Carlito Had Creative Freedom In Judgment Day, Doesn't Think Triple H Was A Fan Of His Character

Carlito is officially a free agent and he's now discussing his latest run with WWE.
The former United States and Intercontinental Champion departed the company earlier this month after he was informed that his contract would not be renewed. This despite him becoming a mainstay on Monday Night Raw as a member of the Judgment Day.
During a guest appearance on Sirius XM Busted Open Radio Monday, Carlito spoke about his role in the group and taking it upon himself to be the comic relief during most of their segments.
"Those were all my ideas. I took, literally, 'creative has nothing for you,' and I made something of it. I went in there and I said, 'I'm not going to complain.' I'm one of the older guys, I'm not going to get prioritized and I'm not gonna get pushed and [Triple H] is not a fan of Carlito."
Carlito clarified that he thinks that Triple H likes him personally, but he believes that WWE's Chief Content Officer was not a big fan of his character.
Regardless, a lack of creative direction from WWE actually turned out to have major upside during his last few months with the company. Carlito essentially had a free pass to do what he wanted.
"The writers were great, they gave me a bunch of freedom. They would come to me and say, 'We have this backstage (segment), we don't really have anything for you here, but we were hoping you would Carlito-fy it,' is what they would say. I would find where I could do something. It took off from there and every week it was great. They gave me total freedom to do whatever I wanted." h/t FightfulCarlito on Busted Open Radio
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Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com