There have been numerous anecdotes of how WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is picky about the kind of wrestlers he wants in his promotion. McMahon has been known to be steadfast in the type of Superstar he wants and is also reportedly not known to know much about the Superstars present in other pro wrestling promotions.
But, there have been some Superstars that McMahon was not initially interested in signing to the WWE, but then did sign, who have gone on to become legends.
Here are five Superstars Vince McMahon was not originally interested in signing.
Samoa Joe is the most recent one who was rejected by Vince McMahon but was eventually signed by WWE. Joe, who played an important part in the rise and rise of TNA, joined WWE in 2015 and was drafted to NXT. After two years on NXT where he became the NXT World Champion, he was moved to the main roster in 2017.
Joe revealed in an interview in 2019 that Vince McMahon was not keen on signing him to the WWE. In an interview with Fightful, he said that McMahon never wanted him in WWE despite there being several in WWE who wanted him in the company.