Andre Chase just revealed that his WWE run almost looked very different, as he turned down a higher-paying job as a coach to be a wrestler in WWE.
While speaking to Duke Hudson, Chase explained that WWE originally wanted to bring him in as a coach instead of a wrestler. After getting a call from Canyon Ceman during the COVID era, Chase was invited to a tryout, but was told WWE already had him in mind for a coaching role: “I get a call from Canyon, and he’s like, ‘Hey, how have you been? How are you? Have you been in shape? Have you been working? What’s going on?’”
Chase said he told Ceman that North Carolina was shut down at the time, but he was still doing what he could to stay ready from home. According to Chase, WWE then asked him to come in for a tryout, but made it clear they viewed him as someone who could be a strong coach.
“And I was like, ‘Well, obviously North Carolina was shut down. Nah, I’ve just been chilling, but like everybody else I’ve got a work-from-home kind of setup, and as best I can I’m staying ready.’ He’s like, ‘Do you want to come in for a tryout?’ And it was the first tryout in COVID. He essentially was like, ‘You’re an interesting case because we actually wanted to sign you as a coach. But come to the tryout anyway, and then we’ll kind of talk and discuss what we have for you. But we just really think you’d be a great coach.’ And again, at this time I’m 31. I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not ready to really stop wrestling yet.’”
When WWE later called him back in November, Chase said the company still liked him as a coach but also enjoyed his tryout. That left him with a major choice between the safer, better-paying coaching job and a lower-paying wrestler contract.
“I get the call back in November, and it’s Canyon. He’s like, ‘Hey, listen, we really wanted you as a coach, but we really enjoyed your tryout too. What do you want to do?’ And then he gave me the numbers. And the coach role was obviously a much higher salary than what the starting pay for a wrestler was.”
Chase admitted the money made him think hard about whether to take the coaching role and move on from his in-ring career. After talking it over with his brother, Chase realized the answer was simple. He still wanted to wrestle and that led Chase to turn down the bigger paycheck and accept the wrestler contract instead.
“So I’m like, ‘Oh man, do I just take the money and kind of call it a day in my career?’ Because again, they made it clear—you can’t do both. I think about it, and I’m talking to my brother, and he’s like, ‘Well, do you want to be a coach or do you want to be a wrestler?’ And I’m like, ‘I want to be a wrestler.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, that’s it.’ So I turned it down. And it was just that easy. The money was appealing and attractive, but I was like, I can’t wait to be a wrestler. So I’m going to wrestle.”
Looking back, Chase believes he made the right call because choosing to wrestle led to Chase U, his NXT run, and everything that came with it: “And I think in the end it was the right choice because I got to do Chase U and everything that came with it. Had I taken the coaching role, none of that would have happened.”
This gives fans a much better look at how close Andre Chase came to having a completely different WWE career. Instead of taking more money behind the scenes, he bet on himself as a performer — and that decision led to one of NXT’s most memorable acts.
Now that Chase is moving forward as “The Professor” Andre Chance after his WWE release, the story feels even more fitting. He chose the ring over the office once before, and now he’s clearly ready to keep proving that choice was worth it.
Do you think Andre Chase made the right call by choosing wrestling over a WWE coaching job? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.