Carlito reflects on the reaction he got at WWE Backlash.
WWE released the former Intercontinental Champion in 2010, but he returned in the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble. He also had a match on the February 1, 2021, episode of WWE Raw, but his return ended there. At WWE Backlash 2023, Carlito got an incredible reaction from the Puerto Rico crowd when he ran to the ring during Bad Bunny's match with Damian Priest. Carlito helped Bad Bunny score the victory as he leveled the playing field against Priest's Judgment Day stablemates.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Carlito was asked about the remarkable pop he got at WWE Backlash.
"I’m kind of a big deal in Puerto Rico, I guess. It was great, man. It was good. It was something that they wanted for a long time, and it was cool that the secret didn’t get out. I was surprised. I kept on thinking, at some point, somebody’s gonna leak something. But no, nothing ever came of it, so they really did not expect it all that night," Carlito said,
Carlito then shared his belief that the WWE Backlash crowd was one of the best that WWE has ever had. When asked to describe how they kept his return a secret, Carlito noted that he tried to disguise himself, and while his efforts didn't fully work, the word didn't get out anyway.
"I braided my hair, and I put the beanie on, and then I wore a hoodie. Then I got in the night before really late, and I went straight to my room. The next day, it didn’t really work because people started recognizing me anyway. But luckily, the word didn’t get out," he said.
The crowd's reaction to Carlito taking his shirt off also came up in the conversation, and he joked that he had to show off. Carlito playfully noted that his shirt wasn't going to stay on for long, as he had to capitalize on being on WWE programming.
“It was funny because they said, ‘We need you to wear an LWO shirt.’ I’ll wear whatever you want, but the shirt’s not staying on long. You know what I mean? I don’t know when I’m gonna be on world television again," Carlito said.
Carlito recently joked that his booking price went up after his appearance at WWE Backlash. Click here to see what he had to say.
In an interview with Fightful, Mike Skyros reflected on his match with Carlito. Check out his comments here.
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