'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Many WWE Superstars have achieved fame and popularity over the years, but not all of them had ever planned on becoming a sports entertainer before they actually became one.
While several stars from the current generation of WWE grew up idolizing legends, it's been proven time after time that being a fan doesn't necessarily equate to achieving success as a Superstar in the long run.
As a matter of fact, some of the biggest Superstars in WWE history didn't even follow pro wrestling as ardent fans of the product.
With that in mind, here are five Superstars who didn't watch WWE while growing up.
#5: Lacey Evans had a very different background compared to backyard wrestling and WWE's sports entertainment world
Current WWE RAW Superstar, Lacey Evans, has been one of the most consistent characters on the roster in recent memory.
Evans was in the military, and she had a high school wrestling background as well. She corroborated the same during an interview with talkSPORT.
“I wasn’t a fan [of sports entertainment] at all. I actually did high school wrestling. Which is obviously so much different than sports entertainment. I was on a SWAT team, the military police in the marine core, and I had a staff sergeant who did, what I thought was, backyard wrestling."
It was hearing about backyard wrestling that intrigued Evans to check out what the actual sport was all about. She was eager to learn more about the world of sports entertainment after that, and Lacey Evans eventually got signed by WWE in 2016 a little over 12 months from being introduced to pro wrestling.
The WWE Performance Center played a huge role in molding her into The Sassy Southern Belle that the fans know today. However, it is amazing how much grit and determination got Lacey Evans signed to the company in a relatively short amount of time, compared to many pro wrestlers who grew up as fans of the product and spent years in their pursuits of one day becoming a WWE Superstar.
#4: Xia Li grew up in China's farmlands and didn't know anything about WWE
Before joining WWE as their first Chinese Superstar, Xia Li was a lifelong combat-sport athlete.
A few years ago, Triple H was in China with WWE as they were scouting for athletes from that country. Triple H spoke to ESPN in 2018 and explained how Xia Li made her way to WWE despite not knowing anything about the world of sports entertainment.
Two years ago in China when I first met Xia Li, she didn't know what WWE was. We had to explain to her what WWE was because we were there looking for athletes and she had never seen it. She grew up in farmlands in China so she didn't know what it was. Once we told her what it was and showed it to her, she was, "oh yeah, definitely." Then she came in and tried out and she just fell in love with it, and she has so much heart and passion I was like, "yeah, we're bringing her back."
Triple H also said that Xia Li is one of those athletes who get attracted to WWE once they get to know about the product despite not having followed it for years.
Just like Lacey Evans, the Performance Center trainers molded Xia Li into a WWE Superstar after she signed with the company, and Li currently performs for the NXT brand in 2020.
#3: Mandy Rose wasn't a pro wrestling fan before she signed up for WWE Tough Enough
Mandy Rose came from the world of fitness competitions before she was encouraged by her trainer and her ex-boyfriend to pursue a career in WWE by participating as a contestant in Season Six of Tough Enough.
Mandy Rose has talked about not being a lifelong fan of WWE during an interview with talkSPORT earlier in 2020.
"Obviously, it was from day one. On Tough Enough, when I didn’t even know that much about the business, I thought it was so strange. I was like ‘everyone liked me in the fitness world, why does no one like me here!’ [laughs]. The fans [I mean], ya know. It was definitely really weird to me and then actually, I was like screw it, I’m going to embrace this."
"I didn’t grow up wrestling. I was an athlete, I have my own background and experience and I could see that stigma people have on pretty girls. They're just here to look good and blah, blah blah. But that’s not me."
Interestingly, Rose made her way to the finale and became the runner-up of the sixth season of Tough Enough.
Despite finishing in second place, Mandy Rose made quite an impression on the company. She eventually signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2015 at the same time as Sonya Deville, and both of them became best friends in real and reel life pretty soon after that.
#2: Brock Lesnar didn't grow up as a WWE fan
It's no secret that Brock Lesnar went on to become one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time, but Lesnar did say in a 2016 interview on ESPN’s Face to Face that he did not watch WWE while growing up as a child.
“I didn’t grow up as a pro wrestling fan. I never watched pro wrestling as a kid. The first time I’d ever seen pro wrestling or ever had the desire to even watch it, I was already a senior in college when the company approached me and wanted me to participate with the programme.”
This actually became a more popular fact on an episode of WWE RAW in 2018, when Lesnar was reading an edition of 'The Backwoodsman' magazine as the former Universal Champion clearly stated to Paul Heyman that he didn't watch the show at all.
Clearly, The Beast Incarnate has been established as a star who puts monetary benefits over being passionate about sports entertainment, and WWE fans have developed a likening to that aspect of Brock Lesnar's intense character over the past few years.
#1: Batista wasn't a WWE fan when he initially joined the pro wrestling business
Batista has developed a great career in Hollywood over these past few years. The Animal recently retired from WWE in 2019 at WrestleMania 35, where he lost to Triple H in a No Holds Barred Match.
While appearing on Live with Kelly and Ryan a few months after WrestleMania 35, Batista said that he wasn't a WWE or a pro wrestling fan when he first got into this industry.
"I actually wasn’t [into wrestling] at first. I actually got into it because I was broke and I was looking for a way to make money."
This decision paid off in a huge way for Batista as he became one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time.
It's safe to say that signing up with WWE also acted as a launchpad for him to become a successful movie star down the line. Batista was announced to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020, but the ceremony has been postponed to the WrestleMania 37 weekend in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
