5 WWE Superstars who wanted to quit and who convinced them to stay 

Several WWE stars have thought about quitting over the years
Several WWE stars have thought about quitting over the years

The WWE world is a tough one, especially at present when many Superstars are being confronted by a reality that they aren't used to. Wrestling during a pandemic means that there's no audience, regular testing and many of their closest friends have to be masked around them.

It has become a reality that many stars have been able to adapt to since March, but it also hasn't been a year without its struggles. Whilst this is an extreme example of the situation, there are also other instances over the past few years that have forced many current and former WWE Superstars to question their place not just in the company but also in the business.

The following article looks at just five current and former WWE Superstars who were ready to quit but somehow there was someone who was there to convince them to stay.


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#5 Former WWE star Rusev was convinced to stay by his wife Lana

Rusev was released from WWE alongside a number of other Superstars back in April when the company was forced to make wholesale changes to their roster following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The star has since moved on to sign for AEW where he is now known as Miro and has since been able to share some personal stories from his time in WWE. As part of a recent appearance on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Miro explained that he actually wanted to quit WWE back in 2017 but thankfully he always had his wife to talk to when he couldn't trust anyone else.

“Well, I did ask. About three years ago, I did ask. Because it was another situation where I was just unhappy. And I talked to one person, the next day that conversation was on the dirt sheets. It was really like who do you go to? Who do you turn to when you’re down, when you need advice, when you need someone to be like ‘hey man you’ll be okay.’ You have nobody because they’re all stooges. Somehow it always leaks out, you just don’t feel safe. If you don’t feel safe, you don’t know where to turn to then you are naked out there. Thank god I have my wife and she has me and when I’m distressed there’s that back and forth but at the end of the day you need somebody where you can be like ‘hey this is not okay, who can I talk to?’ There’s nobody.”

Lana has since remained part of WWE since her husband's departure and was recently added to the Women's Survivor Series team for RAW, although it's unknown if this is a position she will retain until the show.

#4 Current WWE star R-Truth was convinced to stay by Road Dogg

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R-Truth is now considered to be a veteran in WWE after wrestling for the company for almost two decades. The former 42-time 24/7 Champion is having a lot of fun in his current WWE storyline, but it appears that this wasn't always the case.

Whilst appearing on a recent edition of The New Day's Feel The Power Podcast, Truth revealed that there was a dark time in his WWE career where he was thinking about walking away and it was Road Dogg who was able to convince him otherwise.

"Wasn’t nothing paying off, showing, nothing and Road Dogg came to the TV taping and saw me rap, go down. I think I wrestled Jerry Lawler that night and when I came back to the locker room, two or three guys were like, ‘Hey man, Road Dogg was asking about you.’ I’m like, ‘Road Dogg with DX?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah.’ I’m like, ‘Okay cool.’ Got in the locker room and we all know Road Dogg. Road Dogg came right up to my face, ‘Was that you out there rapping that? Doing that dance and rapping to the ring?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘You wanna be my tag partner?’ I said, ‘What? Wrestle on TV?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah.’ I’m like, ‘Man, I’m about to quit man.’ He said, ‘Quit!?’ I said, ‘Yeah man. Bruh, I don’t think this is for me. I think I bit off more than I can chew.’ He said, ‘I’ll tell you what, I know you’re discouraged, you’ve been going.’ He said, ‘If you give me one month, I’ll have you on TV.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll give you one month.’

It appears that without knowing it, Road Dogg was able to save R-Truth's WWE career with his suggestion and the two men became an entertaining duo as a team.

#3 Current WWE star Sasha Banks was convinced to stay by a WWE official

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Sasha Banks is the current WWE SmackDown Women's Champion and the only woman to have stepped inside Hell in a Cell on three separate occasions. Banks is a trailblazer but after she had pushed for the Women's Tag Team Championships, only to lose them just over a month later at WrestleMania, The Boss was at a crossroads.

There were many stories coming out of WrestleMania regarding Banks and Bayley's reactions to dropping the Women's Tag Team Championships, but it was later revealed that she was prepared to quit WWE following the loss.

According to The Wrestling Observer, Banks was prepared to walk away from the company when she found out that she was losing to The IIconics, but an unnamed WWE official told The Boss to think about it for a few weeks before making a final decision.

"Banks grew frustrated when told she and Bayley were losing the women's tag team titles to The IIconics at WrestleMania. Before she could formally quit, a WWE official told her to weigh her final decision for a few weeks."

Banks obviously did decide to stay and has since become one of the stand out stars in WWE throughout 2020.

#2 Current WWE star Zelina Vega was convinced to stay by The Rock

Zelina Vega has been seen as one of the best managers on the current WWE roster, even though she recently broke away from Andrade and is now looking to work on a solo career in the Women's Division.

Vega has proved her worth over the years, but there was a time when she came for a WWE tryout and the company actually said no. Vega was working alongside The Rock in "Fighting with my Family" where she played the role of AJ Lee. This allowed Vega to talk to the former WWE star about her career and he convinced her not to quit the business.

"I want to say a couple years ago in February, I had texted Dwayne [Johnson] and I remember, I had gotten another ‘no’ from WWE, and I had gotten another ‘no’ from an audition. Actually, it was Spider-Man, I was auditioning for that and had gotten a ‘no’ there. And I was at the end of my rope, and I was like, ‘I think I’m just going to give up, can you give me some advice?’ I’m like, ‘I’m at the end of my rope, I think I’m going to quit everything, like I want to quit wrestling.’ He was like, ‘No no no! Just give me a couple of days, I’m working on something’ And then the movie happened. You know, Fighting With My Family. And then right after that, it was just like full speed ahead. It was, ah, it was pretty incredible. It was basically a big sign like, ‘No no, don’t stop just yet.'”

Luckily Vega remained a part of the wrestling business since it has allowed her to meet her husband Aleister Black.

#1 WWE star Lana was convinced to stay by Nikki Bella

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Lana has had a tough few months since her husband was released from WWE back in April which has been her put through the announce table on different occasions by fellow Superstar, Nia Jax.

Whilst Lana is seemingly part of a much bigger storyline at present, this isn't the worst place she has been in as part of her career. The former NXT star revealed back in 2017 when she was part of Total Divas that Nikki Bella was one of her biggest supporters and every time she felt like she wasn't good enough and wanted to walk away the former Divas Champion convinced her otherwise.

"It's a lot of getting in there and failing. She was really the person that kept on encouraging me not to give up, to be resilient, to be brave, and to have courage. At times, I would think maybe I shouldn't continue to pursue my dream of competing in that ring, but she kept on telling me not to give up and keep on training. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for Nikki Bella."

Nikki Bella and Lana have become close friends throughout the course of their careers and even though Bella is no longer part of the WWE roster, the two women still remain close.

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Edited by Alan John
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