Hi Colt Cabana
BY SCOTT FISHMAN
MIAMI HERALD WRITER
When the lines of reality are blurred in the world of pro wrestling/sports entertainment, magic happens.
A frustrated CM Punk walked a magical thin line with a scathing promo to conclude WWE Raw on Monday, June 27 live on the USA Network. The final moments before the show abruptly faded to black captivated fans around the world.
Punk, whose contract expires soon, vented his frustrations toward the company and the people running it. He also name dropped his long-time friend Colt Cabana.
Cabana, who spent limited time with WWE as Scotty Goldman and MTV’s Wrestling Soceity X as Matt Classic, is currently wrestling for Ring of Honor.
Punk’s mention alone helped the name “Colt Cabana” become a worldwide trending topic on Twitter and brought attention to another Chicago native.
Cabana noted Punk reached his boiling point with WWE.
“That whole thing has been building up forever,” Cabana said. “Personally, for almost forever, his whole time there, he is able to say this to me in the comfort of my house or his house.
“From being laughed at by the trainers in Ohio Valley Wrestling to Paul [Heyman] finally bringing him up and everybody treating him like dirt, telling him he has an attitude problem and calling him the ‘King of the Indies.’ Just looking down on him, he just felt shunned his whole time there. It was a complete struggle.”
Punk announced on Raw (the week before) that his last match with the company is Sunday, July 17 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view against WWE champ John Cena.
Cabana felt the outspoken superstar had nothing to lose.
“The power of him not really caring because he was ready to leave — I always said the power of not giving a s--- is so important,” Cabana said. “He is really at the point where he just wants to get out of there. It’s too frustrating for him. If he said anything that made anybody mad, what are they going to do to him? Not re-sign him? He doesn’t want to be there.
“So I think that idea is so powerful. He is so strong in his beliefs with the straight edge lifestyle. By being how strong headed that he is, he was able to have the power to go out on television and say what probably every other wrestler has wanted to say. He made unbelievable television. He made unbelievable history in wrestling.
“He almost has the ability to change professional wrestling as we know it. It has been so stagnant and vanilla. It kind of shook up the wrestling world because of his real life frustrations.”
Cabana saw first-hand how dedicated Punk was to WWE.
“He has been their iron-man when everybody got popped for steroids or when everybody was getting hurt or leaving to do other things,” Cabana said. “He was the guy who was there consistently, every single night they needed him. I remember we were at the Comic-Con once. It was his one day off, and all of a sudden, all of these guys bailed on this press stuff.
“So we had to go up on the third floor so he could sit there and do press junkets for people because he was needed on-call. He was the go-to guy to do all of that stuff. Whether it was to do interviews with little radio stations here and there, he would do everything and anything.
“Obviously, he was able to build enough monetarily for where he has his own freedom right now. He would rather be happy than be rich. He is at a point where he is financially stable and where he just wants to be happy, and I don’t think it’s with [WWE].”
Punk’s greeting to his fellow Chicago native during the promo was a shout out to acknowledge and also help a friend.
“We always looked out for each other, especially when we first started,” Cabana said. “He was able to go higher in his career, and he was just looking out for his friend. He watches the struggle I go through and the struggles I went through when I was released from the company.
“I’m wrestling a very full-time professional wrestling schedule, but it’s still not on that level. I’m still trying to pay my rent. He recognizes that and wants to help me out.
“This is his way of helping me out. By him doing that, the Colt Cabana name recognition gets a little higher. Now people are able to see what I’m all about. I’m not asking for any free handouts. I believe in my abilities 100 percent and think I’ve done a lot of great things. It’s not at a level of a CM Punk, so now more people start Googling me and have the opportunity to check me out.
“I guarantee they are going to like what they see because I believe in what I’m doing. I also believe what I’m doing is at a high level, whether it’s wrestling, comedy or my podcast. I just think it’s all worth becoming a fan of.
“Did I know he was going to do that? I don’t know. He is my best friend. He is going to say what he wants. He always talks about the power of live television and a live microphone. It just shows the type of guy he is. He’s almost unselfish in his acts.”
The social network was abuzz with the Ring of Honor star. Even hours after Raw went off the air, the words ‘Colt Cabana’ remained a topic of discussion. The bump in traffic allowed Cabana to add exposure to his projects like “The Art of Wrestling” podcast or his DVD documentary “Wrestling Road Diaries.”
“I was trending on Twitter worldwide. Paul Hayman wasn’t. Brock Lennar wasn’t,” Cabana said. “In saying that, I have a lot of friends who literally called, e-mailed me and texted me, thinking I had died. Then they would check my Face book, and it would say I had 1,000 new friends.
“So they say, ‘OK, he is adding new friends.’ The visibility is very high, and it is great. I do this podcast every week that I’m very passionate about. I believe in it. I think it’s almost changing pro wrestling on an underground level, compared to the global level Punk is doing it. It’s my own underground mission.
“So if I can get more listeners to the podcast or more people to learn the story of a Luke Gallows or a Tyson Dux, the better. The stories I allow these guys to tell. I think it’s giving back and coming full circle to the people who really love and are passionate about wrestling. Hopefully, they will pass it on and give it forward.”
Cabana can’t (or won’t) say for sure if WE knew ahead of time how far Punk would go. Despite this, he does believe the ball is in Punk’s court on what his next move will be.
“I know right now he just wants to sit on his couch,” Cabana said. “He is just so tired. He obviously loves wrestling. What he did on Monday night has the potential to be just as powerful as how a Hulk Hogan or Stone Cold was.
“Who knows what his next decision is. I think it has the ability to be the next break we have been waiting for. So it’s on him. He holds the cards. He wanted to sit on his couch, but who knows what he will do now.”
• Colt Cabana recently launched a new episode series with comedian Marty DeRosa called “Creative has nothing for you…” on http://creativehasnothingforyou.com/.
The episodes center on the differences between a pro wrestler and a pro wrestling manager. It’s another case of Cabana fusing his love of wrestling with his love of comedy.
“It’s just such a funny subject to talk about,” Cabana said. “There are so many issues that can come up from it that I almost think it can write itself. It comes on Monday nights during wrestling. The point is if there is commercial on Raw, take a minute to check out the new web series.”
• For Colt Cabana merchandise, upcoming appearances and to listen to his excellent “Art of Wrestling” podcast, visit welovecolt.com.
• Twitter: smFISHMAN.
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