Jimmy House Thanks Gabe Sapolsky For WWE Opportunity

Jimmy House thanked Gabe Sapolsky for the opportunity that led to his WWE involvement. House told Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp that his personal story with the WWE tryout began about four years before the January event when he earned his black belt in jiu-jitsu.

He viewed the achievement as closing a chapter and sought to leverage his athletic accomplishments into professional wrestling or acting to discover his true potential and impact on others. Shortly after obtaining his black belt, several people referred him to WWE’s recruitment department, which differed from its current structure.

Within about a week and a half, he received a call from the recruitment department in Stamford, Connecticut, requesting that he submit a resume after being referred by multiple individuals. Despite his efforts, he never received a callback from WWE following that initial contact.

He explained that once he commits to something, he must pursue it fully for his ego and pride, leading him to relocate from Arizona to Austin, Texas, to begin on the independents at the lowest level where everyone else starts.

House expressed gladness about that path in his story, noting that after a year on the indies he received a call in November giving him eight weeks to prepare for the tryout. The experience felt very full circle to him because the short-term gratification he anticipated earlier was delayed when the initial callback never came.