Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
The WWF/WWE has had some type of developmental system for years now. Whether it was the USWA, Ohio Valley, Power Pro, Heartland, Deep South, Florida Championship Wrestling or NXT…many of the company’s top superstars got their start in at least one of them. While some developmental names like John Cena, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, The Miz, Brock Lesnar and Charlotte Flair all made big stars of themselves by first training in developmental, others never got to see the light of day. This series will focus on those wrestlers…the ones that at some point were a lock to get called up to the main roster and never quite made it. What once was hot, suddenly became a “not” as a WWE superstar.
Jacob Novak
After graduating high school, Drew Molzhon (a life long wrestling fan) looked for fame and fortune as he set out to become a professional wrestler. A former rugby player, who stood 6 ft 6 inches tall and weighed over 250 pounds had the look of a wrestler…he just needed experience. Molzhon started taking independent bookings on the west coast without any formal training. His look and size got him jobs in the door with wrestling gigs.
In March of 2010, WWE scouts took a look at Molzhon and offered him a developmental contract. Drew Molzhon signed and was sent to Florida Championship Wrestling based in Tampa, Florida. His ring name was changed to ‘Jacob Novak’ and was formally trained by Steve Keirn. Novak wrestled several other developmental wrestlers like Xavier Woods, Byron Saxton, Derrick Bateman and Seth Rollins. Novak’s finishing move was called ‘The Novak Attack’ which was a big boot to the face.
In December of 2010, Novak was selected to take part on season 4 of the reality competition show NXT. The show consisted of “rookies” like Johnny (Fandango) Curtis, Byron Saxton and Brodus Clay. Novak’s “Pro” or mentors were Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero. Novak was eliminated in week 5. Jacob Novak was invited back for season 5 with JTG as his Pro. This time he wasn’t eliminated until week 11. In May of 2011, Drew Molzhon was released from his WWE developmental contract after suffering a hip injury.
Since his WWE release, Drew Molzhon no longer is involved in pro wrestling. He has modeled and currently works for a window installation company in his hometown of Kent, Washington.
To read about other failed developmental wrestlers…Please Click Here.
