Former AEW star claims he tried getting Jacob Fatu hired by WWE before but was "told no"

Jacob Fatu finally made his WWE debut on this week's episode of Friday Night SmackDown. While it was reported that he had signed earlier this year, the Stamford-based promotion waited several months to pull the trigger. A former AEW talent has now provided insight into his efforts to get WWE to sign the Samoan star much earlier.

Mark Henry recently departed All Elite Wrestling after the expiration of his contract. The WWE Hall of Famer is renowned for his scouting ability, and he's apparently had his eyes on Jacob Fatu for a long time.

On the latest episode of the Busted Open podcast, The World's Strongest Man discussed Fatu's SmackDown debut. Henry claimed that he wanted to get The Samoan Werewolf signed to WWE years ago, but the company wasn't interested at the time:

"Jacob Fatu really should have been in WWE five, ten years ago," said Henry." He had troubles. He was somebody that was on my radar. I wanted him; I wanted to make him a Mark Henry guy, and I kept being told no. I'm so glad, I thank God every day that people get second chances. And for him to get his on a stage like this is super, super impressive." [From 00:46 to 01:17]

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Jacob Fatu's cousin was backstage at an AEW show in December

WWE is on a signing spree when it comes to The Bloodline and looks set to snag much of the remaining Anoa'i family in order to continue building the faction's storyline. The company has now debuted Jacob Fatu and could next set its eyes on his young cousin, Zilla Fatu.

Zilla is still very new to the business, having only made his in-ring debut last year in Booker T's Reality of Wrestling promotion. However, he's been racking up experience in GCW lately, and he teased joining The Bloodline after Jacob Fatu's SmackDown debut.

While WWE seems a more likely landing spot for Umaga's son, AEW can't be counted out. This was made apparent in December last year when Zilla Fatu met Tony Khan and Chris Jericho backstage at AEW Dynamite.

Despite the visit, it's been reported that no talks of a potential signing took place with the Jacksonville-based promotion. Ultimately, Zilla is seen as being too young and in need of further development before he's ready to take the stage. Whether he ends up in one of America's top promotions remains to be seen.

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When using quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.