AEW star and Dark Order member Colt Cabana recently spoke with Fightful about a wide range of topics, including why he decided to leave Ring of Honor and how his original plan was to just do NJPW and indie shows prior to signing with AEW. Highlights from the interview are below.
How he and the Young Bucks were always on the same page, and details their shared success at merchandise tables on the independent circuit:
“If you read the Young Bucks book, they talk very kindly about me and I think back to the situation where I remember how well I was doing with merchandise and how much more I would be doing than other people. So, in this instance like how much better I’d be doing than the Young Bucks and they would just be like, ‘That’s just crazy that you’re making $900—’ or whatever it was at the merch table. Then fast forward two years and we’re in Australia, and they’re making—I don’t want to give their numbers away—but, more than $900 with a three-hour line around the whole building and running out of t-shirts within an hour. It’s just so mind-blowing. I think the Young Bucks and I have always been on the same page and that’s kind of where it came from.”
On leaving ROH and expecting to work NJPW and indie dates prior to signing with AEW:
“It was at the point where I was done, in my mind, with Ring of Honor, I was starting with New Japan and [Yano]. I kinda wanted that to be my main thing and then I would just do the independents. I just wasn’t ready to be a full-time commentator like Ring of Honor had me. So, I kinda gave my notice. I never signed a contract with them. It was always a handshake deal. So, I gave them a two-month notice. I said, ‘I’m going to be done in November.’ At that point, I didn’t say anything to WWE. I had no interest in that. But, I did say to the Bucks, ‘Hey, this is where I’m at. I’m not really even asking. I’m letting you know if it’s something you’re interested in, my options are now open. My handshake deal is done. My plan was to do New Japan and the independents. That was my plan.”