Superstars who didn't like wrestling

[Bone Daddy]

Brock Lesnar is of course the first example to come to mind:

He obviously never liked pro wrestling or the WWE, but he loved getting paid and he was good at what he did. Same goes for The Ultimate Warrior.

Although I think he grew to love it, you could put Kurt Angle into this same group.

Anyway, who are some others and what do you guys think about them? I just named 3 who actually went on to have nice careers and some great matches, but obviously there must be some others that just took the money and ran, or didn't make any money at all

[Deleted]

Jim Ross said that Nathan Jones had absolutely no interest in being a wrestler, which makes sense since he lasted less then a year. Vince only signed him because of his size and his background.

[Mayonnaise]

Lesnar has said time and time again he loves wrestling, just not the travel and politics.


Goldberg and Warrior have both said they are only it in for the money, not a bad thing mind you.

[thecrusherwi]

I've heard Luger didn't really care about it. If forget who said it (maybe Jim Cornette or Shawn Michaels on his RF Shoot before he found Jesus) that Luger was somewhat embarrassed to be in wrestling.

[Smiley Smile]

Owen Hart had, by all accounts, done it as a way of making a lot of money so he could retire at thirty-five and be with his family.

[Deleted]

Batista did it for the money apparently. A lot of these guys who didn't like it growing up sound like prideful people who get off at being the top guy who is great at their job and being the top paid guy.

[Evilution E5150]

Jun 26, 2012 21:27:19 GMT -5 Mayonnaise said:

Lesnar has said time and time again he loves wrestling, just not the travel and politics.


Goldberg and Warrior have both said they are only it in for the money, not a bad thing mind you.

id much rather have the career and bank accounts of those 2 then have the career and bank accounts of Flair and Terry Funk

[MolotovMocktail]

Mr. Kennedy once said he never got into it as a kid or a teenager, but became a fan later in life.

[J.O.B. Squad]

See I get why some would do it for the money but unless you are getting signed to the WWE from the get go seems to me a little pointless to go "Hey let me try out this wrestling thing every one is talking about to make a quick buck"

[mizerable]

Let's not act like Goldberg and Warrior didn't exactly bust their asses, because they did. It's better to go into the business not knowing what it is and come out with a better understanding and pride of it, rather than a guy who had all sorts of dreams of making it and ends up disgruntled because of politics and lack of success.

[Deleted]

Not to sound cynical...

but you know what Goldberg and Warrior have that most wrestlers their age don't?


Bodies that aren't constantly in pain.

[Bone Daddy]

Jun 26, 2012 23:47:54 GMT -5 mizerable said:

Let's not act like Goldberg and Warrior didn't exactly bust their asses, because they did. It's better to go into the business not knowing what it is and come out with a better understanding and pride of it, rather than a guy who had all sorts of dreams of making it and ends up disgruntled because of politics and lack of success.

It seems like guys who are doing it as a job bust their ass even more than the guys who grew up as big fans. Maybe looking at it as a job instead of "living the dream" pushes guys to work hard instead of using drugs and fading out

[The Sam]

Not exactly a "superstar", but Dennis Condrey admits to not being a wrestling fan when he was growing up in the "Midnight Express and Jim Cornette 25th Anniversary Scrapbook".

[Cronant]

Jun 28, 2012 6:32:58 GMT -5 Bone Daddy said:

Jun 26, 2012 23:47:54 GMT -5 mizerable said:

Let's not act like Goldberg and Warrior didn't exactly bust their asses, because they did. It's better to go into the business not knowing what it is and come out with a better understanding and pride of it, rather than a guy who had all sorts of dreams of making it and ends up disgruntled because of politics and lack of success.

It seems like guys who are doing it as a job bust their ass even more than the guys who grew up as big fans. Maybe looking at it as a job instead of "living the dream" pushes guys to work hard instead of using drugs and fading out

Colt Cabana had a story about Alex Riley holding out for more money when he started in developmental.

It seems people who come from the outside have a better business sense and aren't as vulnerable to getting screwed over money wise while the people "living the dream" are more likely to fall for that "You have to pay your dues and accept shit" line.

["Gentleman" AJ Powell]

Jun 26, 2012 21:36:22 GMT -5 Smiley Smile said:

Owen Hart had, by all accounts, done it as a way of making a lot of money so he could retire at thirty-five and be with his family.

Yeah, he wanted to be a fireman IIRC.

[Metalheadbanger Man]

This one's a bit random, but I recall Heenan saying that Tony Schiavone didn't really like wrestling.

Seemed weird seeing as he was in the business for nearly 20 years, and I know he does baseball coverage now so maybe that was his true passion.

[Allie Kitsune]

This is stretching the definition of 'superstar', but David Flair.

He wanted to be a cop (specifically a highway patrolman), not a wrestler (and it showed).

[thirteen3]

Davey Richards.

[wildojinx]

Mike Von Erich. Kevin VE has said that Mike wanted to be a rock musician but that he fell into the business. If he had gone that route, maybe he (and possibly Chris, who idolized mike) would still be alive today.

["Gentleman" AJ Powell]

Jun 28, 2012 7:27:17 GMT -5 Allie Kitsune said:

This is stretching the definition of 'superstar', but David Flair.

He wanted to be a cop (specifically a highway patrolman), not a wrestler (and it showed).

Undertaker busting into a Police Station to beat up David Flair would've made that segment infinitely more awesome.