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Making it to WWE is a pipe dream for many wrestlers, but even for the stars who are able to live their dreams, wrestling is a career that has a shelf-life which means that many stars make some kind of contingency plan to fall back on when their careers come to an end.
The Rock and Batista have been able to make the move into acting whilst various other stars have made the move to other wrestling promotions. There are also jobs in wrestling training much like Santino Marella, who now has his own training school, but there are many other stars who have stepped out of the spotlight and back into 9-5 jobs.
It's a stark contrast to the career these stars once had, but here are just a few former WWE stars who now work regular jobs.
#5. Layla
Layla burst onto the WWE scene back in 2006 when she was the winner of the annual Diva Search. The former dancer easily adapted to the wrestling ring and went on to become Divas Champion and even part of a successful tag team alongside Michelle McCool which was known as LayCool.
Layla and McCool were fantastic as allies but even better as enemies since it was the former Champion who went on to retire Michelle at Extreme Rules in 2011. Layla herself followed suit and left WWE back in July 2015 just days before announcing her engagement to fellow professional wrestler Richard Young (Ricky Ortiz), the duo then went on to marry in November 2015.
For a number of years, Layla focused on her career out of the spotlight and avoided social media, but the former Champion has since returned to social media and has confirmed that she is working as a Real Estate Agent and Makeup Artist.
#4. Paul Burchill
The WWE Universe will remember Paul Burchill as the pirate that he once portrayed on SmackDown. The British star pulled the short straw when Pirates of the Caribbean was seen as a popular movie all around the world and Vince McMahon believed that a pirate gimmick would be a huge hit.
Burchill's gimmick was definitely a fun one, but it wasn't one that led him to the top of the WWE ladder. Instead, Burchill stepped into a storyline with fellow British star Katie Lea Burchill, who was seen as his on-screen sister. The duo were then later moved over to the ECW brand, but the brand wasn't seen as a success so Burchill was released from the company back in 2010.
The former star then went on to wrestle a number of matches on the Independent Circuit which even included a match against current WWE star AJ Styles. Burchill has a wife and three sons to support, so he works as a firefighter and is currently training to be a paramedic in the United Kingdom.
According to a report from the Post and Courier last year, Burchill "recently returned to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing science. He also became a registered nurse."
#3. Muhammad Hassan
The WWE Universe will remember Muhammad Hassan for having the wrong gimmick at the wrong time, Hassan's controversial character debuted back in December 2004 when he introduced himself as an "Arab-American wrestler wanting relief from the increased prejudice and stereotypes created by the 9/11 attacks."
Sadly for Hassan, the character debuted at the wrong time, since his angle coincided with the London Bombings back in 2005 and it meant that WWE faced a lot of pressure from their sponsors to remove the star from WWE TV. In subsequent years, it has come to light that Hassan was originally supposed to receive a huge push in WWE and go on to defeat Batista to become World Champion, but all of these plans were changed.
Hassan was released from his WWE contract later that year and then made the decision to go back into education. He has since worked for a number of schools in New York and last year it was revealed by WrestlingInc that Hassan was now the principal for Fulton Junior High School.
#2. Spike Dudley
Spike Dudley will be best remembered as the much smaller member of The Dudley Boyz and more often than not the member of the team that would take the much worse bumps. Spike was a popular star with the WWE Universe and throughout his career went on to become an eight-time Hardcore Champion.
Dudley was even able to go on a decent run with the Cruiserweight Championship ahead of his departure back in 2005. In recent years The Dudley Boyz made their return to WWE and D-Von is now working as a backstage producer for the company since Bully Ray left again, but Spike has not been seen.
Instead, he went on to have a stint in Impact Wrestling, before finding a steady income as a financial transition specialist with Merrill Edge. Prior to getting into the wrestling business, the former Champion was a third-grade teacher's assistant in San Francisco, he also has a bachelors of the arts degree, which he also received ahead of his transition into the wrestling business.
#1. Ivory
Ivory is a former three-time Women's Champion who will be best remembered for her time in Right To Censor alongside Steven Richards. It was a group that was ahead of their time when it came to their views which allowed them to gain the perfect reaction from the WWE Universe.
Unlike many stars on this list, it was Ivory who opted not to sign a new WWE contract back in 2005 and instead began working in the landscaping industry. The former Champion then began volunteering at an organization called Best Friends Animal Society and her local animal shelter, According to The Post and Courier this later lead to her opening her own animal daycare center called DownTown Dog in Washington back in 2007.
The business has continued to evolve to include grooming and veterinary care as well as "Bow Wow Bus" which takes the animals on outings. Ivory was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2018 and returned to the ring for the first time in more than 13 years at Evolution when she was part of the women's battle royal.
