Baron Corbin Reflects On WWE Exit & Return, Learning ‘Humility’ On the Indies

Baron Corbin is back in WWE, and he recently reflected on what he learned from his exit from the company and time on the independent scene. Corbin made his return on the July 10th episode of WWE Smackdown, and followed it up with a US Championship win over Trick Williams at WWE SummerSlam.

Corbin spoke with Busted Open Radio about his return and how leaving may have been the best thing that could have happened to him. You can see highlights below (per F4W Online):

On His WWE Exit & Return:

“That’s the most stress and nervousness I’ve had in a day in a long time. It was the combination of a lot of things. Coming back, I took that year and a half, and I elevated everything I did, whether it was in the ring, in jiu-jitsu, personality, the ability on a microphone. I kept to that grind. I think when you’re doing it without that big machine behind you, when you’re having to go to different shows, it’s a testament to how much you love it and where your passion is. If you want to get better without the help of that machine and you’re doing it on your own, I think you can grow exponentially. Whereas if you have the machine, you can take things for granted. ‘I’ve already made it,’ all of that. It’s different when you’re on the outside,” Corbin added.

“Coming back to it, it’s like, I’m going to make a statement. I’m not the same guy I was when I left. I hope people have forgotten about me so I can remind them how dangerous I truly am. When I came in in the beginning as the Lone Wolf, that was the attitude I had, and I think I got lost along the way a little bit. Going away might have been the best thing ever for me and what I’m going to accomplish between those ropes.”

On What He Learned On the Indies:

“To sum it up in one word, humility. In WWE, sometimes we can take it for granted that we’re in front of 10,000 people, 50,000 people, 80,000 people. The entrances, your travel is taken care of, your schedule is handed to you. Everything is kind of spoon-fed to you. When you come out and you have to start booking your own stuff, you’re in control of getting to the shows, you have to set a price, you have to do all of these things. Then you get there and there’s no security for these shows. I’m going, ‘Where do I park?’ And they’re like, ‘I don’t know, bro. That’s on you. Maybe down the street somewhere.’

“You’re looking at these rings. They’re different sizes, 16 feet. They may not be the greatest rings. I was really selective on the shows I was doing, but even then, it’s just a different world. You’ve got to bring your own tape sometimes. All of those little things that maybe I never realized and took for granted. It made me appreciate everything I had so much more. When I was in that arena this weekend, I’m just looking at the size of it and going, ‘How could I have ever taken these moments for granted?’ Maybe that’s why I lost a step at the end of my run there the first time, that kind of arrogance of, ‘This is normal.’”