Jacob Fatu Was Days From Losing His WWE Deal — And That Makes His Rise Even More Remarkable

The Samoan Werewolf nearly saw his WWE opportunity vanish before it started. Here’s why that near-miss reframes everything about his breakout run.

Every so often a wrestler comes along who feels like he was custom-built in a lab for exactly this moment. Jacob Fatu is one of those guys. Since debuting in WWE, he’s been treated like a special attraction — a wrecking ball with agility no man that size should have, a natural connection with crowds, and the kind of aura that can’t be taught. So it’s genuinely jarring to hear that this whole thing almost never happened.

Fatu recently opened up about a rocky stretch in early 2024 that, by his telling, came within days of derailing his career before it ever truly began. Let’s dig into what that means, why it matters, and what it tells us about how WWE actually operates behind the curtain.

What Actually Happened

The short version: before Fatu became the destructive force we now see on television, there was a window where the deal was in real jeopardy. He’s described it as coming down to a matter of days — the opportunity of a lifetime hanging by a thread during a period when his life off-screen wasn’t in the place it needed to be. This is a man who came up through the independents and MLW, who built a reputation as one of the best big men working anywhere in the world, and who suddenly found the door to the biggest company in the industry threatening to close before he’d walked through it.

What’s striking is how candid he’s been about it. In a business that spent decades pretending everyone was a superhero with no problems, Fatu talking openly about nearly blowing his shot is refreshing — and it recontextualizes the confidence he projects in the ring. That swagger isn’t just gimmick. It’s a guy who knows exactly how close he came to not being here.

The Background A Newer Fan Needs

For anyone who only knows Fatu from WWE, understand this: he was already a legitimate star before he ever signed. As the anchor of MLW’s roster, he held their World Heavyweight Championship for an absurdly long reign and was widely regarded as the most valuable wrestler in that promotion. He wasn’t a project. He was a proven main-event commodity who just needed the right stage.

He’s also, of course, part of the most famous family in wrestling. The Anoa’i bloodline runs through nearly every era of the modern business, and Fatu is a cousin to the Usos, Roman Reigns, and Solo Sikoa. That lineage is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it opens doors. On the other, it raises the bar impossibly high — you’re not just proving yourself, you’re proving yourself against a family name that carries championship expectations. When you factor in that family pedigree, the idea that his deal was almost pulled becomes even more remarkable. This is someone the industry should have been falling over itself to sign.

And yet, WWE almost let it slip. Which brings us to the bigger point.

Why This Matters Beyond One Wrestler

Here’s my take: Fatu’s near-miss is a window into how WWE evaluates risk, and it’s a reminder that talent alone doesn’t guarantee a job. The company has always been cautious about signings where there are off-screen question marks — that’s not a secret. What’s notable is that they nearly walked away from a generational talent because of it, and only didn’t because things came together at the last possible moment.

That tells you two things. First, WWE’s process is more ruthless and less sentimental than fans assume, even when a family name is attached. Second — and this is the part I find compelling — someone in that building fought to make it work, or Fatu fought hard enough himself to keep the door propped open. Either way, the outcome vindicates whoever pushed. Because look at what’s happened since.

Fatu didn’t just make the roster. He became one of the most over acts on the entire show, a guy fans wanted to cheer even while he was positioned as a monster. That’s the rarest quality in wrestling — the ability to make an audience react regardless of alignment. You can’t develop that in a performance center. You either have it or you don’t, and he has it in spades. If WWE had let him walk in early 2024, some other promotion would have built a mountain around him, and WWE would be watching a made star elsewhere.

Where This Realistically Heads

Now for the analysis — and to be clear, this is my read, not a report of any planned booking. Fatu’s ceiling is world championship level, full stop. The only real question is timing and how the family dynamics play out around him. WWE has a deep bench of Anoa’i talent right now, and the storytelling possibilities within that group are endless. Fatu can be the wild card who doesn’t fit neatly into any faction’s plans — the loose cannon whose loyalty is never guaranteed.

What his “almost lost the deal” story adds to that is a real, human arc that a smart creative team can lean into. Redemption sells. A guy who nearly lost everything and clawed his way to the top of the biggest company in the world is a narrative fans invest in emotionally, because it’s true. WWE loves stories like that when the wrestler is willing to share them, and Fatu clearly is.

My prediction: within the next couple of years, Fatu is in the world title picture in a serious way, and the version of him who nearly didn’t make it will feel like ancient history. But it shouldn’t. That near-miss is part of what makes him worth watching. The Samoan Werewolf isn’t just talented — he’s here on borrowed time he refused to squander, and it shows in everything he does.

What’s your read — did WWE get lucky here, or did they nearly fumble a franchise player? Drop your take in the comments and let’s hash it out.