Former WWE Star Talks HBK Telling Him Not to Be Afraid to ‘Step on Some Toes’, Regretting Not Speaking Up, Working with John Cena, More

May 26, 2016

Former WWE tag team star Caylen Croft of the Dudebusters was the latest guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show. Retiring in 2010 after being released from the WWE, Croft has used his degree in Art to have a successful career as a school teacher and artist.

Below are some highlights of the interview:

Being called up from FCW without any direction:

Edge [made a visit] down to FCW. I guess he told Michael Hayes, ‘Just bring these guys up. They’re good and they’re ready.’ We were in the process anyway. They brought us up and said, ‘OK. You guys are up. Now we’re not sure what to do with you.’ It was cool at first because we were on ECW every week. After we were up there, ECW shut down, and that same night we debuted on SmackDown against Cryme Tyme. I said, cool, we’ll get right into the mix. But nothing happened. They never really got behind us.

Advice he received from veterans, and regretting that he never spoke up:

I remember Edge jokingly saying about Christian, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. I guess I could have been more vocal about things, but I kind of was like, ‘tell me what you want me to do’ sort of thing. Shawn Michaels told me one time, ‘Don’t be afraid to step on some toes.’ I was pretty well liked, I got along with everybody. But, that was probably because I didn’t rise up the card. I was never a threat to anyone’s main event spot.

How John Cena was to work with:

I had nothing but great experiences with Cena. When I was in OVW, him and Nick Dinsmore (Eugene) were good buddies with Rob Conway, and they really helped us out. Shortly after I started, Johnny Jeter and Muhammad Hassan, we all kind of started together. Cena and [Dinsmore] helped us out. Then, just over the years, every time we would go on the road, Cena was always there, he was super cool. He was always super cool with me. But, again, I was never in a position [of threat] when we were working together.

Croft also talked whether he would return to wrestling, talking to Luke Gallows when he got re-signed, Ryback venting his frustration to him in the past, and more.

Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.

Nick attended New York University and graduated in 2001 with a degree in Drama.

Nick first entered the internet wrestling community back in 2004 when he became the co-host of The Voice of Wrestling Radio Show. From there, Nick made the transition from radio personality to editor when he began working with WrestleZone in 2008.

Nick is a member of two Off-Broadway theatre companies, Another Urban Riff, and the Drama Desk Award winning Godlight Theatre Company. Nick has appeared in over a dozen Off-Broadway plays since he moved to New York City, and has shot several short and feature length films. In 2010, he completed principle photography on a film titled "How to Score Your Life," which also features TNA Knockout ODB.

Inspiration in his life has come from many people including his family, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson, The Beatles, and of course, Lassie.