Tom Pestock, formerly known as "Baron Corbin" during his time in WWE, was a key fixture in the company for several years. Corbin made a reputable name for himself on "WWE NXT" in the mid-2010s and returned to the black and gold brand in 2023, spending a year there and reviving his career. While joining "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Corbin sounded off on WWE allowing his contract to expire months after his resurgence in "NXT."

"Obviously that hurt and lights a fire because I felt like in my WWE career I was in uncharted water in a sense. I had gone to 'NXT,' re-invented myself and put a lot of work into it even though I didn't agree with some of it," Corbin commented, noting that it was Bruce Prichard who gave him the message of being sent back to "NXT." "I think it was maybe not meant for me to succeed as well as I did down there."

Corbin and Bron Breakker won the 2024 Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, parlaying the tournament win into a reign as NXT Tag Team Champions. Corbin remarked that when he returned to the main roster last April, joining the "WWE SmackDown" brand, he felt that there was someone holding him down. Corbin also noted it made him hungrier to succeed knowing he had doubters within.

"I've always done everything that I've been asked to do and then to be like, 'Ah, we're just — we're gonna go in a different direction." It's like, 'What?' Like that was frustrating because there's nothing you can do at the end of day," Corbin mentioned also saying that several of the WWE wrestlers reached out to him, including Randy Orton. "He's like, 'Do you mind if I talk to [Triple H] about it?' I don't know if he ever did but he's like, 'Somebody doesn't like you.'... I wish it hadn't ended like it did."