How to Start on the Path to Becoming a Professional Wrestler - Blood, Sweat, and Tears
GET IN SHAPE
What you must work on as soon as possible is your physique. Whether or not your dream is to be hired by WWE (Vince McMahon prefers big guys that can convincingly beat up a bunch of other guys) or TNA (who seems to prefer high flying wrestlers, most likely to support their X Division) you'll need to be able to pick up the other guys, and to be able to even last an entire match without collapsing because you are out of breath. This will probably be a problem for alot of people because you need to stick to working out and dieting right to get into better shape.
CARDIO
You'll need to work on your cardio so that you can actually make it through a match without collapsing because you're out of breath. Every couple of days go for a mile run or go swimming. Also instead of driving a car, ride your bike everywhere you have to go. Eventually you'll start to notice that you can last longer without getting tired out so quickly, which is when you should make it more rigorous. Start going uphill and for longer distances.
STRENGTH
You need to be able to pick up your fellow wrestlers for a variety of moves and you need to improve your muscle mass to be a better performer so strength training is a must.
You will want to create a schedule so that you don't over train, which can actually lead to losing muscle. A standard schedule is exercises for the biceps and triceps (benching, dumbbell curls, push-ups) on Monday, legs and core (sit-ups, squats) on Wednesday, and biceps and triceps again on Friday.
You will also need a good diet for working out or you won't achieve the best results from your workouts. First you want to build muscle so you need to eat food without alot of fat but with alot of calories. When you want to slim down, you need to decrease how much calories you get. A good rule of thumb for bodybuilding is to intake 1 to 1.5 grams of protein for each pound of your bodyweight. Lastly, when you lift weights, you are actually damaging your muscles and to recover and make them bigger and stronger you need to get as much sleep as you are able to.
If you haven't noticed, alot of wrestlers have big necks. It is recommended that an aspiring wrestler pay attention to making their neck stronger because many wrestling moves end up with you landing on your back with your neck taking part of the punishment. A neck injury could end your career before it has the ability to take off. By making sure your neck muscles are developed as much as possible you will be able to take harder impacts and the potential of you receiving a neck injury will be far less. Keep in mind that you do not want your neck muscles to become too large and the rest of your body to become too "muscle bound" as this will slow you down and you won't be as agile in the ring.
THE GIFT OF GAB
The second thing you need to work on is public speaking. If you ever want to make it in the business you'll need to be able to cut a promo every once in awhile to make your stories progress and seem more real. To be a main eventer, you'll be relied on to cut a promo pretty much every show and sometimes more than once. If you haven't noticed, almost all of the main eventers in the WWE have been very good speakers, with the exception being guys who are really big and don't need to speak to be an asset.
Look into getting into some kind of acting or theater classes. It may seem silly now, but it will help in the long run.
For example, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Triple H, Ric Flair, The Rock and Hulk Hogan can whip the crowds into a frenzy just by speaking. Whether they are bad guys or good guys at the time whenever they open their mouths the whole crowd either screams for them or against them. You master this and you will become successful quickly.
BACK TO SCHOOL - Wrestling School That Is
Below is a list of the more prominent Wrestling Schools.
Killer Kowalski's Pro Wrestling School
Located in St. Malden, Massachusetts in the Chaotic Training Center, legendary wrestler Killer Kowalski has trained a number of pro wrestlers including Triple H, Perry Saturn, Chyna, and A-Train. Kowalski's is unique in that they require each student to have a notebook and they need to take notes each class. They also video tape all of your sessions and give you constructive criticism.
For more information on Killer Kowalski's Pro Wrestling School call (978) 685-7173 and sk for Jamie Jamitkowski.
Ultimate University
UPW's Ultimate University has recently become a developmental territory for the WWE. They are located in San Clemente, California and is run by Rick Bassman. They offer a Basic, Intermediate, and a special Promo class. Some of the university's graduates include current WWE Champion John Cena, Victoria, Simon Dean, Chris Masters, Luther Reigns, Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, Melina, and Jon Heidenreich.
