Summary

Jacob Fatu says one of the lowest moments of his wrestling journey came when WWE turned him down after a mid-2010s tryout because of mistakes he made when he was 18.

Speaking on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg, Fatu said he left the tryout believing his path to WWE was over. Instead, he remembered a short conversation with William Regal and Norman Smiley that convinced him to keep going.

That story lands differently now because Fatu is no longer trying to break in. He is already established on the roster, and his rise has run alongside Roman Reigns' warning before Backlash as his spot near the top of the card keeps growing.

Quote from Jacob Fatu

"I had a tryout 2015, '16, and they told me I would never work here because of the mistakes that I made when I was 18 in life. So what I had a tryout, I went to, I was 18, for robbery. Fresh 18. I literally turned 18. My birthday was in March 7th. I got the case in May. So for me to double back on there, I didn't think I was going to make it. But I just knew it was something. I manifested something. But anyways, I stuck with it. I had to try out. Crazy thing, Shayna Baszler was in that tryout, Shotzi, my boy Royce Keys, Eddie Kingston, there was a lot of us in that tryout. Scotty 2 Hotty was there. But I remember being told no. I just broke down. I was crying, man. I didn't have anything else to do."

Fatu later went on to say:

"Right before I was about to hop in the car, the referee come give me, 'Hey, they want to speak to you.' I remember Norman Smiley and William Regal. 'Just stay at it. All right, keep working. We know it's okay.' This is William Regal, 'I'm not saying you will ever work for this company.' Then he goes, 'My suggestion is just keep staying at it. Just keep going at it.'"

What William Regal's advice means for Jacob Fatu now

Jacob Fatu tying that rejection to William Regal's encouragement gives extra weight to where he now stands in WWE, because the same performer once told he would never make it there is now positioned in a major championship program with Roman Reigns.

It also adds a little more context to Fatu's current presentation. WWE has leaned into his toughness and credibility on television, and this story shows how much of that edge was shaped long before he ever made the main roster.

Sources

Jacob Fatu on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg