"It really kind of put me in a dark place" - 39-year-old star was hurt after a failed run on WWE's main roster
WWE Superstars are often paired up with Hall of Famers or other veterans to create something new and special on the main roster. Sometimes the experiments don't work and a certain star was really hurt when he failed to make an impact alongside JBL.
In 2022, Baron Corbin met John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL), on Friday Night SmackDown and the two formed a new mentee-mentor relationship. However, the partnership didn't last long and the 39-year-old didn't go in a meaningful direction as the audience just did not resonate with the pairing in the following months.
It eventually ended and The Lone Wolf went back to the developmental brand. In an interview with WrestleManiac UK, the 39-year-old star addressed his unsuccessful run on the main roster with the WWE Hall of Famer. He noted that he was extremely hurt and went into a dark place. He talked about really wanting to work alongside Layfield, who he admired greatly.
"When I was kind of finishing my time up there on the main roster before NXT, I was stuck, man. I was mentally burnt out. Physically, I was burnt out. The stuff with JBL just didn't work for some reason, it didn't resonate with the audience like I saw it. I still think it could have been so successful. So, that really hurt, because I think the world of John [JBL] and it really kind of put me in a dark place in a sense," Corbin said. [From 02:05 to 02:28]
Check out the video below for Corbin's comments:
Baron Corbin is open to finishing out his career on WWE NXT
After failing to make an impact as a performer alongside JBL, Baron Corbin went back to the developmental brand and reinvented himself from scratch. The former United States Champion had high-profile feuds and scored a win over Bron Breakker.
This eventually led to gold as he teamed up with Breakker and won the NXT Tag Team Championship. In an interview with Denise Salcedo ahead of Bash in Berlin, the 39-year-old WWE Superstar stated he's happy to finish out his career on the developmental brand in the coming years.
"Yeah, let me get like two or three more years back on the main roster, and I'll finish out back down there cause I love it so much," Corbin said. (From 05:05 to 05:10)
Check out the video below to hear Corbin's comments:
Corbin is currently on WWE SmackDown teaming up with Apollo Crews. It bears watching how this stint in the main roster turns out for the veteran.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit WrestleManiac UK and embed the video, with an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.