestleMania which was the farewell
match for the WWE Hall Of Famer.
Corbin first talked about the reaction he got online for the
bout and he then praised Angle for his old school mentality and the willingness
to give back to the business on his way out.
Baron Corbin, who is also known as “King Corbin” now, talked about the inception of his finishing move the “End Of Days” and also shared an interesting story about a Hall of Famer jokingly threatening to steal his move.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Corbin revealed that he had a talk with The Undertaker himself about keeping his finisher special sacred just like Taker did with the Tombstone.
“I 100% do and you know I had a conversation with Taker about that. He really made the Tombstone something very special. Nobody kicked out of it for a long time and he held it very sacred. So that was something I took to heart and something I wanted to do with it. Because yeah nobody’s ever kicked out of End of Days. When it lands it’s over and people know that.”
Another interesting thing about the move is that it was developed by an incident. In Corbin’s words, the move came into being when he was just playing around in NXT.
“At NXT we have like a crash pad ring where you can go in and just try stuff in. I was just messing around with somebody and they jumped and I caught him and kind of hit it… just playing around. As soon as we landed I was like, ‘Oh man… that was something cool.’ When it happened, you immediately knew.”
Corbin also shared that he was excited after coming up with the move and decided to show it to WWE Hall of Famer Billy Gunn. Gunn liked the move so much and joked that he will use the move against The Shield in his six-man tag team match at WrestleMania XXX.
Roman Reigns didn’t get his revenge on Baron Corbin.
“The Big Dog” did so when he battled King Corbin in a TLC (tables, ladders & chairs) Match at the WWE TLC pay-per-view event in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Target Center. Corbin ended up going over with some help from Dolph Ziggler, The Revival, and several security guards.
It’s been reported that the company was considering different ideas for a stipulation that would be part of this contest including a dog collar match.
WWE has been building up this feud on television over the past few weeks that forced them to be on the same team at Survivor Series last month. It got to the point where brought Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode into the fold to help Corbin battle Reigns. Two weeks ago on SmackDown, the heels beat down Reigns and poured dog food on him.
During the men’s Survivor Series elimination match, the two stars had a moment. Corbin caused the elimination of their Team SmackDown partner Mustafa Ali.
As a result, Reigns hit a spear on Corbin, which resulted in Corbin being eliminated by Tommaso Ciampa. Reigns went on to win the match for his team to beat out Team NXT and Team RAW.
It looks like WWE is investing even more in Baron Corbin as he’s getting a manager.
On Thursday, WWE held a house show in Green Bay, Wisconsin where Drake Maverick managed King Corbin in his match against Roman Reigns.
It turns out that reported the plan was indeed to have Maverick eventually become Corbin’s manager, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio. As of this writing, WWE has yet to play this out on TV.
Two weeks ago on an episode of SmackDown, there was a person under the ring who grabbed Reigns’ foot shortly before he was attacked by Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. This was the angle where Reigns was covered in dog food. At the time, WWE didn’t address who it was, yet.
Meltzer speculated that the angle with Maverick under the ring helping Corbin was a way that WWE could tie Corbin and Maverick together
Corbin is slated to take on Roman Reigns in a TLC Match at the WWE TLC PPV at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
SmackDown Tag Team Championships: The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) (c) def. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) and Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker)
Elias def. Dolph Ziggler
Nikki Cross def. Dana Brooke
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) def. Mustafa Ali
WWE Universal Championship – Cage Match: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (c) def. The Miz
Shorty G def. Cesaro
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: Lacey Evans def. Bayley (c) by DQ
Roman Reigns had favorable words for his rival Baron Corbin whilst talking with After The Bell host Corey Graves. He talked about how Corbin “rubbed everybody a certain way” including other WWE Superstars, and that he would leverage that for his in-ring work.
“Even with the boys back then he got a reaction,” Reigns said. “He rubbed everybody a certain way, and when he got into the ring, he picked it up. He’s a big guy with good timing.”
Reigns continued, “It’s one of those things, and you’ve seen it a billion times – including likely with me – guys will just get it. There would be a point in time where two left feet just becomes good footwork and it just clicks. In the past couple of years, that transition has happened for him and ever since he cut that hair off and got real stupid and cocky, it started working for him.”
He reflected on how every time Corbin is in the ring, the crowd openly “despises” him. Reigns joked how it makes his job a lot easier because “He makes it so that the crowd wants another guy to come out there and kick his ass.”
“The Big Dog” admitted that there several Superstars ready to break out in the locker room. He stressed how it’s one thing to get into a top position, and another thing entirely to stay there. Reigns pointed to John Cena as a top WWE Superstar who was able to achieve that longevity.
“You can’t just have one good month or one good year. In this day and age, your run has to be pretty significant to really make waves. John Cena changed that whole game for us,” he said.”
“It was a lot different for Rock and Steve [Austin] as it seemed like it was a transition into the next guy. You’ve gotta be able to hold it down for a while because there’s no offseason. The only way to show your value nowadays is through consistency but that’s in everything, not just this business…”
Roman Reigns is scheduled to compete at this year’s Survivor Series event. He is joined by Mustafa Ali, Braun Strowman, King Corbin and Shorty G on Team SmackDown. They face off against both Team RAW and Team NXT on November 24.
Baron Corbin recently sat down with Sam Roberts for a video interview on Roberts’ YouTube channel, I’m Notsam.
During their conversation, the recent King of the Ring winner spoke about dealing with the kind of heat he generally receives from the WWE Universe.
King Corbin explained that, because fans aren’t the ones paying his bills, he generally disregards their opinion of him:
“A lot of people have these opinions and elaborate thoughts and why things work or don’t work, well, if your opinion was good, you’d probably get paid for it,” Corbin stated. “You’d be a famous writer, you would be some sort of influential voice, but they’re not. They’re on Twitter, they’re tweeting, and they have 71 followers.”
He added how internet troll opinions don’t matter to him, highlighting how easy it is for these people to hide behind a keyboard. Despite their vocal negativity, Corbin believes these same fans will still be at the shows every time.
“Their opinions never really mattered to me. I’ve been used to critics…. It’s not wrestling fans, it’s internet fans. Especially here and the internet because, for anything, they can’t be held accountable for what they say, it’s very easy to hide behind a keyboard and comment how you hate everything but, you know what, they’re still at the shows, they’re still coming out. But a majority of the wrestling fans, the WWE fans, that are in the building, are women, kids, families, and people just wanna have fun.”
Baron Corbin is scheduled to compete later this month as a part of Team Flair. They will face off against Team Hogan at WWE Crown Jewel on October 31st. The event takes place at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
