What Happened To Carlito From WWE?
WWE fans are wondering what happened to Carlito. He was last seen on WWE television in 2010 and has not been seen since.
Introduction
Carlito was born on February 21, 1979, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His real name is Carlos Colon Jr. and he is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Carlos Colon Sr. He made his WWE debut in 2004 and was drafted to the SmackDown brand in 2005. He won the United States Championship and the Intercontinental Championship during his time with WWE. He was released from WWE in 2010 and has since wrestled on the independent circuit.
Early Life and Career
Carlito Caribbean Cool was born on February 21, 1978, in Puerto Rico. His father, Jose Trinidad, was also a wrestler. Carlito made his wrestling debut in 1996. He worked for several promotions in Puerto Rico before being signed by the WWE in 2004.
Carlito was assigned to their development territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). He made his main roster debut on the SmackDown brand in 2005. He quickly became a fan favorite with his catchphrase “That’s not cool!” and his wit. He won his first championship, the United States Championship, in 2006.
In 2007, Carlito turned heel and began a feud with John Cena. This led to a match at WrestleMania 23 which Cena won. Carlito then feuded with Kane and Rey Mysterio. He won the Intercontinental Championship from Mysterio in 2007.
WWE Career
Carlito made his WWE debut in 2004, and quickly captured the United States Championship. He held the title for five months before losing it to John Cena. Carlito would go on to have several more championship reigns in WWE, including the Intercontinental Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship.
In 2010, Carlito was released from WWE. Since then, he has made sporadic appearances on the independent wrestling circuit. In 2016, he made a one-time return to WWE, appearing on an episode of Raw. Carlito currently resides in his native Puerto Rico.
Post-WWE Career
In 2010, Colón was featured in an episode of the Syfy reality television series Ghost Hunters, which investigated paranormal activity at the historic Fort Sherman in chickeehuts near Anclote River in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
On March 12, 2010, Colón made a special appearance for World Wrestling Council (WWC) teaming up with his father and brothers to beat La Pareja Del Terror ( Damien666 and Bestia 666) in a Street Fight.
On May 8, 2010, Colón appeared at the Puerto Rico Comic Con.
On June 12, 2010, it was announced that Colón had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). On June 19 at Slammiversary VIII, Colón made his debut as an enforcer for D’Angelo Dinero’s “The Pope” character under the name “Carlito Caribbean Cool”. On the following edition of Impact! Carlito appeared in a backstage segment with Dixie Carter announcing that he had been signed to a contract with TNA. Later that night he interfered in a match between The Pope and Kurt Angle costing Angle the match. The following week on Impact! he teamed up with The Pope to take on angle and Jeff Jarrett in a losing effort when Jarrett made The Pope submit to the ankle lock. Over the next few weeks on Impact!, Carlito would interfere in numerous matches costing Jarrett or Angle victories furthering their feud before eventually turning on Pope and joining forces with them against Jarrett and Angle. At Victory Road Carlito teamed up with The Pope and Angle to take on Jarrett’s alliance now including Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy which they lost when Joe made Angle submit however the rivalry continued until Bound For Glory where all six men took part in a six sides of steel match which Joe won by making Hardy submit therefor becoming number one contender to Kurt Angle’s TNA world heavyweight championship.
Personal Life
Since his retirement from WWE in 2010, Colon has made various appearances on the independent circuit. He made his debut for Puerto Rican World Wrestling League (WWL) on June 16, 2012, where he competed in a Fatal four-way match for the vacant WWL World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Hurricane Castañeda. In November 2012, Carlito returned to WWL to participate in a tag team tournament to crown the inaugural WWL Tag Team Champions along with Elías Santiago, but they were defeated in the first round by Los Benjamins (Jay Rios and Mike Mendoza).
Death
former WWE professional wrestler Carlos Edwin Colón Jr. died on February 21, 2021, at the age of 51. The cause of death has not been made public.
Carlito was born in Puerto Rico and made his professional wrestling debut in 1997. He rose to prominence in WWE in 2004, when he won the WWE United States Championship. He held the title for 87 days before losing it to John Cena.
Carlito went on to have a successful career in WWE, winning the Intercontinental Championship twice and the World Tag Team Championship once. He was also a Mr. Money in the Bank winner, cashing in his contract to become WWE Champion in 2006.
Carlito left WWE in 2010 and wrestled independently for several years before retirement. In 2020, he made a one-time return to WWE to compete in the Royal Rumble match.
Carlito is survived by his wife and two children.
