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For some current WWE Superstars, the road to being signed by Vince McMahon's company was a long one. While there are stars who are able to join the company at a young age, there are others who are forced to work for several years to garner the attention of the right people.
This means that there are some wrestlers on the company's current roster who were rejected by WWE in the early years of their career, only to be hired after they were able to get some experience behind them.
The following list looks at just five current WWE Superstars who were originally rejected by the company much earlier in their career.
#5. Current WWE Superstar Keith Lee
Keith Lee was a well-known name in the business when he was finally signed to WWE back in 2018. Ten years prior, the former NXT Champion attempted to turn the heads of WWE officials but wasn't able to make the cut.
Lee debuted in the business back in 2005 and after just three years he was handed a tryout by WWE, but this didn't result in him being signed with the company. Lee then went on to work for Ring of Honor, Evolve and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla before finally being hired by WWE a decade later.
Lee was handed a small role on an episode of Monday Night RAW back in 2009 where he played a security guard, but his next appearance for the company didn't come until WrestleMania Axxess in 2018.
Lee went on to fail their tryouts before finally being handed the chance to work with the company in 2018. The star told TalkSport that after three rejections he was ready to give up wrestling, but it was Dusty Rhodes who saved his career.
"That began because my first tryout with WWE was in 2008, three years after I started. I had an entire week of just a single tryout, just me. I got turned down that time and Dusty Rhodes told me that I was trash on the mic, basically. 2011, I had another tryout. This time only three days. Bit better on the mic, but not quite there."
Lee went away and got the experience he needed, before turning the head of NXT officials. It was then officially announced in May 2018 that he had signed with WWE and after a brief stint on NXT he was promoted to Monday Night RAW.
#4. WWE's Original Bro Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle is currently one of the highlights of WWE TV on Monday Night RAW alongside Randy Orton where the duo are known as RK-Bro.
Riddle has had quite a career in WWE already as a former NXT Tag Team Champion and United States Champion but he was a star that was initially rejected by WWE at his first tryout.
Whilst talking to Lilian Garcia on her Chasing Glory podcast back in 2019, Riddle revealed that he was rejected by the company following a tryout in 2015.
"I got denied. I think if it wasn't for my past with UFC, which you would think would help, which it did, but it also hurt because I got in trouble for smoking pot. Let me clarify, I wasn't just smoking pot, I had a medical marijuana license and I was legally allowed to use it in the state of Nevada because I had a couple of hand surgeries and knee surgeries and I was prescribed all of these pharmaceutical drugs that I didn't want to take that were addictive. I chose to go that route and I got in trouble for that."
Riddle later went on to try out again for WWE but this time he was signed for the company and like many other stars on this list, began his career in NXT.
#3. Current WWE Superstar Ricochet
Ricochet has become a highlight reel of his own on WWE programming in recent years but is another star that was rejected by the company in his early career.
The former United States Champion began wrestling almost two decades ago and tried out for WWE back in 2013. Whilst a rejection from the company is usually a sour note for many wrestlers, Ricochet told Fightful that this turned out to be one of the best things that happened to him.
"I got a 'they didn't have anything for me at the moment.' That was best thing that could have happened to me at the time. 2013 is when things started to take off. I started to grasp the concept of how to make a match and match style and who I am. It was a good thing I didn't hired because it got me into the position I'm in now and where I'm at now."
Ricochet was finally signed by the company back in 2018 and has since come through the ranks in NXT and been promoted to Monday Night RAW.
#2. Former WWE United States Champion Robert Roode
Robert Roode has had a rollercoaster of a WWE career but is currently one half of The Dirty Dawgs alongside Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown.
The former IMPACT Wrestling star rose to fame as Bobby Roode before he was signed by WWE, but has since been repackaged as Robert Roode.
Earlier in his career, Roode spoke to Colt Cabana on the Art of Wrestling podcast where he noted that he had been turned down by WWE several times.
Between 1999 and 2004 Roode had many tryouts with WWE where he was rejected, but later went on to compete in dark matches and made cameo appearances instead. Like many stars, Roode tried over and over again to get the nod from WWE but came up short on each attempt.
It wasn't until John Laurinaitis told Roode to "get over" in other promotions that he was able to head over to TNA and become a household name. Roode later signed with WWE and is now a former NXT Champion, United States, and RAW Tag Team Champion.
#1. Former WWE NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon
Ember Moon is known as The War Goddess on WWE TV, but before Moon was able to become a staple of the NXT Women's Division she was rejected by WWE on three occasions.
Moon started her wrestling career at a time when women in the company were viewed differently and were seen as "Divas." The former NXT Women's Champion spoke to Lilian Garcia on her Chasing Glory podcast regarding her rejections back in 2018 and noted that it was because of the way women were viewed at the time.
"They said 'We are not going to hire you; You don't have a Diva look; yeah you are cute, but look at them and look at you', revealed Moon.
Despite her wrestling ability, because Moon didn't have the look that WWE required, she wasn't signed to the company.
The Women's Revolution has changed the way that women are seen in the business in recent years and this has allowed Moon to rise through the company since she signed back in 2015.
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