At one point, Jake Atlas seemed like one of wrestling’s most promising young prospects, especially after signing with WWE in late 2019 following a strong showing on the independent circuit. Instead, things went the other way, with Atlas being released from WWE less than two years later in August 2021. He then left wrestling completely in 2022, after the end of a brief period in AEW due to injury and domestic violence arrest in May 2022.
Earlier this week, Atlas resurfaced, sitting down with “Speaking of development” to talk about his wrestling career, particularly his time in WWE. And Atlas has been quite candid, particularly about the effect his WWE run has had on his mental health.
“It really messed me up mentally,” Atlas said. “I think…man, what I would say today is different than maybe if you had interviewed me right after I was released. I think I’ve grown and changed so much in the last three years. But it’s an interesting question. It’s a question for me, because at the time, if you had asked me when I was released, I would have said, “Yeah, it was difficult, I didn’t know.” how to deal with that, I wasn’t ready for that, etc.
“I think now I can say that it definitely was. I think…if I wasn’t ready for it, it was more on a personal level than a professional one. I think the style was easy to embrace it, and I don’t think it was my talent or my ability to do the work that held me back, I think it was more the personal struggle at the time.
Atlas notes the difference in how WWE has treated independent wrestlers based on their tenure
Atlas noted that there were some stylistic differences between WWE and his time on the indies, and admitted that his experiences occurred at a time when WWE was still under the thumb of Vince McMahon, who has since left after been accused of sex trafficking and abuse. by Janel Grant. Even so, he described an environment that, at least from his perspective, wasn’t always the friendliest for independent wrestlers, especially those without extensive backgrounds.
“I’m only speaking from my experience at the time,” Atlas said. “I don’t know if that’s changed since then. But the system can sometimes test you and your confidence. WWE is not independent, and they do a very good job of reminding you that. And I think there’s a difference when someone has been on the indies for 10 years, shows up at “NXT” and knows how to mix it up, and someone who has only been on the indies for 3 years, and present at “NXT” and does not know not how to mix this.
“So it was really difficult to adapt to their style because I had a really big personal struggle internally to understand what was going on, understand the politics that were there as well. So yeah, there’s definitely a different style. I wouldn’t do it. I’m saying it’s harder or easier, it’s just more of a mental challenge than a physical one.”
Jake Atlas details mental health support provided by WWE
Atlas pointed out that the problem didn’t just start and end with WWE, stating that mental health was a wrestling industry-wide problem during his time, and that part of the problem was due to the fact that the wrestlers put so much pressure on themselves. He also revealed that there was at least one effort on WWE’s part to help those who were struggling, although Atlas was quick to point out that more was needed.
“I can say that there was… I don’t remember what his official title was, but there was someone who was there, who always met with us once a month, who sort of talked about athlete…like, mental health issues,” Atlas said. “He wasn’t necessarily a therapist or a psychologist, he was more like…a sports coach or something, a sports/life coach. So there was that, but he was like one person for 150 athletes. It’s hard to sort of… yeah.
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit “Developmentally Speaking” and provide ah/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.
