Before Baron Corbin became one of WWE’s most imposing personalities, he was just trying to survive an NFL camp in Indianapolis.
The man fans now know as a two-time United States champion was once an undrafted rookie with the Colts in 2009, still using his birth name, Thomas Pestock, and fighting for a roster spot in a city dominated by Peyton Manning and a pair of edge rushers who made life miserable for opposing linemen.
“It was no plays off,” Corbin said ahead of Friday Night SmackDown in Indianapolis. “You either had (Dwight) Freeney or you had (Robert) Mathis. It was just not a good time.”
Corbin came to the Colts from Division II Northwest Missouri State, and he said the adjustment was as much mental as physical. His job was to help protect Manning, a task made even more demanding by the layers of information he had to absorb.
“You were handed a playbook. (That was) hard enough to really lock in your brain as an offensive lineman and understanding defenses,” he said. “You were also handed a secondary playbook with all of Peyton’s code words.”
Still, the 6-6, 318-pound lineman didn’t fade into the background. Corbin said it didn’t take long before he felt he belonged.
“It took a few days to settle in and say, ‘Hey, I belong here,’” he remembered.
The football career didn’t last, but Corbin said the experience in Indianapolis helped shape what came next. Those lessons eventually carried over into wrestling and, in his words, into a life that WWE made possible.
“It opened the door to WWE, which created a life for me. I really look back and I say I love what my football career gave me. I appreciate that every day,” he said.
His time with the Colts also led to a friendship with Pat McAfee, a connection that later turned into something even stranger when the two crossed paths again in WWE.
“Pat has never changed. From day one, He is the same Pat McAfee,” Corbin said. “We got to wrestle in Tennessee at SummerSlam and had a match.”
What started in the Circle City eventually came full circle under the bright lights of WWE.
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Sauce Gardners Colts Start Has Brought More Heat Than Answers
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