Jacob Fatu on WWE SmackDown — Image credit: WWE

Jacob Fatu Was Told He Would Never Work In WWE Due To Past Troubles

May 9, 2026

Jacob Fatu recently reflected on the difficult past that brought him to WWE, admitting that many people never believed he would make it this far.

For a long time, people doubted him because of his past. He previously spoke about getting arrested for armed robbery at 18 and later spending time in prison. During those years, watching family members like The Usos wrestle inspired him to chase a different future.

Now, things look completely different for him. This weekend at WWE Backlash, Fatu will challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match, he also addressed the doubts that followed his journey to WWE for years.

Jacob Fatu says WWE once rejected him over his past

During an interview on No-Contest Wrestling, Jacob Fatu said many people constantly doubted him because of his past. He explained that most people never expected him to make it to WWE or headline a major Premium Live Event.

He said, “There was no way Jacob was supposed to be here. There was no way Jacob was supposed to be main event PLE Roman Reigns right out of WrestleMania.” Fatu admitted he understands why some fans still doubt his chances heading into Backlash. At the same time, he said people have underestimated him his entire life.

“So yeah, I can understand why people think I’m not going to win. First PLE, first title event out of WrestleMania.” Even with the criticism, Fatu said he believes nobody in wrestling compares to him. “No man, they ain’t never ran into nobody like me. I said that against Cody. They don’t make them like me.”

Later in the interview, Fatu spoke about his close relationship with The Usos while growing up. He shared that they spent a lot of time together as kids. “It was always good, man. And man, listen, I was born in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m from California off the rip. But man, Pops was wrestling for WCW. We was in ATL, you know what I mean? So, College Park, Bubba Sparxxx, man, on that side. I mean, my first holidays, my first birthdays, man, my first Halloween, it was with the Usos, you know what I mean? It was with Uso and them.”