10 Insane Stories From WWE Tryouts

4. Thunder Rosa Takes Refereeing Classes?!

WWE Eddie Kingston
AEW

Thunder Rosa's stock dipped massively last year.

After working one of the great women's matches in history opposite Dr. Britt Baker, and elevating AEW's women's division to a not inconsiderable extent before her iconic career highlight, she - through injury, a lack of professionalism or a combination of the two - declined as a performer. Her matches as AEW Women's champion were clunky and awkward, but hopefully, she can mount a comeback. The striking look, the intensity, the crowd connection: she's great in the ring on her day. In the ring.

"Your talent is there to see in black and white," WWE agreed. "We are officially interested in signing you. We're counting on you."

"Yeah we want you to be a referee."

What?!

Yes, per an appearance on the Sessions with Renee Paquette, Rosa, despondent with her lack of progress, asked if there were any refereeing gigs going and WWE somehow didn't say "You're better than most of our roster, get in the ring instead".

It's not all bad in this alternate timeline, the one in which Rosa accepts the gig. She still has an ACL ligament if she's not actually wrestling in NXT.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!