Big Cass Talks Possible Future With AEW, If He'd Return To WWE

CazXL (fka WWE's Big Cass) appeared on Insight with Chris Van Vliet to discuss returning to wrestling after going into recovery for alcohol addiction. The former WWE star also spoke about a possible future with All Elite Wrestling, and if he'd ever return to WWE.

After getting into amazing shape, Caz began popping up at various indie shows over the past couple months. Caz said he's still passionate about wrestling and was very happy to be back in the ring.

"It feels amazing," CazXL said. "There was a point in time where I thought I don't want to go back to wrestling. I almost hated it and resented it so bad. I woke up four months ago and realized that was the first thing I fell in love with. You want to do what you love in life, you want to do what you're passionate about, or you're not gonna be happy. I am passionate about wrestling, and I just started my journey to getting back into the ring."

Before his comeback, Caz thought he was done with wrestling and headed to another profession outside of the industry.

"Yeah I think so," Caz said when asked if he thought he was done. "I was kind of just looking. I was thinking about going back to school to get my masters in social work. I'm very passionate about recovery and I want to help people. That was an option, to go back and get my masters. I was kind of just looking at different paths in my life, and I told myself I wasn't going back to wrestling. But yeah, here I am. I guess it was resentment, or just that I really hated it for a little while. I didn't want to be anywhere near it."

In previous interviews, Caz spoke about his battles with depression, which he fought by using alcohol to self-medicate. If eventually got to the point where going to rehab was a necessity if he wanted to continue living.

"It became a matter of life and death," CazXL admitted. "I had a few more seizures after the one in Philadelphia. It got to the point where I knew I was going to die. If I keep going down this path I'm gonna die. There was a point where maybe I didn't even care about that, but for some reason at that point in time I did care. I was like I can't die, I've got to do something about this. I could have easily given up, but some instinctual thing told me to keep going. The hardest thing to do is to reach out for help."

Known for helping other wrestlers like Scott Hall and Jake Roberts, Diamond Dallas Page came to the aid of Caz when he needed it most.

"He helped a lot. He was one of the first people to give me a platform and encourage me to share what I was going through," CazXL recalled. "If I didn't do that then people can't relate to it. That was a big first step was me admitting it. I think I admitted it in a promo backstage after I wrestled Jon Moxley. But the video that DDPY put out really got the word out to what I was going through. And it was through Dallas that I met my girlfriend [Lexy Nair, daughter of DDP and AEW Backstage Reporter]."

Release by WWE in 2018, he was asked if that was a place he could ever go back to down the road.

"I do. I think with time and earning people's trust, just as I have earned my family and friend's trust," Caz said. "People have to see you doing well over a certain period of time."

AEW was also brought up as a potential destination for the former WWE Superstar, but ultimately he's fine with taking things one day at a time and is open to going anywhere.

"I would love to go to AEW," Caz said. "I'd love to go back to WWE, go to AEW, IMPACT, New Japan, Ring of Honor, wherever. Those conversations with Gallows and Anderson have happened and it's something I would love to do. But one day at a time is the way I take it, I don't want to look too far into the future. If a phone call comes tonight that's great, if it doesn't come for another three to four months or a year, that's fine too. I'm open to go anywhere and to have fun, and to make a name for myself."

You can check out the full interview in the video below.