12 Wrestlers With Terrible Backstories
Where did these guys come from? And when can they leave?
What makes someone want to fight another person for a living?
That's the question at the heart of every single character in professional wrestling. Why are these people risking their well-being in the name of competition, and where do they come from? Some wrestlers are in it for the the fame, others do it for the money but most simply want to be the best in the sport.
A lot of great professional wrestlers feel relatable to us. They broke into the business purely for the love of it, and came from humble beginnings in hopes of someday becoming a superstar. Others have a bit more of an outlandish background. There are many different character archetypes for why one gets into wrestling. Not all of them good.
Guys like Bret Hart, Daniel Bryan and Sami Zayn came into our lives as the everyman who fought hard for everything they earned. Jim Cornette used his mother's money to assemble a tag team and win gold. The Shield broke into WWE wanting to deliver justice, before the temptations of individual glory tore them apart. Those are some of the good stories.
Following these journeys from the beginning is one of the most rewarding things to watch as a fan. But the starting point for some characters can be confusing, or a bit strange. At times the narrative is just a complicated mess that even the best detectives couldn't piece together.
Some great wrestlers have had awful origins that they were able to overcome, but many have been sunk by their bad backstory right out of the gate. Here are 12 of the most terrible ones we've seen so far.