Every person in every field has a past, the things he or she did before he or she made it big and became leaders in their fields. Wrestling is no different. It’s not like WWE Stars just step into the ring and become superstars overnight. Like professionals in other fields, they have many things to do before they can navigate the ring. There were various jobs they did to support themselves.

Some of the Superstars on this list don’t have WWE careers in mind. They had different goals, some wanted to be professional bodybuilders, some wanted to be models and then break into Hollywood. Perhaps it was fate that eventually led them to the WWE ring and saw them become big stars in the sport. Whether it was another job or something they wanted to do, in this article we will list some of the interesting jobs wrestlers did before they became huge WWE Stars.

• Lana: dancer, musician & actress

Lana, real name, Catherine Perry had quite an eventful career before becoming a popular diva. After spending most of her childhood in Latvia where her father worked as a Christian missionary, she returned to the United States at the age of 17. She lived in New York for some time, where her dance background helped Alvin Ailey find work at American Dance Theater , Ballet Hispanico , Broadway Dance Center and the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance. Like her mother, she set her sights on becoming a ballet dancer. However, she soon realized that her future lay in show business and subsequently moved to Los Angeles. She was signed by the Ne-Yo record label to be part of a girl band: “No Means Yes”. The band recorded one single and broke up within a year of forming. She then worked as a backup dancer for a short time, appearing in videos of famous singers such as Keri Hilson, Nelly, Pink, Usher, Akon and Rich Boy.

In 2011, she appeared in an episode of The Game. She also starred in ICIRUS in 2011, the musical comedy Pitch Perfect in 2012, and an episode of Banshee in 2013. She appears in starring in the WWE Studios production “Interrogation”.

• Sheamus: Bodyguard & IT-Techniker

Sheamus has gained popularity as a dominant wrestler. With his sheer power he has beaten leading wrestlers like John Cena, Chris Jericho and Jack Swagger. So it’s hard to imagine him singing for the Palestrina Choir. Of course it was good in his early teens but still you expect him to be mixing up kids and playing rugby and not singing in a boys choir. However, he played rugby while studying at the National College of Ireland, where he received a national diploma. To support himself, he worked in Dublin as an IT technician. He also worked as a nightclub security guard, which helped him land a few bodyguard gigs. He has worked as a bodyguard for U2’s Bono and Larry Mullen Jr., as well as for Denise van Outen. In his early days in WWE he worked as an extra, you can even see him disguised as a fake security guard in two episodes.

• Kurt Angle: sports reporter

Kurt Angle was extremely successful in WWE. He was a five-time World Champion (four-time WWF/E-Champion, one-time World Heavyweight Champion) and also held the American Championship , Intercontinental Championship , European Championship , and WWE Tag Team Championshiponce each. However, it might not have happened at all. In 1996, Kurt Angle, who had won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1995 World Wrestling Championship and a gold medal in heavyweight freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics, was brought into picking up an ECW by fellow Pittsburgh fellow Shane Douglas. He gave an in-ring interview and guest commentary during a match between Taz and Little Guido. However, he left the building after Raven “crucified” a bleeding Sandman by attaching him to a cross with barbed wire. Angle was shocked by the incident and felt that his reputation would be damaged if he was associated with the incident. He even threatened to sue ECW owner Paul Heyman if it was shown on TV in the same show as the stunt. He eventually joined Pittsburgh’s local Fox affiliate, WPGH-TV, as a sports reporter. He worked in that position for a year before signing an eight-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

• Rusev: Rowing and strength training

Rusev, real name, Miroslav Barnyashev is easily recognizable for his immeasurable height and massive build. The Bulgarian wrestler used his immense size and power from an early age. To further his athletic career, he enrolled in a physical education school, where he specialized in powerlifting and was also a member of the school’s rowing team. He continued to compete in powerlifting into adulthood. However, in the mid-2000s, Rusev decided to emigrate to the United States to pursue a career in wrestling. He initially lived in Virginia before moving to Torrance, California, where he trained as a wrestler with Gangrel & Rikishi at the Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy. And in September 2010, he finally fulfilled his dream of signing a contract with professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He was originally assigned to WWE’s Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental territory in Tampa, Florida, where he adopted the ring name “Alexander Rusev”.

• Trish Stratus: Local Fitness Receptionist & Fitness Model

With Patricia, Anne Stratigeas enrolled in York University, little did she know she was going to wrestle or even become one of WWE’s most popular Divas. However, it was fate that drove her to wrestling, placing Patricia in the right place and time. For example, if the university hadn’t gone on strike in 1997, she would have graduated in biology and kinesiology. Instead, she began working as a receptionist at a local gym. And during that time, she was approached by the publisher of MuscleMag Internationalto do a test shoot for the magazine. She appeared on the cover of the May 1998 issue and signed a two-year deal with the company. She started working on her body and made several covers. During this time, she joined Big Daddy Donnie and Jeff Marek as the third host of Live Audio Wrestling on Toronto Sports Radio’s The FAN 590. She was later noticed by the WWE Boy Scouts and signed a multi-year contract with the company. She currently works as a yoga teacher and owns a yoga studio.

• Sting: Bodybuilder and co-owner of Gold’s Gym

Steve Borden was active in sports from a young age. In his school days he was an outstanding basketball and soccer player. Growing up, he developed a strong interest in bodybuilding and subsequently began a career in bodybuilding. Up to this point, he had no interest in becoming a professional wrestler. And due to the lack of TV access to wrestling in his home community, his knowledge of wrestling was fairly limited. Also, in the meantime, he had bought the Gold’s Gym franchise with a friend and continued his career in bodybuilding. However, in one night everything changed. He attended a World Wrestling Federation(WWF) in Los Angeles, where he saw Hulk Hogan the Iron Sheikh, the British Bulldogs, André the Giant and others perform. He immediately fell in love with the sport and decided to become a professional wrestler. And as they say, rest is history. He won a total of 15 championships in his career, including six WCW World Heavyweight Championships, two WCW World Heavyweight Championships, and one NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

• The Undertaker: College Basketball

Ok, this cannot be considered a real job. But I had to put him on the list for two reasons. First of all, Mark Callaway was a good player and if he had chosen to be, wrestling might have lost one of the biggest stars of the future. The other reason is that we are talking about The Undertaker and no wrestling list can be completed without his presence. Before making his wrestling debut for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) under the ring name Texas Red in 1984, Callaway had a passion for basketball. He was a member of his high school basketball team. He also played college basketball at Texas Wesleyan University from 1985-1986.

• Randy Orton: Enlisted US Marine Corps

Randy Orton had a flair for wrestling from a young age. He was an amateur wrestler during his school days at Hazelwood Central High School. However, his father, who had himself been a professional wrestler, wanted his son to stay away from the business. He warned his son about the life he would have to live as a wrestler on the street. Discouraged by his family, Orton enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from high school. However, he won’t have many fond memories of his time in the US Marines. He was found twice guilty of deserting and disobeying an order from a commanding officer. And within a year of his enlistment, he received exoneration for misconduct. Private First Class Orton was court-martialed and sentenced to 38 days in prison.

• Triple H: Worked at a gym

Paul Michael Levesque always wanted to be a wrestler. At the age of five, he watched the first wrestling match attended by Chief Jay Strongbow, who by the way is one of the most famous wrestlers. At age 14, he began bodybuilding to develop a physique that would help him become a professional wrestler. Such was his passion for bodybuilding that he never missed his workouts and went to the gym every day. Since he was in the gym daily, he decided to become a fitness trainer and earn a few extra bucks to support himself. He took bodybuilding very seriously and eventually competed in several bodybuilding competitions. He was crowned teenager Mr. New HampshireIn 1988 he began training with Killer Kowalski at his school in Malden, Massachusetts.

And after around two decades in the industry, he has established himself as one of the best and most popular wrestlers. He has held a total of 23 championships, including eight WWF/E Championships and five World Heavyweight Championships.

• Hulk Hogan: Musician

It’s not wrong to say that Hulk Hogan was one of the main reasons behind the WWF’s popularity boom in the ’80s and ’90s. He has inspired a generation of wrestling superstars. Additionally, the All-American icon has won 12 world championships, including six-time WWF/E (World Heavyweight) Champion and six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. However, if he hadn’t suffered an injury in his youth, he would have played professional baseball. He was a promising pitcher in American Championship baseball and had attracted boy scouts from the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds.

In his teenage years, Hogan was also a skilled musician and was very good with a fretless bass guitar. He dropped out of university when his music concerts kept interfering with his studies. In 1973, he formed a band called “Ruckus” with two other Tampa-area musicians. The band was a smash hit with the locals, and the band played popular local bars. One night during the band’s performance at a local bar, Jack and Gerald Brisco showed up and were really impressed by Hulk’s physique. They asked Hogan if he was interested in becoming a pro wrestler. And the rest, as they say, is history.