"I had to quit wrestling" - 7-time champion details career struggles before joining WWE
WWE Superstars often have humble beginnings before receiving their major break to stardom in the Stamford-based promotion or the industry in general. Recently, Damian Priest addressed issues from his past where he was going nowhere as a performer.
In 2018, Damian Priest entered WWE and eventually became a credible name in the industry. The former Judgment Day star had seen adversity and fought back on different occasions to survive on the independent circuit.
In WWE 24: Damian Priest, the former World Heavyweight Champion opened up about his struggles as a performer and the tough times that he went through on the independent circuit:
"Wrestling wasn't really paying anything. You can't really make money off of a handshake and a hot dog. You can't really live off that. There was a little bit of time where I had to sleep in my car. Sometimes I would sleep on the steps of a church." (From 00:14 to 00:36)
The Archer of Infamy also quit wrestling after his gear was stolen:
"Of course, I could have asked for help. Of course, I could have told my family. Be it pride or whatever, I chose not to. My car got broken into, and my gear got stolen. I had to quit wrestling because I didn't have gear. I would stay here and there with people. My mom would let me crash on the couch at times." (From 00:45 to 01:05)
Check out the video below:
Damian Priest details a failed WWE tryout
Damian Priest is no stranger to failure as he has previously lost championships and matches inside the square circle. However, The Archer of Infamy was shocked after he failed a tryout for WWE in 2010.
In the same documentary, the former NXT North American Champion was taken back after he failed an FCW tryout. The star blamed others for his lack of abilities at the time and eventually joined the company after putting in the work:
"In 2010, I had my first tryout at FCW. And, man, did I tank it. I gained a lot of weight. I was close to 400 pounds. My skills were so subpar compared to everybody else's. It was an eye-opener, but still, at the time, I blamed everyone else," Priest said. (From 01:30 to 01:50)
Check out the video below:
The 41-year-old star recently lost to Gunther at SummerSlam when Finn Balor betrayed him.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit WWE and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.