6 current WWE Superstars who failed their first WWE tryouts
It's no secret that WWE is the largest wrestling promotion in the world. To ensure that they push the best talent available, WWE has built the Performance Center, where they train and prepare the next generation of top Superstars.
Even before the facility opened in 2013, WWE had been giving their wrestlers a chance to prove themselves by competing in dark matches to impress management.
Plenty of Superstars made it to WWE in their first try. But others were not that fortunate, as they failed their initial trials. But these future Superstars did not lose hope. They followed the advice given to them to work even harder and come back stronger to claim their spot.
In this article, we will look at six WWE Superstars who failed their initial WWE tryouts before they came back to win the confidence of WWE management.
#6 Riddle failed his first WWE tryout due to an addiciton
WWE Superstar Matt Riddle recently had his name shortened to Riddle on the RAW roster. But this Superstar hasn’t lost any flair since his name change. Riddle has continued to show his strength and versatile fighting style on television. It seems like the higher-ups have started taking a lot more interest in him.
Riddle’s laid-back attitude and cool style have helped him gain a lot of support in the WWE Universe. But he wasn't always successful with the company. WWE rejected this Superstar following his first tryout with the company.
Speaking to Lilian Garcia on her Chasing Glory podcast, Riddle revealed that he was initially rejected by WWE, possibly due to the prescribed drugs he was taking:
"I got denied. I think if it wasn't for my past with UFC, which you would think would help, which it did, but it also hurt because I got in trouble for smoking pot. Let me clarify, I wasn't just smoking pot, I had a medical marijuana license, and I was legally allowed to use it in the state of Nevada because I had a couple of hand surgeries and knee surgeries, and I was prescribed all of these pharmaceutical drugs that I didn't want to take that were addictive. I chose to go that route and I got in trouble for that."
Thankfully, Riddle managed to overcome the darker days of his life. WWE decided to give him a second chance to showcase his talent. Riddle is now slowly becoming a top Superstar on the WWE RAW brand, where fans could watch him win a championship sooner than later.