Bernal speaks about his experiences at WWE.
There were a handful of talents released from WWE in early May. Those talents are inching closer to officially become free agents and are making the media rounds to promote themselves.
One of the names doing so is Javier Bernal, who is now going by 'Javi.' He started his in-ring career with WWE in January 2022. While guest appearing on Developmentally Speaking, he recounted an interaction he had with former WWE executive John Laurinaitis and Laurinaitis suggested that Bernal should cut his hair.
He stated that his hair is connected to his culture so it was 'heartbreaking' for him to do that. Bernal agreed to do it in hopes that something would come out of it career-wise.
“My first match that I mentioned to you, John Laurinaitis was at the rehearsals or whatever. We rehearse our entrances or whatever… Do my rehearsal. He just comes over and he’s like, ‘Hey kid…’ I’ll be professional and not do my John Laurinaitis impression but, ‘Hey kid, life’s all about choices. I think you should cut your hair,’ blah, blah, blah, and of course, you know… I was there two months… You know, hopefully this pays dividends. So, I go ahead and do it and I sat there and he was like, ‘I think you got a lot of respect from the office that was there and a lot of respect from the boys.’ I never want anybody to tell me that, you know, I couldn’t hang or that I didn’t have the passion for this business and I did it because -- for me, my hair is very much tied to my culture, and it was heartbreaking that I had to do that and especially because it didn’t really amount to anything. There was no reason for it. But I did it anyways and from there, I kind of had to pivot…"
He then went on to speak in-depth about his exit from the company. He said being released was always in the back of his mind.
Before his release, he had a meeting scheduled with creative to discuss potential plans. Bernal described himself as a 'good soldier' and said that can sometimes hurt you. As for his future, he feels whoever brings him in will be lucky.
“It’s weird because you always have it (WWE release) in the back of your mind and some people do, some people don’t. It depends who you ask. I had the idea in the back of my mind like, okay, gotta be wary of it, gotta be wary of it, and of course, there were peaks and valleys during that last month. The last month, they updated my graphic for my picture on the website so it’s like, oh! Cool. Okay, so, that must mean they’re gonna do something with me, and then, I wasn’t on EVOLVE or on a taping. I’m like, ‘Okay, well, they’re getting rid of me obviously.’ There was a lot of ups and downs and I was talking to someone in the office and I was told… ‘I haven’t heard anything. But, I wouldn’t imagine that you’re on it,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, sweet. That’s good to know. I feel a little more comfortable about that,’ and then, that day, I schedule a meeting with creative to get some things rolling. They’re like, ‘Yeah, sure. Absolutely’ so I had a meeting scheduled for the Monday after and then I got released the next day. It’s one of those things where I’m not gonna claim whether they know or whether they don’t know. But there’s no security, for anybody and it’s not -- again, if the business changes, it has nothing to do with evil corporation or not. If you wanna have that opinion, you can. If you don’t, like -- for me, I view it more so as the business changed. That place didn’t want me or need me at that time. Keep it moving. I have plenty to offer and I have plenty to give and I know my talents and I know my abilities and I know my strengths. It doesn’t make me feel bad whatsoever. It makes me feel bad for them that they… if they don’t wanna use someone that’s gonna be the hardest worker in the room… I was a good soldier and that’s the thing that I think a lot of people relate to but also at the same time, it bites them in the ass. I was a good soldier, and a lot of times, good soldiers get left behind, and it’s not a disparaging comment. There are no regrets of what I do. I am who I am. I am someone that does what I think -- I try to do the right thing at every opportunity, and if that means being a good soldier, like, great but then, you always hear these stories about other people like, ‘Oh no, I need to do this, I need to do that, I need to stand up, I need to do this.’ I know what I want to do. But there’s no reason for me to start any problems. There’s no reason for me to do anything because that’s not who I am either. So, honestly, I don’t have any regrets as far as that. I just know that, you know, there’s no reason for me to close the door behind me. There’s no reason to talk smack about WWE. It was my experiences obviously. But, I think the biggest thing for me is just knowing that I am limitless potential, and I truthfully, 100 percent believe that in my heart and in my soul. I am limitless potential and anybody that grabs me is gonna be very, very lucky, and that’s what I think about it. I don’t think about it as, you know, forget that place and get mad at these people. Life’s too short about getting mad. I got to live a dream that a lot of people would die for and a lot of people would kill to be in the WWE. So I’m very thankful for my time at WWE. I think back at certain situations, I’m like, man, it’s right in front of you. How could you not do it? But, you know, at the same time, I’m not the one in those rooms so I don’t know what conversations are going on."
Bernal's last match under the WWE banner was at an NXT house show in April where he fell in defeat to Stacks.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Developmentally Speaking with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.
