5 current WWE Superstars who worked regular jobs in their families' businesses
Many WWE Superstars have worked regular jobs before becoming professional wrestlers. Liv Morgan and Natalya Neidhart, for example, once worked as waitresses. Meanwhile, Kevin Owens worked at a gas station while Charlotte Flair was a personal trainer at a gym.
A few other current WWE Superstars have also worked regular jobs in their families' businesses. While one worked in her father's deli, another milked cows and shoveled manure on his parents' farm.
Here are five current WWE Superstars who worked regular jobs in their families' businesses.
#5. Doudrop
Doudrop was working on the tills at Tesco before she started her wrestling training. She was just 16 years old when her boyfriend suggested that she join a wrestling school near her Ayrshire home in Scotland. As she began pursuing a wrestling career, she also had a part-time job at her family's coach-hire business.
In an interview with The Sunday Post in 2018, the Scottish wrestler revealed that her job in her family's business included answering phones and cleaning buses:
"To make enough money to go full time in the ring. Just now it fits in around the family business. (...) I do everything from answering phones to getting the overalls on and cleaning the buses when they come back from something like T In The Park," she explained.
Doudrop's mother also worked at Tesco while running the family's coach-hire business. In an interview with THE SCOTSMAN, Doudrop disclosed that she considers her mom her hero:
"In real life, my mom is my absolute hero. She does everything for everybody, works in our family business and in Tesco and she's always there when I need her. She inspires me, day in day out (...) She's like four foot, but it's four foot of pure fury when it needs to be. Sometimes if something's gone wrong in the coach business, she shouts, and it's 'Oh God!'" she said.
After competing for nearly 12 years on the independent circuit, Doudrop joined WWE in 2019. She spent two years competing on NXT UK before making her main roster debut in June 2021. She is currently active on Monday Night RAW.
#4. Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar started wrestling when he was only five years old when many of his friends were not allowed to play sports or participate in other after-school activities. While The Beast Incarnate's parents were supportive of his athletic career, they have also taught him how to work on a farm.
In his book "Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival," Lesnar disclosed that he milked cows and shoveled manure on his parents' farm growing up:
"I grew up poor, on a dairy farm in South Dakota, and I had to work for everything I have. (...) We were farmers (...) But my mom and dad let me start wrestling when I was only five years old. I milked cows and shoveled manure like everyone else, but I never missed a wrestling practice," he wrote.
The former WWE Champion also stated that he owes everything he has achieved to his parents because they were willing to make sacrifices for him:
"I want you to understand something. It’s real simple. I owe it all to my mom and dad. Who I am. What I am. Where I am. (...) I was born with the talent and the athleticism—those were God-given gifts. But a lot of talented athletes go nowhere. What made me different? More than anything else, my mom and dad, and the rest of my family for that matter, were willing to make sacrifices for me. There are a lot of people who helped mold me into a champion, but my mom and dad deserve the credit first, before anyone else."
Lesnar joined WWE in 2000 and made his main roster debut two years later. Nevertheless, he left the company in 2004. The Beast Incarnate then returned to Vince McMahon's company eight years later. The 44-year-old is now a 10-time world champion.
The former WWE Champion recently lost his title to the Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a Winner Takes All Match at WrestleMania 38.
#3. NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose
A few years before becoming God's Greatest Creation and the leader of Toxic Attraction, Mandy Rose worked a few regular jobs while studying Speech-Language Pathology at Iona College.
In an interview with Entrepreneur, the NXT Women's Champion disclosed that she worked as a waitress and bartender. She also worked at her father's deli.
"While going to college full-time, I was also bartending, waitressing and working at my father's deli. I've always been very independent and driven to make my own money and to achieve my goals," she said.
During her "My Daughter is a WWE Superstar" episode, Rose went back to her father's deli and sold a few sandwiches. In the same episode, Rose's dad stated that the time his daughter and sons worked with him was the best of his life:
"She [Rose] was 11 when she probably started hanging out a little bit there. But I mean she went through a spell where, you know, she actually came to work, to do a job. And at one point, her and her three brothers, you know, were working together. It was probably the best time of my life, you know, having all the kids there working," he said.
Rose joined WWE in 2015 after participating in WWE's reality show, Tough Enough, earlier that same year. She is currently active on NXT 2.0, where she holds the NXT Women's Championship. The 31-year-old recently defended her title against Dakota Kai.
#2. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Before joining WWE, Roman Reigns initially pursued a career as a football player. However, things did not work out for The Tribal Chief. Hence, he retired from football following his release from the Edmonton Eskimos in November 2008.
Following his retirement, Reigns went through a transitional period in his career, during which he worked for his sister’s business installing office furniture.
"My time with football was just up. It was what it was. I wasn't making any teams at that point. I just had my daughter, who's nine now. It was time to man up. Either do your business or get off the pot (...) I was just working nine-to-five. I knew I wasn't supposed to be putting on the furniture shirt. I was supposed to be doing something else. And I didn't know what it was at that point, but I knew WWE could possibly be that team I was looking for. Thank god I was right. They helped me out and gave me an opportunity and I'd like to think I hit my head on the goalpost," Reigns told ESPN's First Take.
After working for a short while in his sister's business, The Head of the Table joined Vince McMahon's company in 2010. He is currently the WWE Universal Champion and the leader of The Bloodline. The 36-year-old is also now considered the face of WWE.
#1. WWE CBO Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon started working in her father's company when she was just a teenager. Before becoming a top executive and an on-screen character, The Billion Dollar Princess worked a regular job in WWE.
In an interview with Howard Stern in 2002, McMahon disclosed that she once worked as a receptionist in WWE.
"I've worked for the company since I was about 12 in different ways. I was a receptionist. Actually for about two years. My dad always wanted us to have a job, you know, and I really wanted to be in the family business. He left it up to us," she said.
The 45-year-old later worked in several other jobs inside her father's company. She currently holds the position of Chief Brand Officer. According to the company's official website, McMahon is now responsible for ensuring WWE's global brand strength and growth across all lines of business.