Tom Pestock, Fka Baron Corbin, Discusses Rumor Of Bray Wyatt Making John Cena Mad
John Cena and the late Bray Wyatt had many memorable clashes, most notably at WWE WrestleMania 32. However, years before — while Wyatt was still Husky Harris — the two men had a real altercation during the Cena-Nexus feud, according to many others, which led to Wyatt being demoted to "NXT." During his interview on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Tom Pestock recalled the incident and Wyatt's demeanor throughout the match.
"There's a rumor that I believe is 100% true, that Husky poked John Cena in the eye in a match, and Vince [McMahon] was so mad, Cena was so mad, that they sent Husky Harris back to NXT." Pestock added that the move was ultimately what led to the "birth" of the Bray Wyatt character, which led to his highly praised WWE career.
Pestock also noted that he experienced a very similar situation with Cena early in his main roster days, where he accidentally poked his thumb into "The Champ's" eye, leading to him being bombard him with "f-bombs" during the match. "I'm literally about to start crying because I'm like, I'm finally on the main roster, I'm home up here, now I'm going back to NXT," he recalled, noting that he thought about Wyatt's situation and how the same thing would happen to him.
John Cena wasn't as upset with Baron Corbin as he was with Bray Wyatt
As John Cena went on his profanity-filled tirade that Tom Pestock claims could be heard 20 rows into the arena, he had his back turned to "The Champ," and was instead met with a painful surprise once he faced Cena. "I turn around and John punches me dead in the face — like dead in the face — and, I mean it was a solid potato," he claimed. "And then, like, for the rest of the match I'm trying to remember these spots, but I'm trying not to cry because I'm like 'I'm going back to NXT, I just got out of there.'"
Pestock then recalled walking back through the curtain after the match was done and being praised by those backstage, but he couldn't enjoy it since he was sure he'd be shipped back to "NXT" either way. "John comes back and I just look at him like puppy dog eyes," he recalled. "And he's like 'Hey, that was great.' I go 'John, I am so sorry,' he goes 'Ah, we're good, I gave you it back, we're good.'"
Despite the interaction, Pestock still thought he was going to be sent back to "NXT." However, as fans know by now, things didn't end up that way yet, as the former Baron Corbin wasn't sent back to "NXT" until he was near the end of his WWE run. That said, it was still a traumatic experience according to the star. "I was good, but I legit thought my life was over."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.