NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano recently sent out a tweet revealing that he still has a 2015 email from WWE, in which the company rejected him following an unsuccessful tryout. He said he “looks at it from time to time to remind myself how far I’ve come and why any of this happened to begin with”.
Main-roster veteran Natalya chimed in, saying she also has her rejection email and it is “very important to keep fighting”.
The Twitter exchange got us thinking about other WWE Superstars who never gave up on their dream of making it to the very top in pro wrestling/sports entertainment, so we delved into the archives to find out which current men and women on the WWE roster almost quit wrestling earlier on in their careers.
#5 Luke Harper
Luke Harper has been a solid worker for WWE ever since he signed with the company’s FCW development brand in 2011.
Back then, he was due to work a tour with Dragon Gate in Japan and, as his wife was pregnant at the time, he decided that he was going to step away from wrestling as a full-time career and he was only going to wrestle locally.
Then, as he revealed in an interview with the Democrat and Chronicle, WWE surprisingly invited him to a tryout and everything changed.
#4 Sasha Banks
Didn’t expect to see Sasha Banks on this list? Nope, nor did we! “The Boss” has been very vocal throughout her NXT and WWE career about how she always grew up wanting to be a wrestler, but it turns out that she actually considered calling it quits before she made it to the big time.
John Cena Snr revealed on Boston Wrestling’s podcast that he spoke to Banks during a show in Massachusetts several years ago and she had discussed potentially ending her dream of becoming a pro wrestler.
He said (quotes via Fightful):
#3 Lana
Lana established herself as one of the best managers of the decade during her fine work alongside Rusev in NXT and WWE, so it was a surprise when she made the transition into becoming an in-ring competitor in 2016.
Speaking to E! Online before a season of Total Divas, “The Ravishing Russian” revealed that she came close to ending her in-ring dreams but she was encouraged to keep trying by fellow cast member Nikki Bella.
#2 Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal was in the best shape of his life when he returned to WWE in 2016, but even the biggest “Modern Day Maharaja” fan would not have predicted that he would win the WWE Championship within a year of his main-roster comeback.
The unlikeliest title victory of the decade would not have been possible if the former 3MB member had not reinvented himself – and his physique – after he was released by the company in 2014.
Speaking to Sky Sports during his five-month title reign in 2017, Mahal revealed that he almost gave up wrestling as his full-time career to open a sandwich shop.
#1 Roderick Strong
A 17-year veteran, Roderick Strong is one of the most experienced Superstars in WWE’s system who is yet to make his main-roster debut. The Undisputed Era member spent 13 years in Ring of Honor, starting in 2003, but he almost quit wrestling before he got the call from Gabe Sapolsky to attend a tryout with the company.
The former NXT Tag Team champion said on Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness (quotes via Fightful):
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