Hook Dropped Out Of College To Chase Pro Wrestling Career

Everyone in the pro wrestling world has their own unique story. From The Rock to Jon Moxley, each wrestler had their own path to the ring. Hook was no different, and he took a big risk to make it in the business that his father thrived in.

Hook recently spoke about his path to pro wrestling and how it required a major change in direction during an interview with Busted Open Radio. Before entering wrestling, Hook built a strong background in lacrosse and pursued a college education outside the ring.

Hook explained that wrestling was not an early focus in his life. He said his father pushed him to look at other careers, which led him to commit fully to lacrosse instead of following a direct wrestling path.

“Like you say, when I was younger, my dad told me to be anything but a pro wrestler. So that could be part of why I didn’t really take it seriously from a young age. I looked elsewhere.”

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“As you mentioned, lacrosse — when I was in high school, I was a Top 100 lacrosse player in the country and then went on to play Division One lacrosse at Bucknell.”

“I ended up dropping out of college to pursue pro wrestling. That time was a crazy time for me. That’s when I really started to take it more seriously.”

“I thought I wanted to go work in business. Once I was taking classes, I was like, ‘I can’t do this with my life.’ So I opened my mind up to something else I’m passionate about, with different creative outlets, and had my mind and eyes kind of opened up to pro wrestling being the perfect hybrid of two of my biggest passions — being an athlete and being creative, being an artist.”

Eventually, Hook decided to leave college and step away from a planned business career. That decision marked a turning point, as he shifted his focus toward wrestling. Although this may not be a W for everyone, it paid off for The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil.

We will have to see what Hook does next in his pro wrestling career. At this point, he is still going with momentum. He is locked into a long-term deal with AEW, so Tony Khan has the use of him for a while. Only time will tell what he decides to do when that time is over.

What’s your take on Hook giving up college to pursue pro wrestling? Do you think that you’d make the same choice? Let us know what you think in the comments section!