WWE rejected Roman Reigns‘s cousin after a try-out for the company, causing Jacob Fatu to miss out on the entire Bloodline storyline.
The Fatu family is one of the biggest in pro-wrestling, and not just in the WWE. While Roman Reigns, The Usos and Solo Sikoa currently dominate WWE, outside of the company there are more Fatu’s plying their trade.
Zilla Fatu, the son of the late Umaga, is currently training with Booker T, while Jacob Fatu continues to impress in MLW.
However, the WWE rejected the chance to sign Jacob Fatu, despite the incredible work he has done on the US independent scene.
The former MLW Champion even had multiple try-outs with WWE, but was rejected for an unexplained reason.
MLW founder Court Bauer revealed that Jacob Fatu was rejected by WWE, which is the reason he keeps re-signing with MLW.
In a recent interview with Busted Open Radio, Court Bauer said:
“The same with Fatu — people forget he had like three or four tryouts at WWE PC. They didn’t sign him. Now, everyone’s like, ‘He should go to WWE.’ There’s a reason the dude keeps re-upping with us. This is the system that has figured it out. We found him, and he found himself.
“He [Fatu] has all the love for his family [The Bloodline] and what they’re doing there [in WWE], but he’s enjoying his time in MLW. If you’re finding him on MLW, support the company that gave him that spotlight. Don’t try to fantasy book something, when the machine there [in WWE] didn’t get it, didn’t see it. So, support where he is and where he is thriving.”
Jacob Fatu Claims He Rejected WWE & AEW
Despite Court Bauer’s revealing interview, Jacob Fatu claims that WWE did not reject him – but that he rejected WWE.
Jacob Fatu spoke last year about attending a tryout with the WWE in 2019. He said that he met a number of current AEW stars at the WWE performance center, including Jack Perry, Eddie Kingston and Ruby Soho.
While William Regal and Tony Khan offered him NXT and AEW contracts, respectively, Jacob Fatu claims he turned them down to sign full-time with MLW.
Speaking to Armbar Interviews, Jacob Fatu said about his WWE try out;
“I had a tryout with WWE. That’s how I met Eddie Kingston. Eddie Kingston, Ruby Riott, Shayna Baszler, Su Yung, Will Hobbs, Royce Isaacs.”
“That was a hell of a class. AEW had tapped in. They came out of nowhere. They came out of nowhere. Jungle Boy actually gave me a call and said, ‘[AEW] is trying to get in touch with you.’”
“They ended up taking care of him and he was one of the first people that signed, which was doped. William Regal had called the next day and it was too late.”
Jacon Fatu is still signed to MLW, despite interest from both WWE and AEW. He has missed out on the chance to be a part of “The Bloodline” storyline, but could still be a main event player wherever he goes.
It has previously been reported that the WWE rejected Jacob Fatu because of his criminal record, which you can read about here: