The WWE Raw Star Signed Without A Tryout
A veteran WWE superstar has shared a story about how he got signed by the company without having a tryout.
The last time that Ludwig Kaiser had a match on the WWE main roster on television was all the way back in April during the Andre the Giant Battle Royal.
Since July, Kaiser has become El Grande Americano after Chad Gable was injured and couldn’t compete as the masked superstar. The veteran Kaiser has thrived in the role and picked up a win on the September 15th edition of WWE Raw when he beat Dragon Lee thanks to the help of two El Grande Americano allies in masks.
The 35-year-old Kaiser has been wrestling for 18 years, and he’s worked for WWE since 2017. After five long years on NXT UK and NXT, Kaiser debuted on the main roster in April 2022 and has remained there ever since.
Most people on the WWE roster were signed after tryouts, whether they are established wrestlers or coming from a different world like sports, but Kaiser took a different path. That’s how he explained it on the Kennt jeder podcast with Hamad Firdousi.
“During my time at wXw, the contact to WWE was built. I dismissed my very first tryout (offer), which I got only three years in.
“Fit Finlay contacted me, because my father was the man in Germany and they knew each other. But I knew I was not ready. I thanked them for the chance and asked for some time.
“Five or six years later, contact was made again. I knocked out my knee. Going to WWE was never my goal. I would have been happy (with my career) if it would have stopped earlier. But when it’s so close and when the injury happened, I was so upset that it was so close to happening.
“WWE told me, ‘Get ready and we’ll try another time.’ After that, I went to England, did some PROGRESS. WWE found out, contacted me again, and told me about another tryout. They originally planned a tour with tryouts through all of Germany to look at talent.”
William Regal Was A Big Reason Why WWE Signed Ludwig Kaiser WIthout A Tryout
Since Kaiser was an established wrestler in Europe and the son of legendary German wrestler Axel Dieter, WWE’s William Regal felt like he was ready to be signed without a tryout.
“But Mr William Regal said, ‘We’ll take this guy and we don’t need any tour.’ They told me I do not have to do a tryout, I can come immediately.
“I’ve been told this is a huge, huge exception. Everyone does a tryout, usually several. I had the big privilege to come in like that. But my career basically started all over again once I got there.”