Goodbye R-Truth and Carlito – Thanks for the memories
This really wasn’t the plan, but with the news of R-Truth and Carlito leaving WWE — which I completely understand — I thought I’d do a small column about some of the best moments from their recent runs in WWE.
R-Truth came back to WWE 17 years ago after a pretty successful run in TNA. While he didn’t make a big splash right off the bat, he slowly showed his worth in the midcard.
His early work with Kofi Kingston as a tag team got him a tag title reign, but that was about it. Both of his reigns as U.S. Champion were accidents — which is funny, considering who R-Truth would become — as his opponents forgot to kick out both times he won the belt. Vince loved it so much that he let him keep the title for a few days before fixing the error the following week.
After a while, they tried pushing him into a main event role after WrestleMania 27 by turning him heel and pairing him with The Miz as they feuded with Cena and later The Rock at Survivor Series. That run was the genesis of the R-Truth we’ve known and loved for the last several years.
After that heel run, he transitioned into this lovable goofball who saw “Little Jimmy” and fully embraced the character until his release yesterday. During that period, he won numerous 24/7 Championships and was pretty much the reason the title stayed relevant for as long as it did. Sadly, over the last year, age started creeping in, and he wasn’t being used as much anymore. Outside of his brief run with Cena over the last few weeks, he really wasn’t featured, which is a shame since his comedy was a breath of fresh air in an increasingly serious WWE product.
In the end, while he’s not getting re-signed — which makes sense since he’s 53 and they likely needed the spot for someone younger — I really doubt we’ve seen the last of R-Truth in WWE. They’ll probably sign him to a Legends deal at some point, if it hasn’t happened already.
As for Carlito, that’s a different story altogether. It seemed like WWE only brought him back because of how fans reacted to his surprise Royal Rumble return a few years back. They really didn’t do much with him during his current run. He came back, didn’t do much for a few months, had a few matches here and there, and eventually got placed in the LWO, where he was mostly used for comedy. Again, he barely wrestled.
His most notable moment during that run was his feud with Santos Escobar and the storyline “injury” that let him give his Survivor Series spot to Dragon Lee. Then at WrestleMania, he began a heel turn by attacking Dragon Lee to take his spot — which backfired when Rey picked someone else as his partner. This led to the reveal that Carlito was the one who attacked Lee and his eventual addition to Judgment Day, where again he was mostly used for comic relief and rarely wrestled, mainly interfering in matches.
Once again, age was his biggest enemy. He was released to give a younger wrestler a chance on the main roster, which is totally understandable. WWE seems determined not to have an overblown roster full of wrestlers sitting in catering, and that — along with his age — likely led to him not being re-signed. Unlike R-Truth, I don’t think Carlito’s release was a huge loss for WWE. He was mostly a nostalgia act who didn’t do much during his run. While I could see him eventually getting a Legends deal, it’ll probably take longer, and for now, he’ll likely be happy wrestling in Puerto Rico for his family’s promotion.
In the end, these were two surprising cuts — but completely understandable. Both guys were older and barely used in-ring, and WWE needed the roster space for call-ups from NXT. Their mentality seems to be: when someone gets called up, someone else loses their spot — which makes perfect sense. It keeps the roster competitive and ensures wrestlers continue working hard to stay relevant. If management forgets about you, you’re probably next when the next round of call-ups hits.