For more information on UPW's Ultimate University please call (949) 475-7663
Ring of Honor
ROH is located in Bristol, Pennsylvania and is run by Bryan Danielson. There is a New Students class, which costs $2500 if you can pay it off at the beginning of the course or $3000 by the end of the course. If you pass the New Students class you get to participate in the advanced class for free.
For more information on Ring Of Honor Wrestling School please call (215) 781-2500
Ohio Valley Wrestling
OVW is a developmental territory and the official training ground for WWE and has trained many of their superstars including current WWE Champion John Cena, current World Heavyweight Champion Batista, current ECW Champion Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton, and Shelton Benjamin. Anyone contracted by WWE goes here first to continue honing their wrestling and speaking abilities.
OVW is located in Louisville, Kentucky and is run by Danny Davis and Al Snow. They offer Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced levels in their program costing $750, $2000, and $3000 respectively. They have a TV deal, and WWE talent scouts attend their events frequently.
For more information on OVW please call (502) 473-0660 and ask for John Toland for the Beginner Class, Rip Rogers for the Intermediate Class, and Danny Davis for everything else.
I'VE GRADUATED... NOW WHAT?
If your school runs shows you need to find out who is in charge and you need to ask them if they are going to hire you or if you should start looking for a job somewhere else. If they keep you around, that's great. If not start calling some of the other wrestling promotions offices and sell yourself. Show them that you really want this, and don't take no for an answer.
Contact Information For The Top Two Wrestling Promotions:
World Wrestling Entertainment
WWE - Director of Staffing, Human Resources
WWE, Inc.
1241 East Main Street
Stamford, CT 06902
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
TNA - TNA Wrestling
209 10th Avenue South - Suite 302
Nashville, TN 37203
There are also smaller wrestling promotions that you may want to contact and can be found by searching the Internet for information.
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- Look into getting into some kind of acting or theater classes. Wrestlers need to be able to act.
- You need strength to be able to pick up your fellow wrestlers for a variety of moves.
- WWE and TNA are the top wrestling promotions at this time.
9 Comments
Post a Commentthiss verry good pic
You go girl friend!
Interesting subject! Not my thing, though :)
Very intriguing Jacques, I would love to read it when it's done and also want to wish you success on your path to expose the truth.
Definitely a great article, but there's another, evil side to wresttling, one that I am currently working on a book to expose. This dark side includes the murder of my father, who was the world's heavyweight champion back when there was only one wrestling promotion. His murder was made to look like a suicide (which cost me my standing in the Mohawk tribe because suicide is not an "honorable" way of dying), and every wrestler who knew about it and wanted to help me expose this had either a "mysterious accident" or died from a "drug overdose". These late wrestlers include such names as Bobo Brazil, "Flyin" Brian Pillman, Owen Hart, and the British Bulldog. Also participating in my attempts to expose this were Muhammed Ali and Mike Tyson. Ali was smart enough to accept a bribe to back off. When Tyson didn't, he was framed on a rape charge and sent to prison, after which he backed off too.
Thanks for the comments everyone. LOL to Jeff T. Blade!! PamM: Yes it would be fun to write the storylines wouldn't it?? Sometimes the storylines they come up with lose their way and I think "why didn't they do this or that?" Question Everything: My soon to be 18 year old son who helped write and edit this article says that the phrase "theater classes" means drama classes. He kept bugging me about it so I figured I would write it so next time he gets nosey to see if there are more comments on it he'll see I said what he told me to say :) Whether they are drama classes or not I have no clue. He's a perfectionist and what you said was driving him bonkers. I tried to explain what you meant by it to him but you know how teens are geez.
I have 2 words for ya " Great Article " LoL seriously though, as a fan of wrestling I found this very well written and informative.
Very informative. You forgot drama classes, though. ; )
Very interesting article! I've never thought about actually being a wrestler, but I always thought it would be fun to be one of the writers of their storylines and scripts!