5 WWE Superstars who almost quit wrestling

WWE viewers can like or loathe the over-the-top Superstars they witness on Raw and SmackDown Live every week, but everyone can appreciate the hard work that the real-life people behind the characters put in on a daily basis to entertain audiences all around the world.

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.

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#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.

"I said to her, 'This is it. I’m done. I can’t be away from you, we just have to figure something out.' I was just going to wrestle locally and I come back from the tour, make the decision, everything’s good, then WWE calls and says, ‘Hey, we want you to come try out.’ So, literally, I was as far out as I’ve ever been in my life away from pro wrestling, and they instantly pulled me back in and it was back to it.”

#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):

"I was in Webster (Massachusetts) doing a show with her and she was going to kind of quit pro wrestling. I said to her, 'Don't do it, there's a lot behind you. You've got a lot to offer.' Then next thing I know she's in the WWE. She's an outstanding athlete. She has a good feel for this business. She doesn't get in to play the game, she just has fun doing it, and she's really a fan."

#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.

"There have been times in my wrestling journey – and you're going to see this on the show – when I've gotten discouraged because the success doesn't come overnight. It's a lot of getting in there and failing. 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."

#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.

"I wasn't going to quit wrestling completely, just not pursue it as my main career. I thought about opening up a Subway franchise. But I was too young, I wanted to give it one more try and make it to the top."

#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):

“For me, the craziest part of that is that there’s a buddy of mine that I was helping teach wrestling to and I told him, 'Ah man, I just don’t really know. I think by the end of 2003, if I don’t make it to Ring of Honor, I think I’m just going to quit' … and legit, 20 minutes later, I got a call from Gabe Sapolsky saying, 'Hey, can you make this date?' I was like, 'Yup', and it was my tryout and I was like, 'Sure, yeah, let's go.' Little did I know, 13 years later I’d still be working there. It’s crazy.”