The impressive comeback story of Kalisto.
Before signing with the WWE the former two-time WWE United States Champion Kalisto was known as "Samuray Del Sol" and "Octagon Jr." on the independent wrestling scene. Kalisto was well traveled and had competed for several years before he signed his NXT developmental contract. Things almost went completely left in the life of Kalisto before he made it to the land of sports-entertainment. In 2011 he had a life changing experience that almost resulted in him either losing his life or having to put an end to his professional wrestling career.
During a tour of Mexico in 2011, Kalisto made it through one of the scariest moments of his career at the 'Desastre Total Ultraviolento' show where he was involved in a multi-man match and went for a flip on the outside but was not caught by the other competitors in the match and Kalisto ended up landing on the hardwood floor and his head just so happened to miss the floor and bounced against the barricade.
While Kalisto guest appeared on Sheamus' 'Celtic Warrior Workouts' YouTube channel, he told the story of the move that almost ended his career and could have had far worse results.
“Yeah, this changed my life actually. That almost made me quit.” He continued, “Yeah it was in the middle of 2011 because I was on tour in Mexico and I had so many dates up ahead, but everything just went to stop because I did this crazy back flip, double rotation and I guess I over rotated and I landed on the barricade. Thank God that's not my fault and I mean, if [I] would’ve hit the ground I would’ve been dead because nobody caught me and it was just bad timing too and everything so, long story short I ended up staying in Mexico for like two-and-a-half months. I was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. I always tell everybody this. Its like being drunk - day and night non-stop. [Its] so annoying - even sleeping it felt like the whole room is spinning around for two months." Kalisto stated. "I always tell everybody its like being drunk for day and night, its so annoying - throwing up, can’t be able to go to the bathroom. Well thank God I have family back in Mexico so I stayed with them."
The problems did not end there for Kalisto. On top of dealing with a concussion, his mother suffered a heart attack because she was so terrified about what had happened to her son. Kalisto stated that he was all set to leave the wrestling business but it was the inspiration and support from his wife and family that kept him moving forward.
“Yeah [I almost quit], and long story short, well, went back to Chicago. My mom was so scared - she ended up having a heart attack so I mean you know what, double-whammy, I’m done, that’s it - sell all my masks, sell everything, that’s it, I’m done." Kalisto shared. "So I was training just to get back in the ring so I can finish my tour in Mexico which everything was paid for, everything was done. But there’s this big Expo called Expo Lucha. I was gonna sell everything. I was done. So, believe it or not, my first match back was against Sami Zayn." He revealed. "Sami Zayn was my first match, and after that match, went to Mexico. For some reason I left my phone back in Chicago, and my wife, she ended up calling my cousin from her cellphone and [goes], ‘Hey, WWE called you for a tryout’ - like there’s no way, why would they call me? Long story short, we Skyped. She put the voicemail on the Skype and I’m like, ‘Woah, its legit’. My wife [goes], ‘Hey, I just graduated college. If you really wanna do this, we’ll focus just on this and I’ll dedicate my time for you’. Like man, I got my wife on my side. Got everything - support, lets do it.”
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto is currently a member of the 205 Live roster and the brand has undergone a change over the past week. It was announced that 205 Live will now be airing on the WWE Network on Wednesdays at 7 PM EST before NXT TV.
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