5 Superstars who failed at other sports but succeeded in wrestling

The world of sports entertainment is full of exceptional athletes who put their bodies on the line every night for our viewing pleasure. Professional wrestling is an art, and the WWE is full of men and women who are true artists inside the ring.

Many of these Superstars have been fans of wrestling ever since they were kids, but that doesn't mean they always aspired to be wrestlers. For some Superstars, their athletic abilities garnered them success in other sports, mainly bodybuilding and powerlifting.

Jason Jordan, for example, was drafted out of high school to play baseball. Jordan turned down the opportunity of a professional baseball career to pursue wrestling, but these successful active Superstars actually tried their hand in another sport and failed.

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#5 Mojo Rawley

Mojo Rawley

Mojo Rawley, the man with the never ending adrenaline rush, has a promising future in WWE. His "can do" attitude, party animal, hype man persona may not catch on with everybody, but he is kid friendly and gets the crowd going every time he runs down to the ring.

Mojo has honed his craft and now looks right at home inside the ring, but before getting his start in wrestling, Mojo was an aspiring football player.

Mojo didn't have as much success on the field as he does in the ring. After playing every position on the defensive line for the Maryland Terrapins, Mojo was undrafted in 2009.

Mojo Rawley (R) during his football career

He played one pre-season game for the Green Bay Packers before being cut from the team. He tried earning a spot on the Arizona Cardinals roster, but an injury forced him out of the league.

As of this writing, Mojo is in a tag team with Zack Ryder called the Hype Bros. The gimmick of two grown men acting like frat boys, saying things like "Bro me", and dressing in colourful attire is, again, not for everyone, but it is very entertaining.

When Ryder was injured, Mojo won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33, and it is clear that Vince McMahon has big plans for him.

#4 Baron Corbin

Corbin wasn't meant to hunt with the pack

"The Lone Wolf", and the new United States Champion Baron Corbin won his first championship at Hell in a Cell 2017. Before being a wrestler, Corbin was a talented amateur boxer, in fact, he was a three-time Golden Gloves winner. While Corbin has been successful in combat, he failed in the trenches.

Going undrafted out of Northwest Missouri State University in 2009, Corbin was signed, released, then signed and released again by the Indianapolis Colts. Corbin was signed by the Arizona Cardinals in 2010 and got into a fight during practice once.

Baron Corbin during his stint with the Arizona Cardinals

After being cut from the Cardinals practice squad in 2011, Corbin found his way to NXT. Standing at 6'8", Corbin possessed the physique Vince McMahon craves in his Superstars.

Corbin debuted on the main roster at WrestleMania 32 in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which he won. Corbin has also won the Money in the Bank ladder match, the United States Championship, and his End of Days finisher has yet to be kicked out of.

#3 Bray Wyatt

The Eater of Worlds couldn't conquer the world of football

Bray Wyatt is one of the most charismatic men in all of WWE, but some of the shine has worn off of his character. Wyatt is fond of singing "he's got the whole world in his hands", but unfortunately for him, his fate is in WWE creative's hands. While Wyatt has enjoyed an up and down career in wrestling, he almost pursued a football career.

Playing football in high school, Wyatt was a second team All-American guard at College of the Sequoias, a junior college in California. Wyatt moved up to Division I when he attended Troy University.

Wyatt was redshirted his first year at Troy, and only played one season before moving on to wrestling. Wyatt cited issues with the coaching staff as one of his reasons for quitting.

Wyatt, being a third generation Superstar, got into the family business when he signed with NXT as Husky Harris. As Husky Harris, Wyatt joined the Nexus in 2010 under CM Punk's leadership.

Wyatt would then develop the character of Bray Wyatt, the charismatic leader of the Wyatt family. Bray would go on to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion in 2017.

#2 Roman Reigns

Reigns developed his finisher from years of playing football

These days the Big Dog's entrance enlists a huge reaction from the crowd, as soon as the first note hits the speakers the arena is flooded with cheers and jeers.

Whether he is receiving a hero's welcome or being booed out of the building, everyone knows who Reigns is, and everyone has an opinion on him. While every WWE fan knows the name Roman Reigns, the name rings hollow in the NFL.

It's not hard to tell from watching one of his devastating spears that Reigns, aka Joe Anoa'i, was once an aspiring football player. Reigns played college football at Georgia Tech where he recorded six and a half sacks. He was undrafted in 2007 and failed to make the final 53-man roster for the Minnesota Vikings or Jacksonville Jaguars.

Following in the footsteps of his cousin Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Reigns played one season for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League. When his football career didn't pan out, the young Reigns followed his family's footsteps to the WWE, where the Anoa'i family are wrestling royalty.

Reigns' accomplishments are too abundant to run down, but he is a three-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, as well as a former Tag Team and United States Champion. "The Guy" is also one of only two guys to defeat the Undertaker at WrestleMania. The other being...

#1 Brock Lesnar

He is the beast in the squared circle, but a mortal on the gridiron

Paul Heyman's client, Brock Lesnar, is a huge draw in the world of sports entertainment. Lesnar is also a huge draw in the UFC, where he is a former heavyweight champion. But although Lesnar is the "Beast Incarnate" inside the squared circle, he was a mere mortal on the football field.

In 2004 the farm boy from Minneapolis, Minnesota, decided that professional wrestling wasn't worth the hassle anymore, so he traded in his wrestling boots for football cleats. Despite not playing football since high school, Lesnar was determined to make it in the NFL. Many teams showed interest when Lesnar worked out at the combine, and he was clearly physically gifted enough to play as a lineman.

Signing with his home team Minnesota Vikings, Lesnar played through the pre-season but was cut. He was offered an invitation to play NFL Europe, but Lesnar, notorious for not liking to travel, declined.

This failed NFL endeavour may surprise newer WWE fans who have been bombarded with the praises and references to Lesnar's WWE and UFC success. It would certainly be hard for casuals to imagine Lesnar failing at anything other than the 30-day rule.