5 current top WWE Superstars who initially didn't want to become wrestlers

#2. WWE NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose

Although Mandy Rose is currently one of the biggest names on NXT, she initially did not want to become a professional wrestler. In an interview with Table Talk w/ DVon, God's Greatest Creation disclosed that she was not a big wrestling fan growing up.

"Well, to be honest, I didn’t always watch wrestling growing up. I watched here and there, but I wasn’t a huge diehard fan until I got a little bit older and I started kind of watching a lot of Trish Stratus, and Lita, and a lot of the women – Beth Phoenix," she said.

Before joining Vince McMahon's company, Rose pursued a career in fitness. She participated in and won several fitness competitions. Her trainer and her ex-boyfriend then urged her to participate in Tough Enough in 2015. Despite not winning the contest, Rose joined WWE later that same year.

In an interview with TalkSport in 2020, The Golden Goddess stated that although she did not grow up wrestling, she has the strength and athleticism to succeed in WWE.

"I didn’t grow up wrestling. I was an athlete, I have my own background and experience and I could see that stigma people have on pretty girls. They’e just here to look good and blah, blah blah. But that’s not me. I have a good athletic background, I’m a bikini world champion, I’m strong etc, so it is something that I have to prove. But, I do think now is where I’m feeling more confident in the ring," she said.

Rose currently holds the NXT Women's Championship. Last week, she defeated Kay Lee Ray in an NXT Women's Championship match to retain her title.