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WWE has proven to be the perfect place for superstars to showcase their various talents, both inside and outside the ring. They have spent years perfecting the skills they have come to love and keep working day and night to ensure that they can perform their best at the end of each show.
The WWE Superstars often tried their hands at other talents before they got signed into the WWE. Some were models, some worked in the army and some were in sports. Some of these talents have helped the superstars get fit or ready for their role as wrestlers, while others were in completely different and unrelated fields before joining the sport.
Here's a look at the most popular WWE superstars and what they did before signing their contract with the WWE.
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#1 Randy Orton - The Marine
Even though Randy Orton descends from a family of wrestlers, what was surprising was that wrestling wasn't really his first choice. He enlisted with the US Marines and began his career in the army.
It wasn't nearly as successful as his wrestling career, however, as he just couldn't follow the discipline in the army and was charged with misconduct. He was court-martialed, tried and convicted of going AWOL by disobeying his commanding officer.
Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he was tried and convicted under a special court-martial, subsequently spending 38 days in the brig at Camp Pendleton.
Unlike his military career, his wrestling career has been far more impressive as he has won the Royal Rumble twice, Money in the Bank once and capturing thirteen WWE World Championships, not to mention his Intercontinental, the United States and Tag Team Championships. Randy Orton was known as The Legend Killer and has become as popular as his uncle and his dad were before him.
#2 Nia Jax - Plus Size Model
This may come as a surprise to many WWE fans, but Jax was a plus-size model before signing her contract with the WWE. She also credits her modeling career for helping her gain confidence with her body.
Jax offers a whole new package as a female superstar in the WWE not just because of her plus size, but also because of her surprising strength in the ring. Along with that, she has the agility and the power only a few women her size possess.
While she isn’t the first plus-size woman to show up in WWE, the fact that she has modeling experience helps her in the long run.
Jax is beautiful but dangerous and the fact that she comes from the Anoa’i family means that she has inherited the family’s flawless genetics that has definitely served her greatly in both modeling and wrestling.
Ever since making her debut, she has become a force to be reckoned with and is a one-time Raw Women's Champion and two-time women's tag team champion.
#3 Braun Strowman - Strongman
Braun has been a great success with the WWE fans ever since Vince McMahon got him to the ring, impressed by his looks and strength. It comes as no surprise that he was lifting weights long before the WWE.
The Monster Among men possesses almost superhuman strength and before the WWE he was a strongman competitor who won several Arnold Amateur Strongman Championships between 2010 and 2012.
While Strowman’s success in Strongman Competition shows strength, his really impressive abilities come with his agility and skill in the ring. His speed comes from the football he played for the Hickory Hornets for four years and attended an NFL Scouting Combine. Oddly enough, Strowman didn’t make the cut.
He also worked as a mechanic and a doorman before finally getting signed by WWE. Many fans would already know this, but the name Strowman is derived from the word strongman itself!
Very few superstars in the current WWE locker room are as dominant as Braun Strowman.
#4 Alexa Bliss - Bodybuilder
Currently working on the Raw brand, the superstar was once a fitness model and has modeled for numerous fitness magazines and was in competitive bodybuilding. Bliss has always been active in sports and cited former wrestler Trish Stratus as one of her influences.
Despite having no wrestling background, Alexa Bliss was pretty great in all the sports she tried out for. She participated in softball, track, kickboxing, and gymnastics throughout her childhood and competed in NCAA Division I cheerleading in college.
Moreover, she says that she thanks bodybuilding for helping her overcome an eating disorder that she had when she was younger. Bliss has also been on the cover of Muscle and Fitness Her’s magazine.
She was the first female wrestler to win both Raw and SmackDown titles, as well as being the first ever Women's Elimination Chamber Match winner, which are big feats for the little wrestler.
She may not be the biggest diva in the locker room, but she can certainly give everyone else a run for their money.
#5 John Cena - Bodybuilder
One of the most influential superstars in the WWE of all time, Cena was an aspiring bodybuilder before he caught the WWE's eye.
The irony lies in the fact that Cena was bullied as a child in school, hence he wanted to get built and aspired to be a bodybuilder. Cena graduated from Springfield College in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology and body movement, after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding.
He also participated in NCAA Division III football during college and was extremely good at the sport.
He starred in a reality TV series for the UFC called Manhunt, where he got noticed as the 'bad guy’ and the WWE found him ideal to play a heel character.
Surprisingly, his real claim to fame came as the top face of the company and he was heavily cheered by the WWE Universe in his first main roster match as 'The Prototype' against Kurt Angle.
Cena remains WWE's most popular superstar for the last two decades.
#6 The Bella Twins - TV Stars
The Bella Twins are both bold and beautiful and have risen to fame because of their unique twin wrestler status, killer wrestling moves, and flawless looks.
Easily one of WWE's biggest superstars, Nikki and Brie already had a taste of fame before they even tried for the WWE. Both Bellas were already establishing themselves as models and appeared on the FOX reality show, Meet My Folks.
From there, The Bellas’ modeling career gained steam and they were hired to do promotional work for Budweiser as the "World Cup Twins”.
Although not much is known about their pre-WWE modeling work, they moved from their hometown of Arizona to Los Angeles to pursue acting and modeling. They went on to do multiple auditions, and after an appearance on NBC’s Meet My Folks, they attended a WWE Diva casting.
They are both former Divas Champions, with Nikki having held the title twice and Brie once. In November 2015, Nikki was ranked No. 1 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Female 50 in 2015. Almost ten years after their first appearance in WWE, the Bellas have created an empire for themselves and are considered a force to be reckoned with both inside and outside the ring.
They are also WWE Hall of Famers in their own right.
#7 Lana - Model & Dancer
Lana is a beautiful and multi-talented woman who is not only a professional wrestler and manager in the WWE but also an actress, dancer, model and singer. This shows that Lana was a full package in the world of entertainment even before joining the WWE.
Before joining the WWE Lana worked as a dancer for many well-known theaters and companies and majored in acting and dance at FSU. While dancing, her ambitions to enter show business took her into modeling, singing and even acting.
Lana has appeared in music videos as a backup dancer for the likes of Pink, Nelly, Usher, and Akon, and has even appeared in two Pitch Perfect films. She starred alongside WWE superstar Edge in a movie titled 'Interrogation'.
She married former WWE wrestler Miroslav Barnyashev, better known by his ring name Rusev, on July 29, 2016. Their on-screen angle was also awarded Best Gimmick in 2014 by the Wrestling Observer.
Credit must be given to Lana to pull off the Russian accent with such perfection.
#8 Romans Reigns - Football Player
The Big Dog has a family history in wrestling, however, he was a football player before he tried his luck as a wrestler.
Reigns began playing football in high school, where he was named the defensive player of the year. He then attended Georgia Tech and played football for the Yellow Jackets. Even after becoming a three-year starter and captain, Reigns went undrafted for the NFL.
However, he was still able to make brief stints in pro football, having signed for a short time with the Minnesota Vikings and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unfortunately, he was released before the regular season, but Reigns did not let go that easily.
Reigns tried his luck with the Canadian Football League, signing with the Edmonton Eskimos. However, that didn't go too well and he decided to turn to his family roots of professional wrestling and joined the WWE.
Reigns is one of WWE's top stars today and one can only imagine the impact he is going to create in the upco
