Rags to rich story are not only a hit on Hollywood screens, it is mighty impressive in real life as well. And when you come in from a poor background and make it big in a business like the wrestling industry, then the amount of respect in the whole scenario reaches that extra high level.
Although there are a lot of hurdles in every profession out there, wrestling business really delivers a lot of big ones which are hard to overcome. This is why the rags to riches story of professional wrestlers are more inspiring than most of its counterparts out there. A lot of the current superstars, as well as a handful of WWE Alumni, made it to the top from a poor background and here is a look at some of them.
Dean Ambrose
If you thought you cannot find any more reasons to love Dean Ambrose, think again. The Lunatic Fringe was brought up in Cincinnati and spent most of his childhood in public housing. He saw wrestling as an escape from the rough childhood he had and dreamt of becoming like his idols.
After starting his wrestling training, Ambrose dropped out of high school because wrestling was what he wanted to do. Ambrose would then go on to sell popcorns and set up rings to earn a living until he got a regular gig in the independent scene. Most of his personal life is still a mystery and if WWE decides to make a DVD on that, it is sure to end up being a big hit.
Booker T
The new fans will just see Booker T as a Hall of fame announcer but there is more to him than what meets the eye. Booker’s mother passed away when he was just 13 and he soon landed up in the wrong part of the streets. Booker was arrested and sentenced for five years in prison back in 1987.
He did serve a good amount of time inside the prison and once he came out, his brother found him a proper job. Their friend then helped them get some wrestling training and the brothers soon made it into the business. Booker went on to have a celebrated career and is still a legend in the business.
Lita
Lita was one of the divas who changed the way we looked at female wrestlers. She developed a love for the wrestling business when she saw the likes of Rey Mysterio and other luchadors wrestling. She however did not have enough money to take up wrestling training and had to do a lot of odd jobs for the same.
One of those odd jobs was dancing in a club in Mexico. She was named Misty back then and this is what financed her wrestling education. There were also rumours about Lita doing sexual favours to get her training and even though we don’t know the real story, she did go through a lot of time to reach where she is today.
Adam Rose
The life of Adam Rose was really exposed in the E:60 ESPN special. It really went deep into his personal life and family and also took a look back into his days before wrestling. Born into the streets of South Africa, Rose had to sleep in abandoned buildings and fight on the streets to survive.
It was the interest in professional wrestling that got his life back on track and he started his career at a tender age of 16. That is, he had his run in the streets before he was 16, imagine that. Almost a decade later, he made it to the WWE and still, Rose is going through a lot of trouble to make a future for his family.
Edge
Edge is currently known around the wrestling business as a legend but to get there, he did go through a lot of tough battles. Things started falling apart for him even before he was born. His father left the home while Edge was still unborn and once he was born, his mother had to work day and night to make ends meet.
Edge’s dreams of making it into the wrestling business took a big blow due to the same as he had to help his mother. The Rated R Superstar never gave up and once he stood up on his own feet, he resumed his pursuit of a wrestling career and ended up reaching the top.
Ric Flair
The Stylin', profilin', limousine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' son of a gun did not just make all that money overnight. Before he went on to conquer the territories as the NWA champion, Flair went through a lot of poverty.
He was raised in the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The institution had a bad reputation due to kidnapping scandals and Flair himself has admitted about going through a lot in the orphanage. He was soon adopted by Kathleen and Richard Fleihr and it was the turning point of his life. Flair went on to make a fortune from the wrestling business and the fact that he reached there from the forgettable walls of Tennessee Children’s Home Society makes this story worth mentioning.
Roddy Piper
Roddy Piper was one of the major players back in the 80s and 90s. He headlined the first ever WrestleMania and that is pretty much enough to show how he was rated back then. Roddy’s personal life is as poetic as his wrestling career. He left his home at an age of 13 and started living in streets and youth hostels.
Piper took up a wrestling job for $25 just for the sake of settling his rent. The wrestler who wrestled with him was mighty impressed with him and helped him reach Kansas. This was the official start of his wrestling career and he went on to build a Hall of Fame worthy run.
AJ Lee
It was pretty surprising to see AJ Lee leave the wrestling business as she suffered a lot to reach where she was. AJ was born into a poor family and she had to live in motels and cars so that she could save up some money. AJ even dropped out of college due to the lack of money but she clearly knew what she wanted to become.
She did a lot of jobs to fund her wrestling training and finally, she invested all the money she had for a WWE tryout which ended up changing her life. AJ went on to break all the stereotypes in the business and abruptly hung up her boots when the fans still wanted to see her in the ring.
CM Punk
CM Punk had an alcoholic father, a brother that robbed him and a big dream of making it into the wrestling business. The rocky relationship that he had with his family soon landed him up in his friend’s family that eventually adopted him. Punk and his friends went on to set up a full-fledged backyard wrestling company.
Punk started out his career there and after a lot of sweat and blood, he made it into the Indies. He is currently at the doorsteps of his UFC career at the moment and even if he ends up messing it up, he will be welcomed with both hands by the wrestling business.
The Rock
You might think that being born into a wrestling family is going to make the path easier, but guess what it won’t. Rock was born into once of the most celebrated wrestling families in the business but back in 1995, he only had $7 to his name. He then told himself that he only had $7 dollars in his pocket that day, but someday, he would have all the money he ever wanted.He was cut from the Canadian Football league back then and he chose professional wrestling as an alternative.
WWE pushed him hard in the early running and soon, Rock found his own footing in the business. At the moment, he is one of the richest stars on the planet and reaching here from what he had back in 1995 did take a lot of hard work and passion.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
