Wardlow Talks Not Signing With WWE Despite “Smoking It” At Their Tryout
AEW star Wardlow was on a recent episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast where he discussed himself and MJF being inducted into The Inner Circle as well as his WWE tryout. He talked about the atmosphere of the tryout and the nonchalant nature of the other people in the tryout.
“I know people know that I did have a tryout, and I smoked that tryout,” Wardlow stated. “I was literally the only dude there in a suit. It was mind blowing. Dudes are there in shorts and t-shirts. That’s because they’re not recruiting wrestlers. They’re recruiting ex-NFL athletes or college wrestlers, people that have never watched wrestling [and] don’t care about wrestling.
“The comments these people were making made me sick to my stomach that they were there getting an opportunity. Of course, my roommate, he’s like, ‘Man, I’ve never even watched wrestling. I don’t even like it.’ I’m just like, ‘Get out of my room. Why are you here?’ And that was his second tryout. These people are getting multiple chances.”
Wardlow admitted that he was so confident that he would pass the tryout that he sold his motorcycle and his house. When he didn’t pass, he said he later got to train with WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle who said that he had been trying to get him into WWE.
“So I smoked that tryout,” Wardlow reiterated. “I’m like, ‘I have this in the bag’, so much so I literally sold my motorcycle [and] sold my house, literally got rid of everything because I’m like, ‘I’m going to put everything into moving into Florida.’ So when the email came in that I was not, I remember I actually had to pull over on the side of the road because I just couldn’t believe it, and then I started training personally with Kurt Angle when he was getting ready to make his comeback for his final couple matches.
“And me and Kurt clicked in the ring really well, and him and I talked a lot. And he expressed that he had a conversation with a certain somebody there about bringing me in, and he’s like, ‘It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.'”
Wardlow also admitted that he’s not a patient person. So when he heard about AEW and their vision, he signed on right away and wanted to be a part of AEW.
“Lord knows I am not the most patient person at all. That’s always been a battle,” Wardlow admitted. “So when the opportunity came with AEW, and I heard what the plans were and I heard the vision and the passion behind it, I knew there was nothing for me to wait for it. This is what it is, and I’m very happy I didn’t say no and wait and wait and wait. God knows I could still be waiting at this point. Who knows? I most definitely where I’m supposed to be.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit AEW Unrestricted with a h/t to PWrestling.com for the transcription.