Jacob Fatu says his WWE career almost died before it even started — and Triple H was the man who gave him another shot.
During an appearance on What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon, Fatu opened up about the chaos surrounding his WWE signing and admitted the company initially passed on him because of problems tied to his addiction. Fatu said the blame was his, and for nearly three weeks he had no idea whether WWE was still going to bring him in.
“Before I actually got hired, I almost got fired before I got hired because of my addiction and stuff. It just wasn’t really there. I know we’re going to start it off, but I just gotta tell the truth when it comes to this. Your husband, they passed me. They did pass me. It was because of me.”
Fatu said the uncertainty lasted 19 days, and things got even tougher when his kids started asking when the family would be moving to Florida. At that point, he thought the WWE opportunity was gone for good.
“It just was all bad. Nineteen days, I didn’t know if I had a job. Our kids were asking me, ‘Dad, when are we moving to Florida?’ I couldn’t even answer that for 19 days because I thought it was done. It was done.”
That’s when Triple H stepped in. Fatu said WWE brought his name back up and Levesque agreed to give him another chance — with one very clear warning attached.
“Your husband, they brought me up again, and your husband said, ‘We’ll give him a second chance. Everybody deserves a second chance. But when you get here, all that gotta stop.’”
That second chance eventually led Fatu all the way to WrestleMania 42, a number that already carried a special meaning for his family. Fatu explained that “42” means Fatu in his culture, and he had even posted “WM42” years earlier without knowing whether he would ever actually make it to that stage.
After his WrestleMania 42 match, Fatu said Triple H tracked him down backstage. Fatu was emotional and immediately started thanking him for giving him the opportunity that nearly disappeared years earlier.
“Your husband came and found me after. I jumped in the crowd, and then I came the other way and they said, ‘Hunter wants to see you.’ As soon as I’m walking up, your husband’s coming down. He just gave me a hug, and I remember telling him, crying, ‘Thank you. Thank you, man. You’re the one that gave me that second chance. I remember, man.’”
Triple H wasn’t interested in taking the credit. According to Fatu, Levesque grabbed his face and made it clear that Jacob was the one who turned things around — and that Jacob was also the only person who could still destroy everything he had built.
“He just grabbed my face like, ‘You did it. Don’t thank me. You did it. The only person that could mess this up is you, Jacob.’ I mean, it was a real good moment and a special moment.”
Fatu’s WWE run could have ended before fans ever saw him on television, but Triple H’s decision to give him one more chance changed everything. Years later, Fatu was standing at WrestleMania thanking the same man who refused to close the door on him.
What do you think about Triple H giving Jacob Fatu a second chance with WWE? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
