Rutten dove into why he turned it down.
Former mixed martial artist and pro wrestler Bas Rutten was interviewed by Heavy Sports. A portion of the chat was centered around pro wrestling.
Rutten recalled having an offer on the table from WWE, but he turned it down once he learned it would be a full-time deal. Rutten stated that he needed the money at the time, but having time with his family was more important. He then spoke about the respect he has for pro wrestlers.
“I was contacted by the WWE one time and my daughter was just born. I thought it was maybe 20 shows a year or something. I was like, ‘Oh, sign me up.’ No, 220 (shows) and that’s without the traveling. So I go, ‘Yeah, I decline that.’
(It) was bad at that time because I needed the money, trust me. But, family time, you can’t get back. It’s one of those things that once it’s gone, it’s gone, so I decided not to do it.
I had the utmost respect for all these pro wrestlers for what they’re doing. If you hear these crazy stories, eating raw potatoes like Stone Cold Steve Austin because it was the only thing they could afford, driving to the next state, that’s crazy. I always think there’s been this connection between the pro wrestlers and the fighters.”
Rutten went on to state that he’s suffered more injuries in wrestling than he has in MMA. It came to a point when his wife was urging him to step away from wrestling and go back to MMA.
“I did a little bit of pro wrestling in Japan. I had way more injuries in pro wrestling than I did in real (fighting) … My wife was literally telling me to go back to real fighting because (I) never had so many injuries. That’s how hard it is. And those guys do 220 shows a year.”
Rutten finished up his fight career with a 14-2 record in kickboxing and a 28-4 MMA record.
He competed in nine pro wrestling matches, and his last was in October 2022 for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Rutten challenged for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
