Baron Corbin Back For One Last Run, Ready To Rewrite His Ending (Exclusive)

Baron Corbin jumps on our Zoom call while outside the gym prior to the beginning of his scheduled leg day. He looks like he’s already put in work this morning, but his focused intensity is broken with a loud laugh when I ask him why he lied to me about coming back to WWE after reports resurfaced of a new contract earlier this year.

“You got to take me to Market Street Grill if you want to get the secrets,” he says, a nod to our favorite diner in the greatest little city on the East Coast, West Chester, PA, where we both first crossed paths over a decade ago, splitting time between hanging around with Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn, and knocking back Miller High Life bottles with Cameron Taylor at Jitters on Gay Street.

“Get my bacon pancake with my chipped beef on it. We’re rocking and rolling.”

Hailed by his peers and contemporaries as one of the safest in-ring workers of his generation, Baron Corbin came to the main roster like a rocket straight to the moon. Winning the United States Championship, the 2017 Men’s Money in the Bank briefcase, retiring Kurt Angle, and marquee working spots with The Rock and Becky Lynch, it seemed like destiny that he’d eventually capture the WWE Championship, until it wasn’t.

His booking largely floundered by no fault of his own with a multitude of character changes, and his King of the Ring win was hamstrung by the COVID-19 pandemic, shutting the world, and the heat, off from his work. After what felt like another chance at redemption, including a major crowd reaction in France, Corbin got his walking papers in 2024, bringing a decade of service with WWE to an abrupt end.

The story of Baron Corbin in WWE may have abruptly ended in 2024, but he says he never felt like the book was fully closed.

“We’d stayed in touch throughout the year and a half I was gone,” he tells me ahead of his match with Lil Yachty at this weekend’s Sunday Night’s Main Event.

“There were just little text messages here and there, mostly well wishes on things that we see each other accomplishing. I’d send Hunter a text when I would see something that WWE was doing that was amazing because I love the company and I love what they gave me and the life they gave me.”

During his year and a half away, Corbin stayed busy, competing for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, GCW Bloodsport, and capturing the MLW Tag Team Championships with Donovan Dijak as part of The Skyscrapers. He says there was never any ill will from either party towards the other after his contract expired, and he always felt like the time would be right for him to return someday.

One day, he got a message from one of the writers asking him if he’d be interested in returning, and he said he’d be open to a conversation. From there, a Zoom call was set with WWE’s CCO, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and the plan came together, shedding the skin of the previous existence he occupied through multiple iterations of his character.

Triple H and Corbin agreed that the best course would be to get back to basics and lean fully into his ruthless, merciless approach in the ring, beating people up and winning big matches. He says that his decisive win over Trick Williams in his first match back at SummerSlam to win the United States Championship has set the tone for what’s to come next, including wiping the mat with Lil Yachty on Sunday.

“It’s not going to be a fun night for him. He’s excited. I’m sure it’s going to be his in-ring debut in his hometown in front of his family, and it’s going to be exciting until the bell rings. Then it’s going to be one of those moments of like, ‘What did I get myself into? I should have stuck to the music. I should have stuck to being safe in a recording studio. I should have just stayed on the outside and let Trick take the beating that Trick does so well.’ It’s going to be a miserable night for him, but I’m going to enjoy every second of that 5 minutes.”

Corbin’s presentation has been tailored in between the Lone Wolf character he portrayed that got him over in NXT and the main roster and the Nomad variant he played on the independent scene, and it’s a place he feels most comfortable. He says he always enjoyed the regalia and the pageantry of the characters he played, but he’s focused on being himself while doing what he does best: beating people up.

“I have a bad attitude. That’s the way I was an offensive lineman in college, in the NFL. I was known for getting in fights at practice. I was known for punching people in the face, and it’s like, that’s what I do best. I’ve always been somewhat of a salty prick in all aspects of life. Even my best friends will tell you that. They’re like, ‘Yeah, man, he doesn’t like a lot of people. You just got to deal with it. That’s not his thing.’ Being able to kind of just be myself and have that kind of ruthlessness is what I like.”

Corbin tells me he’s signed a new multi-year deal with WWE, but he knows that time slows for no one, and confirms that this one is likely the last one he’ll sign as an active in-ring performer. He says there are a number of things he wants to complete now that he’s returned, including winning the WWE Championship, and with this being his self-proclaimed last shot, he’s not letting anything, or anyone, stand in his way.

“The first time around, I was a nice guy. I tried to be a person that was like, I can help everybody get along. I can make certain guys look good if they need help. I can help guys learn in the ring. There’s a lot of things I can do to help everybody grow. I think this time I’m looking at it going, I’m going to be a little bit more selfish. This is about me, and this is about accomplishing the things I want. Trick’s got a 10 or 15-year career left in front of him. I don’t have that. So if I have to sacrifice Lil Yachty or Trick or Cody or Punk or Gunther or Finn, I mean, there’s a long list. If it’s Bron Breakker, former Wolf Dog, if he steps in the way, he’s getting run over. There [are] no friends in this run for me. Everyone is a target if they’re holding what I want.”

Baron Corbin faces Lil Yachty at Sunday Night’s Main Event, live from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, September 6th. The show begins 8pm ET/5pm PT and can be streamed exclusively on Peacock. Check your local listings for start times in your area.