Rico Talks About Going Back To A Normal Life After WWE

In an interview with Conversation with the Big Guy (via Wrestling Inc), Rico Constantino spoke about getting a late start in WWE (he debuted at the age of 40) and adjusting to life after retiring from wrestling. Here are highlights:

On his life before WWE: “I was a cop when I was 23 in North Las Vegas and I spent two years in the force there, and then they hired a new Chief and I didn’t like him. So, you know when you’re 26 years old you’re like, oh, I will go do something else. You know, you’re young, and that was my attitude back then.”

On his WWE release: “I finished my run with WWE – I honored my contract until the end, and I was sent home in November of 2004. But I honored it until February 2nd of 2005 because All Japan was calling me. I went there when my contract was over and Bull Buchanan and I had a run with the All Asia Tag Team Titles, and then I really had to think. Here I am at 44, do I really want to go to Japan for three-four weeks at a time and leave the family? I thought, you know, I really don’t. I said, well, let me put feelers out to see what I want to do. Reading my background, you know that I am a jack of all trades, master of none, so I felt it out.”

On not joining the concussion lawsuit even though he had concussion-related health issues like a collapsed lung, heart problems and memory loss: “What happened was…it’s just not wrestling with my life. Everything I have ever done is full contact. I remember somebody approaching me when I got out of professional wrestling and wanting me to join that class action lawsuit against Vince McMahon. I was like, how am I going to join that when I have all of this [police officer, U.S. Marshals, etc]? Vince McMahon was only seven years of my life. I can’t put that all on him, so I didn’t even join that stupid thing. So, what happened was in 2005 I started my police career and that is a rough job in itself. I wasn’t a guy that sat in the cop car. I walked, was around people, especially with the tourists here [in Las Vegas]. I worked graveyard for like six years, from 10 at night to 8 in the morning because we worked ten-hour shifts. And some days with the Marshals, I worked the night shift, Tuesday and Wednesday morning and then go work Wednesday day.”