Rocky Romero reflects on WWE being interested in having him as part of the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament and being offered a coaching role at the WWE Performance Center.
Rocky Romero is currently part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling and is viewed as a bridge between New Japan and other promotions. However, there was a time in 2016 when WWE wanted to utilize his abilities between the ropes and behind the scenes.
Speaking on the Under The Ring Podcast, Romero revealed WWE wanted him to be a part of the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament and even offered him a coaching role.
Romero says he likely would have done it if it were just a spot in the tournament. However, since they were also offering a coaching role, he felt as know WWE did not see any longevity in him as an in-ring performer.
"So they really wanted me for the Cruiserweight Classic, and I was in between, or about to be, in between contracts. I think I was in between contracts [with New Japan], and we were renegotiating mine, and WWE was very interested," said Rocky. "They wanted to offer me the Cruiserweight Classic, and then they wanted to offer me a coaching position, so I think if they didn’t offer me the coaching position and they just offered me the Cruiserweight Classic, then I probably, maybe would have waited a little bit longer to re-sign with New Japan, and I would have done that but them offering me the coaching position made me feel like they didn’t want me to wrestle so that it wasn’t maybe gonna go very far in the Cruiserweight so I decided to not take it and re-sign with New Japan."
Ultimately, Romero feels like the recent years in his career have been some of his best; therefore, he feels he made the right decision not to take the coaching role.
"I feel like the last two years have been some of my best years in the business, so I’m glad I did not take the coaching deal," said Rocky.
Elsewhere on the podcast, Romero opened up about the challenges in booking a card like AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2. Read more here.
Bryan Danielson, who was retired and a commentator during the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament in 2016, will be wrestling against Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door. Fans can check out the full card here.
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