DDT Pro star Chris Brookes explains why he turned down a WWE contract offer

DDT Pro-Wrestling star Chris Brookes has revealed why he turned down a contract offer from WWE.

Brookes watched WWE as a child but lost interest as he started to get older. It was Ring of Honor, CZW, Pro Wrestling Noah and the independent scene that reignited his passion for professional wrestling.

In an interview with Andrew Thompson of Post Wrestling, the DDT Pro star explained why he turned down a contract to join NXT's UK brand. He stated that he wanted to wrestle in Japan and didn't want to spend important years of his career in a situation that he wouldn't enjoy:

"I looked at those two years and I thought those two years, that period from 28 to 30, whatever it is, I think it’s important. Those are gonna be critical years to your development as a wrestler and you know, what you wanna do, and I was like, I don’t wanna spend those years potentially in a situation that I don’t wanna be in or not enjoying it, and my goal was Japan, and I said no to the thing, which a lot of people at the time told me I was crazy, that I had like — at the time too, I had no in to Japan in any way. It was still a very unattainable thing." (H/T: Post Wrestling)

Chris Brookes on WWE never being his goal in wrestling

The 30-year-old recalled having to be convinced to attend the WWE tryout by Pete Dunne, now known as Butch on SmackDown. Brookes wasn't interested in going, but Dunne pointed out that he should go because it is a valuable experience:

"I remember when they called me, I was like — I think I spoke to maybe Pete Dunne about it at the time and I was like, ‘They’ve offered me a tryout thing but I don’t think I’m gonna go.’ He was like, ‘What do you mean you’re not gonna go?’ I was like, ‘…There’s nothing that I wanna get out of it. It doesn’t feel worthwhile going’ and I think he convinced me. He was like, ‘Even if you don’t wanna get anything from it, you should still go just to get the experience’ which he’s right." (H/T: Post Wrestling)

Chris Brookes discussed how he started with DDT Pro, teaming with Jon Gresham, and more in the full interview that can be heard here.