Given the recent changes at the Performance Center, Tino Sabbatelli doesn’t think he’d be interested in a WWE return.
Former NXT Superstar Tino Sabbatelli was the latest guest on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about his time in WWE, Sabatelli said he was grateful for the opportunity as he got it after coming off his NFL career.
“I was extremely grateful for the opportunity because I was going through a transitional phase in my life. I played six years in the NFL and was very grateful, but I was very bitter. I was just cut like that, I had started my last game on TV and had 8 tackles, but never played again, which was a mental struggle. But WWE came along and Canyon Ceman offered me the opportunity. I’m like really? OK. I was a casual fan, not a die hard, but he offered me this opportunity. They flew me out to Orlando for a try-out and they offered me the opportunity, which I thought about for about three months. I was extremely honored to be a professional athlete in a whole different industry. So I took it, moved to Orlando and I humbled myself, because you are starting right at the bottom. The tough thing about that is that you suck. You are not good at something when you start something new.”
When asked if he would be interested in returning to WWE in the future, Sabbatelli said no due to the new age mandates that have been put in place at the Performance Center for NXT 2.0.
“The sad thing is, what I heard about the age thing is I say no,” Tino Sabbatelli said. “Personally I think if Vince saw me face to face then I hope so. But if I saw Vince face to face, I don’t know what I would say. This is just my opinion of being in the business for five or six years, I want to say this right. Personally, I think that the character of Tino was a huge dropped opportunity for WWE. For me, it’s like how do I walk away from it all now? I fell in love and respect the business, I want to become great at the business. But they amped me up and never gave me a shot? If they gave me a shot and then I failed then OK, thank you. But I never got that or anything, and that’s what still beats me up.”
READ MORE: Tino Sabbatelli Responds To Claims He Leaked AEW Spoilers, Chris Jericho Calling Him An ‘NXT Reject’
What do you make of Sabbatelli’s comments? Would you love to see him wrestle somewhere else in the future? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
