In his perfect world, Scott "Colt Cabana" Colton would become pro wrestling's version of Stephen Colbert.
Just like Colbert did before finding a niche on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report," Colton is using Chicago's acclaimed comedy scene to try and advance his career. Colton is doing weekly improv skits at ComedySportz Chicago and standup shows nationally opening for TNA Wrestling star Mick Foley, including a Feb. 24 gig at the Baltimore Comedy Factory.
Colton isn't just perfecting verbal and theatrical skills he can showcase in the Philadelphia-based Ring of Honor promotion (8 p.m. EST Mondays, HDNet). He hopes that expanding his repertoire could lead to other entertainment opportunities.
"I'm not even 30 yet, but in a couple years who knows if my body or wrestling career is going to still be there?" the 29-year-old Colton said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "Comedy is another true love of mine. Wrestling has opened a lot of doors for me, so I'm going to take full advantage of this."
Colton said his standup material has a wrestling theme that includes poking fun at what he describes as a "horrible" World Wrestling Entertainment stint. In early 2009, Colton had a chance to tickle the funny bone of WWE fans working under the name Scotty Goldman. Colton was given his own comedy segments ("What's Crackin' with Scotty Goldman") on the company's Web site.
Unfortunately, the skits had the same staying power that Colton did on "WWE Smackdown" the previous year. WWE quickly pulled the plug on Colton as a wrestler and Internet contributor without ever giving him a televised victory or significant push after he spent more than a year in the company's developmental system.
"I look at it from both a positive and negative standpoint," Colton said. "The positives are that I got to work for the biggest wrestling company in the world and earn a weekly paycheck for almost two years. I also learned a bunch in the developmental system from people like Steve Keirn, Tom Pritchard and Dusty Rhodes.
"On the negative side, I never did one (WWE) singles match competitively. I never did dark matches (before WWE television tapings) or was put on the road. In my debut match, I lost to Brian Kendrick. The next time, I was squashed by Vladimir Kozlov in a handicap match. Obviously, (WWE owner) Vince McMahon is not going to see that and say, 'This guy is so talented. Let's take a long look at him.' "
Although initially down after getting fired from his "dream job," Colton was immediately welcomed back into Ring of Honor. Colton's first major pro-wrestling success came in ROH five years ago when he feuded against current WWE star C.M. Punk.
Since his ROH return, Colton has tried perfecting a strong technical style while also incorporating in-ring humor into his bouts (a prior stint as the masked Matt Classic in the ill-fated Wrestling Society X promotion was hilarious). Colton said he draws inspiration from classic British wrestlers like Vic Faulkner and Mick McMichael who were "champion athletes who did little gags to make the crowd smile."
"I'm a very firm believer of comedic-based wrestling with the idea that the match is always competitive," said Colton, who worked 76 matches during a 65-day United Kingdom tour in 2004. "Some of the stuff (in wrestling) can be hokey but you can't be doing a clown character forever."
Colton is currently involved in one of ROH's top storyline feuds involving Kevin Steen and El Generico. Along with his comedy endeavors, Colton has a full work calendar. Colton, though, says he would someday like another chance to bask in the WWE spotlight despite admittedly lacking the "larger-than-life" physical stature the company usually seeks in its performers.
"I'm not a money-driven man, but WWE is really the only place in wrestling where you can make a really, really good living and show the world your creative side as an artist," Colton said. "Even if I would only get to show 50 percent of my creativity by going back, I would take that."
For more information on Colton's comedy and wrestling careers, visit www.rohwrestling.com and www.totalextremecomedy.com. Colton also can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/drColtCabana.
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