Chuck Palumbo is a former professional wrestler who was most famous for his time in the WWE and in WCW. He was a tag team champion in both companies, sometimes in controversial circumstances, and is fondly remembered by fans from his days in WCW all the way to his WWE release in 2008.
What Happened To Chuck Palumbo?
What happened to former WWE Superstar Chuck Palumbo? Chuck Palumbo now works as a television presenter, a musician, a fitness trainer and runs his own business building custom motorcycles. He spent a brief period wrestling on the independent scene after his 2008 release from the WWE.
He had an offer to sign a deal with TNA, which he confirmed in an interview in 2009. He opted not to sign for the company and Chuck Palumbo’s last match in wrestling took place in 2012.
He official retired from wrestling in 2014 and moved on to a brand new career outside professional wrestling. In 2014, Palumbo began co-hosting the Discovery Channel’s Lords of the Car Hoards with custom car builder Rick Dore.
The show focuses the garage Dore and Palumbo co-own, and saw the two men try to fix and customize cars and motorcycles. The show was a big hit and was renewed for a second season, although the name was altered to Rusted Development.
Chuck Palumbo also runs his own custom motorcycle business. Named CP Customs, he works on building his own custom motorcycles, as well as repairing and doing up cars and bikes. Some examples of his fine work can be read on bikernet.com.
He has stepped away from the world of wrestling by his own accord and pursued his other passions. Given his biker gimmick that he had in his later run in the WWE, it’s clear he has a big passion in life and may have found his true calling in life, other than professional wrestling.
Why Was Chuck Palumbo Fired By WWE?
Chuck Palumbo was released by WWE after being drafted to the Raw brand in the 2008 Supplement draft. He was just coming off a feud with Matt Hardy over the United States Championship, although he was unsuccessful in his endeavour. After being traded to Raw he had high hopes of his future which fell flat. He never appeared on Raw and months later, on November 7th, 2008 he was released, alongside former WWE Tag Team Champion Paul London.
World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of Superstars Paul London and Chuck Palumbo as of Nov. 7, 2008. WWE wishes them the best in all future endeavors.
WWE.com’s statement upon the release of Chuck Palumbo and Paul London.
While his release may have seemed suspect, being the same as Paul London who was reportedly released for smiling just before Vince McMahon died in a limousine explosion, it was not. The man himself confirmed as such, when he spoke to The Wrestling Inc. Daily regarding his release from the WWE in 2008.
The former tag team champion revealed that his contract simply expired during this time, having signed a two-year deal upon his return to the company in 2006. He knew that his time with the company would not extend past those two years and made the most out of the time he had before being let go by the WWE.
They asked me to come back in ’06. I came back, and for probably the first six months or so, I sat at home. They didn’t even use me. They paid me to sit home, and then I finally started to use the motorcycle gimmick. I signed a two-year deal in ’06. I knew in my gut that that was going to be it for me. I didn’t want to stay any longer than that, unless things were really good. I knew I had the two-year deal. I tried to do the best I could with it, but I started making plans at that point for my future.”
He Almost Appeared In AEW With Billy Gunn
Chuck Palumbo almost appeared in AEW during Billy Gunn’s Birthday party, according to Anthony Bowens of The Acclaimed.
The Acclaimed recently held a birthday party for their manager Billy Gunn, but Anthony Bowens recently revealed that one man was missing from the celebration. He appeared on “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” to reveal that Billy Gunn’s former tag team partner Chuck Palumbo, of “Billy and Chuck” fame, was supposed to be his “gift” to Daddy Ass, but ultimate never came to fruition.
“I don’t like pulling the curtain too far back, but I will say that the Daddy Ass birthday bash celebration, I thought it would be a fun idea, and I did put together what you saw and the people enjoyed, but it was about maybe 30 or 40% of what I had originally planned. He (Chuck Palumbo) was going to be my birthday gift, but he wasn’t available.”
“Billy and Chuck” were an infamous duo in the mid 2000s in WWE, winning the WWE Tag Team Championships during their time together. They had an ambiguously gay gimmick, which ended in a mock wedding between the two which ended in disaster when one WWE Hall of Famer made an unlikely appearance at the ceremony. Chuck Palumbo later repackaged into a biker on TV but not last long until his WWE release in 2009.
