43-year-old recalls WWE firing him after match against Umaga
On the February 20, 2009, episode of WWE SmackDown, Umaga recorded a dominant victory over Colt Cabana. In a recent interview, Cabana admitted he is still unsure why he received his release from the company after the match.
Cabana, known in WWE as Scotty Goldman, came through the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental systems in 2007 and 2008. The 43-year-old then debuted on SmackDown, where he only competed in seven matches before being fired.
On the Developmentally Speaking podcast, Cabana recalled how he was let go by the company a few days after recording the match against Umaga:
"I'll never know what happened, but they did the match, then they redid the match. It was like a three-minute squash. They redid it – it was taped – and I was fired that Friday, so that was September of 2008 to February of 2009, which was my 'official' WWE main roster time. I only had like five matches and two Battle Royals." [From 31:15 – 31:44]
Cabana did not let his main roster experience hurt his career. The Chicago native is widely viewed as one of the most successful independent wrestlers of his generation. He also works for AEW and Ring of Honor.
Colt Cabana still has questions about his WWE exit
More than a decade after his departure, Colt Cabana does not know why the company's higher-ups wanted him to reshoot the match with Umaga.
The AEW star said former commentator Joey Styles and trainer Dr. Tom Prichard offered their thoughts on his release. However, he will never know the real reason unless he finds out from WWE Executive Producer Kevin Dunn or Executive Chairman Vince McMahon:
"Joey Styles was like, 'Here's my theory,'" Cabana continued. "Tom Prichard was like, 'Here's my theory.' We'll never know. Umaga might know, Kevin Dunn might know, and Vince might know. If you want to try to get them on your podcast, maybe they'll tell you!" [From 31:49 – 32:04]
In the same interview, Cabana disclosed details about the storyline idea he pitched involving Edge and Mick Foley.
Do you have any memories of Colt Cabana performing as Scotty Goldman? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Developmentally Speaking and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.