One half of the Best Friends in AEW, Trent Beretta, is one of the longest tenured wrestlers in AEW. He’s been a constant presence in the tag team division since his debut, minus the two major spells he has had out due to injury.
He also spent time in WWE, where he wrestled since 2007, aged 20. He was one of the youngest ever signings to the company and had a world of expectation on his shoulders. Sadly, the pressure did no good for him and he was released 6 years on, having achieved very little in the company.
However, he has recently spoken about his time in WWE and if he thought Vince McMahon made the right decision canning him when he did. Keep reading to find out what he said and which WWE legend he wrestled in their very last match before passing away.
Trent Beretta in WWE
Trent Beretta revealed that he did meet Vince McMahon when he worked with WWE, but did not work closely with him during his time on the ECW brand. He revealed that he shook hands with him backstage and met him in passing in the hallways, but did not have a close relationship with the WWE’s former chairman at all.
He also spoke about how he was not ready when he signed for the company, at age 20, and how he was a “baby” when it came not just to his age, but also being confident enough to forge a relationship with such a mythical figure in McMahon when he had just broken into the wrestling business.
Speaking with Wrestling Inc, the Best Friends member said;
“I never worked directly with Vince. I shook his hand in the hallway and it was … I was such a baby when I was there. I was so young. I moved to FCW when I was 20 and debuted on TV at 22.”
“But I think I wasn’t ready to be there. So I mean, overall it was a good experience though. Nothing bad happened to me or anything. I’m trying to word it correctly. Yeah, that’s enough.”
The former WWE star did not have the best run in WWE. He signed in 2007 and lasted 6 years in the promotion, being released in 2013. However, his run was very unmemorable, being relegated to the developmental promotions for the bulk of his run, sans a uninspired time working on the ECW-WWE revival. He also had a spell where he was drafted to Smackdown, but rarely appeared on the show.
He was most famous for his tag team with Caylen Croft, known as The Dudebusters. The pair actually competed in Dusty Rhodes’ last ever match, which you can read about in depth by clicking below.
Trent was released by WWE in 2013, with his last appearance being on an episode of NXT TV, where he defeated Leo Kruger by disqualification. He would be released and sent to wrestle on the independent scene where he met Chuck Taylor in PWG and formed the Best Friends tag team.
Most wrestlers would hold a grudge if they were fired from their dream job, but not Trent Beretta. He seemed to think his firing was justified, even noting that “I would have fired me” based on the work he had put out in WWE.
When asked if he was bitter about being fired, he very humbly noted;
“No, no, not at all. I would’ve fired me too. I probably wouldn’t have hired me at 20.
“Well, some people can do it. Some guys come out of football or whatever, and they’re 21 years old, and it suddenly just wrestling fully clicks with them. But for most guys, it takes ten years to figure out what you’re really doing.”
He has since gone on to wrestle in both AEW and NJPW and his tag teams have been two of the most popular in either company (Best Friends and Roppongi Vice). He currently wrestles alongside Chuck Taylor in AEW and their other partner, Orange Cassidy. They recently accompanied Cassidy as he won the All-Atlantic Championship from PAC.