Former WWE star and retired Mixed Marital Arts star Daniel Puder recently looked back at his short WWE tenure from 2004 to 2005 and he revealed how difficult it was for him to survive in the promotion. He did not get to work much in the main roster as he worked mostly in Ohio Valley Wrestling which was one of the developmental territories of WWE during that time.
Puder made his big WWE breakthrough in the WWE Tough Enough competition of 2004. The Tough Enough 2004 competition produced some of the biggest stars in wrestling history including Ryback and former two times WWE World Champion The Miz. Puder won the WWE Tough Enough competition of 2004.
Former WWE Star’s Shocking Revelation: How He Had a Bullseye on His Back
Puder caught the eyes of the fans and critics when he almost defeated Kurt Angle in an unscripted segment where he locked the Olympic Gold Medallist in a Kimura Lock. But finally he was beaten by Angle. It was later announced that the winner of the competition would be given a chance to compete in the Royal Rumble match of 2005.
As promised, Puder entered the Royal Rumble match of 2005 as the entry no. 3. After he entered the match, Chris Benoit, Hardcore Holly, and Eddie Guerrero ganged up on him, and Hardcore Holly eliminated him from the match. This was pretty much it for him in the main roster of WWE as he was sent to the Ohio Valley Wrestling which was one of the developmental territories of WWE during that time.
Puder also had an excellent MMA career and he had an 8-0 record in MMA. He left WWE in 2005 never to return to the promotion again. Recently, the former WWE star revealed how he always had a big target on his back. He explained how his MMA background was a setback for him in WWE. Here is what he had to say;
“I had a huge target on my back the whole entire time,” Puder said. “It was a whole different world for me. And some things I didn’t get right off the bat. Some things I got a little bit faster. I worked on promos every day. I busted my butt in training every day. I didn’t drink, I didn’t do drugs. I stayed very focused on what I needed to accomplish. And I put a lot of effort into it.”
“I had a bigger target on my back the day that I took Kurt Angle and kinda wrapped him up a little bit,” Puder said. “Definitely after it aired on TV. They didn’t know what happened that day on the Tuesday, but after it aired on Thursday, by Friday and Saturday, the whole company was like, ‘Holy crap, look at what just happened.’ So, that was pretty interesting.”
H/T & Transcription Credits – Wrestling Inc.
