Former WWE star open to returning even though John Laurinaitis banned him

John Laurinaitis once told Marty Garner he would be arrested if he ever appeared at a WWE event again. In a recent interview, Garner said he is now willing to return following Laurinaitis' departure as a talent relations executive in 2022.

Garner, also known as Cham-Pain, appeared in WWE between 1994 and 1998 before competing in four televised matches between 2006 and 2008. He is arguably best remembered for receiving a botched Pedigree from Triple H during a match in 1996.

On the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, the 56-year-old confirmed he would be open to wrestling for WWE or another major promotion one day:

"Yeah, absolutely," Garner, who also works as a surveyor, said when asked about a WWE return. "I've had some guys who are about my age, they were telling me the other day, 'Yeah, man, me and you, we're out of the game now. We ain't trying to get no job or whatever,' and I said, 'Nah, let me tell you something, if they wanna give me a job for a couple of years, it's a win-win for me. There's always gonna be people that want surveys done, so I can always come back and start surveying again.'" [44:56 – 45:21]

Garner has not wrestled for WWE since losing to Vladimir Kozlov on the April 25, 2008, episode of SmackDown. Shortly thereafter, Laurinaitis banned him from returning after the wrestler's fans bombarded him with 300 to 500 emails per day.

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Marty Garner has changed his mindset since his last WWE appearance

Earlier in his career, Marty Garner focused on in-ring acrobatics and finding fame. These days, however, he understands that psychology is more important than wrestlers' moves in the ring.

Garner, who still wrestles on the independent scene, now uses his children as his biggest motivation in life:

"I've always wanted it so bad, and at first it was for the fame. Now it's for my kids. It's for something different now. I wrestle so much better now that I know it's for psychology. The psychology's better, the whole match is better because I'm doing it for a different reason. I wanna be good." [45:37 – 46:01]

Garner also addressed speculation that he once filed a lawsuit over the aforementioned incident with Triple H towards the start of his career.

Would you like to see Marty Garner receive another shot in the wrestling business? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.