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Wardlow recently opened up about his WWE tryout and how it panned out.
Mr. Mayhem embarked on his pro wrestling career in 2014 and spent the majority of his time on the Independent circuit before AEW came knocking on his door in 2019. In just two years, Wardlow became a force to be reckoned with by serving as a henchman for MJF and The Pinnacle.
While speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet's podcast, Wardlow revealed that he 'aced' the WWE tryout, but higher-ups didn't want to recruit him. The 34-year-old added that the rejection almost made him think about quitting. He said that he luckily stayed laser-focused and felt grateful after the emergence of All Elite Wrestling:
"I aced that tryout [WWE]. I mean, with flying colors, and they didn't want me. So for the first time in my life, I went, Oh, well, maybe this isn't gonna happen," Wardlow said... "You know, fortunately, I stuck with it, and I was determined to make it happen one way or another, and I thank god every day that AEW came about."
He further explained he approached IMPACT Wrestling but didn't get the opportunity. Wardlow added that he was even told to 'make a name for himself.'
The Pinnacle member said that he accepted the challenge and pushed his luck in the indies before receiving a call from QT Marshall one day:
"Dude, at that time, that was it. I mean, you had Impact, and I was emailing them, you know, every other week like, because realistically, if it wasn't WWE, the only real thing left was Impact. If not Impact, then you're just trying to get booked on the indies because that's what they said, 'go make a name for yourself.' I accepted that challenge (..) I was trying to get booked on like bigger indie shows to make a name for myself. (...) Fortunately, woke up one day and had a phone call from QT Marshall, and the rest is history," revealed Wardlow.
While he is still far away from reaching a certain level of stardom, the Powerhouse from Cleveland has shown all the in-ring credentials required to become a megastar one day.
WWE is interested in signing Wardlow
While WWE rejected Wardlow back in the day, recent reports have revealed that people within Vince McMahon's promotion are now heavily interested in signing the 34-year-old wrestler once his current deal with AEW expires.
Mr. Mayhem has been dominant recently, squashing every competitor who dared to step up against him. His 18-match winning streak was ended by CM Punk, after MJF intervened in the match. It will be interesting to see what the company has in store for him next.
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