Jacob Fatu Recalls Deciding To Pursue WWE Career While In Prison

Jacob Fatu has quickly become a fan-favorite star in WWE, and there are various industry figures campaigning for his success, especially his uncle Rikishi Fatu. While Fatu is enjoying his WWE run today, he never shies away from telling his story and admitting the time he lost to prison.

"When I was locked up, tapping in, it really just made me, like, open my eyes," Fatu admitted during an interview on "What's Your Story? With Steph McMahon." He recounted his various prison and jail stints over the years, some of which were due to probation violations. Finally, during one of his stretches of incarceration, he saw his cousins on television and something "clicked."

"It didn't really hit me until I seen the Usos, TJ [Wilson], Nattie, and Harry [Smith] on TV, man," Fatu said. "I seen them on a Monday night 'Raw.' We had one TV screen, we're flipping through the channels."

"This is when they were fresh Usos!" he recalled. "And man, that's kind of when I made my mind up."

At the same time, Fatu realized that while he was sitting in jail, his wife was out there looking after their children. "No, Jacob, this s**t is backwards!" he pointed out. "Man, my wife was taking care of me in there, and my wife loved me way before wrestling... Way before wrestling..."

Though it took time, and Fatu still had some bumps in the road to overcome with his addiction, he eventually made it to WWE. He can currently be seen on "WWE Raw," where he is once again involved with The Bloodline, though not exactly by choice.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "What's Your Story? With Steph McMahon," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.