Every character in the world of wrestling, much like life, have their own story to tell. They’ve each had their own journey which they struggled through and then wrestling sort of happened or they made it happen to save their lives from going down the drain. To many, wrestling has been therapy against the rough and painful personal lives they’ve lived.
So, it isn’t hard to believe that these superstars were once broke or arrested or had no direction in life until wrestling happened.
Here are the 5 WWE Superstars who we did not know were broke once or come from poor backgrounds
Dean Ambrose
The man who won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a blaze of glory at Money In The Bank totally deserved it after everything he’s been through. Despite much of his persona life being a mystery, it’s no secret that he came from a poor family in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He spent quite a lot of time in public housing and immersed himself into everything wrestling related. You may call him a bookworm as he’s read just about everything on every move and wrestler there is. He soon joined the independent circuit after dropping out of school. He has really squirmed through a pile of sweat, blood, tears and crap to get to where he is.
AJ Lee
Lee has lived her life on her own terms. Be it her retirement or her surge into wrestling, her story has been inspirational. Lee, like everyone on this list, had to struggle to get to where she did in the wrestling industry.
She’s worked odd jobs to pay for her education and to support her family. She’s described her earlier life as being spent in motels and other people’s houses and their cars. She did get into college but had to drop out six months later dues to financial issues. But that did not hamper her drive to become a wrestler. Shortly after she enrolled into a wrestling school and worked a full time job on the side to pay for it.
R- Truth
R- Truth a.k.a. Ron Killings was born into a poor household in Atlanta, Georgia and was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. His father and he himself sold cannabis to get by and then wrestling came in the form of a chance meeting with Jackie Crockett.
Killings had been arrested and met Crockett after his release. That advise did land well as he combined that with his interest in hip-hop and breakdancing plus he is quite athletic. Now even though he’s there for comic relief, he’s quite an endearing character whom the audience adores.
The Rock
You wouldn’t have expected him on the list and why would you? He’s born into one of the most revered wrestling families ever. But when The Rock finally decided to make a career out of wrestling in 1995, he just had 7 dollars to his name.
Just $7 in his pocket. His football dreams crashed and he tried to make it in the same business as his father and grandfather. Well, he may have been broke once but he isn’t now. Not at all. His initial stint in the company was painfully forgettable and then he repackaged himself as The Rock and trailblazed the most successful era in the WWE.
CM Punk
The former WWE Superstar had a rough childhood like many on this list. He had an alcoholic mother against whom he would file a restraining order later on in his life. His brother robbed him of most of his money and this tumultuous relationship with his family led him to go find his own family and he had a friend who adopted him into his.
Punk was a ‘backyard wrestler’ and soon left this federation to enroll in the ‘Steel Dominion’ wrestling school in Chicago. Soon after he met Colt Cabana and the rest is history.
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