5 Current WWE Superstars who were initially rejected 

#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.

“Man, these things are heavy”#AndStill#DirtyDawgs pic.twitter.com/ReYdJzQpZN

— Robert Roode (@RealRobertRoode) April 17, 2021

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.