Undrafted WWE star Heath Slater finally signs his SmackDown contract
Big night for @HeathSlaterOMRB and I. #SDLive #VoteForRhino pic.twitter.com/Khkis9QIbs
— Rhyno (@Rhyno313) September 14, 2016
WWE veteran Heath Slater's been with the company for a decade, and against all odds he's having the best run of his career after being snubbed in the WWE Draft in July. Tuesday night on SmackDown, Slater officially signed his contract as the newly crowned WWE Tag Team Champion.
IT'S OFFICIAL: @HeathSlaterOMRB has joined the @WWE #SDLive roster! @Rhyno313 @shanemcmahon pic.twitter.com/2uSadrwzuM
— WWE (@WWE) September 14, 2016
Slater was the only draft-eligible star not taken, but after striking out on his own after six disappointing months as a part of the Social Outcasts, he's become one of the most popular wresters on the roster. Immediately after the draft, Slater began popping up on both SmackDown and Raw trying to convince the respective general managers to give him a job.
Slater even challenged Brock Lesnar to prove his worth, explaining that he needs the work to provide for his indeterminate amount of children at home in West Virginia. SmackDown's Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan eventually gave Slater a challenge: If he could find a tag partner and win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship tournament, he'd be offered a SmackDown contract.
Slater formed an unlikely alliance with ECW legend Rhyno, which has proven to be one of the best random pairings in recent memory (in the vein of Daniel Bryan-Kane and Rock-Mankind). Renee Young's visit to Heath Slater's trailer is an instant-classic promo.
Slater and Rhyno become the first SmackDown tag champion Sunday at Backlash, beating the Usos in the tournament final. Moments after winning, Slater happily announced in the ring that he's celebrating by "getting a doublewide."
