Carlito addresses criticism of Judgment Day run, ‘bet against’ himself in WWE
Carlito holds no resentment towards his brief second run with WWE. Additionally, he expressed no regrets about his time in The Judgment Day which garnered mixed reviews from fans.
Carlito told Chris Van Vliet on the latest Insight Podcast episode that his WWE release didn’t come as a surprise because he never approached WWE nor did they ask for a contract extension. He did however state he ‘shot himself in the foot’ with the short period contract of two years instead of three.
“I signed for two years. They wanted me for three and I signed for two because, well, I didn’t think it was going to go as good as it did. That’s why I said I bet against myself and I would have got an extra year and then my, you know, then my contract would expire. But so, you know, ended up losing a year, but that’s all.”
He believes that a potential WWE legends deal might be in his future.
“Pretty sure I’ll pop up again somewhere, you know what I mean. Some kind of legends (deal) thing or something, who knows.”
Carlito stated his addition to The Judgment Day was a random idea with no specific long-term plan after his return. He also addressed the conflicting reactions to his association with the group during his limited time on the WWE roster.
“Yeah, it just happened organically, you know, like I said. So I said I was thinking like ‘Okay, how can I make this stand out, you know, do something here.’ So that was kind of where stuff, a lot of people get on me like, ‘oh, they made you look like a buffoon or whatever.’ I had fun with it. I enjoyed it. I thought it was fun.”
After nearly 13 years away, Carlito made his WWE comeback at Backlash in 2023, aligning with Latino World Order with Rey Mysterio. A year later, he joined The Judgment Day after offering to help Finn Balor and JD McDonagh particularly in multiple high-stakes matches.
He competed in the 2025 Andre The Giant Battle Memorial which ultimately became the last match of his second WWE stint.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.