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Before they became AEW Stars, several wrestlers had to work regular jobs to earn a living.
Many in-ring performers had worked regular jobs before becoming famous wrestlers. WWE's Mustafa Ali, for example, was a police officer while wrestling part-time before joining WWE.
Over the past few years, several All Elite Wrestling stars were also part-time wrestlers before signing with Tony Khan's company. They had regular jobs in different fields, including education, dentistry, and communication.
Signing with AEW has changed the lives of a few of these wrestlers. They left their jobs to become full-time in-ring performers after signing with the company. Today, they all share the same wrestling ring and are a part of a promising promotion.
Here are five wrestlers who worked regular jobs before signing with AEW.
#5. AEW Star Stu Grayson
After wrestling in different promotions for a few years, 32-year-old Stu Grayson joined AEW in 2019. He made his debut, alongside Evil Uno, as The Dark Order at the 2019 Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
Before signing with All Elite Wrestling, Grayson was a part-time pro-wrestler. His primary job was outside the ring. The 32-year-old owned a flooring company.
"As much time, effort and training as we’d put into wrestling each week, it still wasn’t a priority. We (Grayson and Uno) finished our school and we had real jobs.. that was always our priority. We never necessarily believed we would make a living out of wrestling.", Grayson told Ottawa Sun.
Life changed for Grayson when he and his partner received an offer to join Tony Khan's company. He realized that wrestling could now become his number one priority.
"We always kept (wrestling) in our lives because it was our passion, but the fact that it became an option to make a living out of wrestling was a bit of a surprise. When All Elite Wrestling became a reality, we realized wrestling could be Plan A now; we could build our lives around it," he said.
After joining AEW, Grayson sold his Gatineau-based flooring company to become a full-time pro-wrestler. He recently teamed up with Uno to challenge The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) for the IMPACT World Tag Team Titles but came up short.
#4. AEW Star Evil Uno
Pro-wrestling was also a part-time job for Stu Grayson's Dark Order partner, Evil Uno, before joining AEW. Uno walked the same path as Grayson. They wrestled together in the same promotions and debuted as a team on AEW in May 2019.
Like Grayson, Uno also did not believe pro wrestling could become his primary source of income.
"Wrestling was never Plan A. The chances of you making it in wrestling and staying healthy are very small. I built up 13-14 years of work with the government; that was always Plan A. Now that I can finally see a future in this", he told Ottawa Sun.
Before joining AEW, Uno worked as a communications officer for the Canadian federal government. However, he quit his job shortly after signing his AEW contract.
"Now that I can finally see a future in this, I’ve decided the best course of action for my life is to fully commit myself to my passion. There’s a giant risk for me to solely do wrestling, but I feel like I’ve proven to myself and to others I’m capable of doing it, and, if not now, when would be the right time?"
After failing to capture the IMPACT World Tag Team Titles alongside Grayson, Uno competed in two matches on AEW. At AEW Dark: Elevation, he teamed up with Dark Order members Alan "5" Angels and Colt Cabana to face Death Triangle. Uno's team lost the match. A couple of days later, he competed against Q. T. Marshall but came up short again.
#3. AEW Star Sammy Guevara
AEW Star Sammy Guevara kicked off his pro-wrestling career in 2013. He appeared on a few wrestling promotions before signing a contract with AEW in February 2019.
On May 25, Guevara made his AEW debut at the 2019 Double or Nothing pay-per-view, suffering a defeat against Kip Sabian. A few months later, he joined forces with Chris Jericho, Jake Hager and Santana and Ortiz to form The Inner Circle.
Guevara and the leader of The Inner Circle, Chris Jericho, challenged Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky for the AEW Tag Team Championships in November 2019 but failed to capture the titles.
Before joining AEW and becoming a staple for the brand, the 28-year-old had to earn a living working a regular job. The current AEW Star worked at Taco Bell before he became known to thousands of wrestling fans. He recently spoke about his struggles as he proposed to his girlfriend, Pam Vizio, at an AEW Dynamite event last month.
"She's been with me when I had no car, when I worked at Taco Bell, when I was wrestling in front of seven people, She's been with me through the bad times and good times, you've been there the entire time. And for that, I want to say thank you, Pam", he said.
Sammy Guevara currently has an ongoing four-match winning streak in AEW. At AEW Dark: Elevation, he teamed up with Fuego Del Sol to defeat Luther and Serpentico.
#2. AEW Star 'Hangman' Adam Page
Adam Page joined AEW in 2019 after wrestling in a few different promotions for nearly eleven years. Like the previous entries on this list, Page had a regular job before becoming a full-time pro-wrestler.
Page was born and raised in Virginia. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech. Despite majoring in communications with an emphasis on film, the current AEW Star did not want to go to Hollywood. Instead, he wanted to pursue a pro-wrestling career.
In his early wrestling days, Page knew he had to get a full-time job to support himself. After graduating, the 30-year-old became a high school teacher. The former AEW World Tag Team Champion taught graphic design, multimedia, and journalism.
Nearly three years before signing his AEW contract, Page's life changed when he joined The Bullet Club.
"My life did a 180 when I joined Bullet Club. Joining Bullet Club opened the door to New Japan for me. It made me more valuable. I probably got the news in April [2016] and I joined in May, so I threw my papers in the air and left my teaching job because I knew I was going to be wrestling full time. It totally changed my life," he told ESPN.
Since joining AEW, Page has become one of its biggest stars. In January 2020, he joined forces with Kenny Omega to defeat SoCal Uncensored and capture his first and only title so far in AEW, the World Tag Team Championships. They held the titles for 228 days before losing them to FTR. Following their loss, Page and Omega separated.
#1. AEW Star Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
Britt Baker has two full-time jobs. Besides being a pro-wrestler and the current AEW Women's Champion, Baker is also a practicing dentist.
The 30-year-old started her wrestling training at a young age. She also graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 2018. A year later, she joined AEW.
Unlike all the other AEW Stars on this list, Baker did not leave her job after becoming a full-time pro-wrestler. The AEW Women's Champion confessed that working two full-time jobs simultaneously is no easy task.
"Definitely takes mental toughness more than anything, because sometimes the schedule of everything that needs to be done in a day, going to the dental office, getting to the gym, getting to the wrestling ring, watching wrestling matches, keeping up to date what’s the latest science behind the industry," she told Diva Dirt.
Baker revealed that her secret to success is never panicking and powering forward to get everything done. Although many people have advised her to give up one of her two jobs, the 30-year-old does not intend to do that.
"It’s kind of hard to believe that I get to live out both of my dreams. Both of my dreams are a lot of people’s Plan A; I don’t have a Plan B, I have two Plan As. I’ve been given the greatest gift imaginable,” she explained to Pittsburgh Magazine.
Last May, Baker defeated Hikaru Shida at Double or Nothing to capture the AEW Women's Championship. She recently defended her title against Red Velvet at AEW Rampage.
