Keith Lee Reveals How Many Times WWE Rejected Him

Keith Lee has been one of the stars to watch in NXT ever since he signed with the brand, but Keith isn’t a newcomer to professional wrestling.

The current NXT star recently spoke to Corey Graves about his journey to WWE on the After The Bell podcast, and he noted that he received his first try out in 2008.

“Then, I got invited to do some work. In my case, I got thrown into a barricade by one Mr. Triple H and also got poked in the eye by Shane McMahon and punched in the face by Vince. That was my introduction to the bosses of today. At some point, I gained interest in that first meeting and ended up with my first try out. That was in 2008. I was turned down.”

Lee added that he had a few more try outs with WWE, and he was turned down three times.

“In 2011, I did some extra work, and I got asked to come back for another tryout. I was also turned down. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do-wrestling wise going forward. In 2013, when the Performance Center first opened up in the fall, I was part of that first class. Then, I was turned down a third time, so, I wasn’t really sure if I was going to continue wrestling.”

According to Keith Lee, he then had a conversation with Dusty Rhodes and William Regal which inspired him to continue wrestling.

After talking with Dusty and Regal he learned how to be himself in the world of professional wrestling, and eventually WWE came calling.

H/T Wrestling Inc.