- Carlito interrupted Stone Cold at WrestleMania 21
- The segment ended with the then young superstar taking a Stone Cold Stunner
- The veteran now says the WWE locker room has completely changed in the 20 years since
WWE Superstar Carlito has pretty much done it all during his two spells with the company; He’s won the Intercontinental and United States Titles and unified the Tag Team Titles with his brother at WrestleMania 25. He holds victories over the likes of John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam and has competed in multiple Royal Rumbles and Money In The Bank ladder matches. He has fought for the WWE Title, feuded with Triple H and teamed with Ric Flair.
But beyond all of those accolades and highlights, Carlito’s WrestleMania debut was one for the ages.
A WrestleMania Debut With Two WWE Hall of Famers
The Puerto Rican superstar is now enjoying his second spell with WWE, having returned to the promotion in 2023 after a 13 year hiatus. And although he was not featured in a match at the most recent WrestleMania, Carlito was still on hand to fondly remember his first ‘Mania, 20 years ago.
The former Intercontinental Champion memorably interrupted a segment of Piper’s Pit at WrestleMania 21, in 2005, hosted by Hall of Famer ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. Piper’s guest on the show was none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. Carlito, at the time a rookie less than a year into his run on the main roster, took it upon himself to insult the two legends.
Unsurprisingly, the then rookie’s bravado backfired and he was subsequently laid out by Austin and Piper. Still, only a few months into your WWE run and you’re being trusted to work with two of the all time greats? Not a bad WrestleMania debut to make.
“I Saved the Segment”
Remembering that moment in the Staples Center in Los Angeles two decades on, Carlito spoke exclusively to Pubity during WrestleMania 41 weekend in Las Vegas and had some, let’s just say questionable, memories.
“It was great to come out and save the segment. It was a snorefest so I came out there and fixed it,” the former US Champion joked before continuing, “Those guys can both talk and, it was 20 years ago I don’t remember exactly, I think I ended up beating them both up or something. I did what I had to do.”
Reminiscing on his tenure with WWE, Carlito revealed that a lot has changed in the locker room since he first broke in, back in late 2004.
WWE Locker Room is “Night and Day” From 20 Years Ago
“It’s night and day. It’s a whole different vibe to what it was before,” Carlito begins, “I was talking to one of the old timers before. I said it’s boring, but in a good way. It was wild back then. It’s cool to see these guys more focused, more concentrated.
“They want to go out there and perform. They’re dedicated to their craft. It’s not like the partying and all that back in the day. Which was great, but it couldn’t last forever.”
Carlito was ringside at WrestleMania 41 to help Dominik Mysterio secure his first ever Intercontinental Title victory in a fatal four way match against champion Bron Breakker, Finn Balor and Penta.
WWE Raw is available to stream live every Monday on Netflix in the United States. SmackDown, NXT, every Premium Live Event and the WWE Library are also available to stream on the platform outside of the United States
