We’re all wired different.
Chances are that my brain works differently than yours. However,В at our core, we’re all pretty similar. I think we all want to laugh. We all want to feel happiness, find love, and I think at some point– at least for a moment– we yearn for something more than what we have. No matter our color, our size, our shape, our religion–or lack thereof–В we all dream.
In order to attain your dream, and if you’re reading this, I’m assuming your dream is pro wrestling, you must find the courage to do the most difficult thing: taking the first step. It never gets any harder than that first step… but it doesn’t get much easier.
Taking your dream of being in pro wrestling and making a career out of it is a long shot for anybody thinking of entering the business. Look at the WWE, NXT, TNA, ROH roster, and look at how many contracted wrestlers their are. Now factor in the amount of people that have the same dream as you do.
Why am I writing this, you ask?
Well– I’m wired different. I don’t know about you, but I think, and overthink, a lot. I gotta be honest with you, it’s frustrating. What has brought upon this frustration?
Pro wrestling trainees.
There are two very reputable wrestling schools that I steer people from Cleveland to when inquiring about wrestling training:
-The Absolute Intense Wrestling Training Academy, run by NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano, with assistance from PWG’s Candice LeRae.
-The Roaring Elbow Academy, run by Absolute Intense Wrestling Champion and wrestling veteran, Rickey Shane Page.
It’s important to seek out a school with a good reputation and knowledgeable trainers, as opposed to just signing up at a training facility run by Joe Blow who might just steal your money. Both the AIW and The Roaring Elbow are great places to learn, and I recommend looking into either school if you’re considering being a wrestler.
When we talk about actual training facilities, The Roaring Elbow Academy gets the edge, which I’ll get back to in a moment.
Now don’t get me wrong– the AIW School has the gritty, tough atmosphere that I was accustomed to from my days in training. Ran inside a garage in the back of a building in the ghetto of Cleveland, the AIW School is hot in the Summer, and when Winter rolls around soon, rest assure guys and gals will be freezing their asses off. The training ring isn’t as nice to look at as the usual ring, and isn’t as comfortable to fall on. Despite the conditions, their are usually between 10 and 20 students at the usual class, and whether it’s hot or cold, rain, sleet, or shine, they go through cardio drills, and repetitive bumping for two plus hours, with two of the best and most well known wrestlers on the planet today in Johnny and Candice. Even though the facility lacks amenities, many of the kids still work hard.
Plus… I hear Candice bakes cupcakes sometimes for the kids!
Minus the fresh bakery, that was the type of training Gargano and I went through. Deep in the basement of Turner’s Hall, the building that we trained in may be the worst, unsafest ring possible. Not only could you only hit the ropes on two sides because the ring barely fit in between the walls, the canvas had a huge dip in the middle. Normally, you want to bump in the center of the ring because it has the most give. In our situation, we had to bump off towards the side, where the give is almost non-existent, and the pain is increased. Just like the AIW School, the Cleveland All Pro school was cold when it was Winter, and blistering hot in the Summer. But we dealt with the conditions, because weВ wanted it.В We grew up dreaming of being wrestlers, and now that we had that opportunity, as crappy as the atmosphere hot sometimes, we went through it because we strive to be successful.
When class ended, my work didn’t end. Gargano and I worked out together, and he drove me to work harder when it came to weight training. Even though I have cerebral palsy, and I’m 5′ 4″, I knew I needed to look like a wrestler. Dieting… Exercise.. both essential to success in pro wrestling.
Work didn’t stop there, either. In order to gain exposure, I drove hours and hours to shows on weekends with Johnny, and other local guys like Hobo Joe and Matt Justice– for little or no money– all for the love of wrestling. We were doing it hoping that all the miles, all the time training in the ring and in the gym, all the hours sleeping in a car and wrestling for pennies would garner some attention.В We loved it, and we wanted it…
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Rickey Shane Page didn’t have glorious training. After spending time backyarding, Rickey got formerly trained by Chris Kole in Elyria, Ohio. Training in a small garage, В Rickey didn’t have the best atmosphere for pro wrestling training either, but despite that, R.S.P. found the courage to venture out, then under a mask with the moniker Christian Faith, with his then tag partner Vincent Nothing, they began applying the things they learned across the U.S. and Canada. In recent years as a singles competitor under his government name, Page has found great success in places like Alpha 1, Beyond Wrestling, CZW, and of course, AIW, where he’s the current champ.
When you have kids, you want to provide them with something greater than what you had when you were younger. When Rickey and Vince decided to open a wrestling school last year, that’s the exact mindset that they had. Together, they co-opened The Roaring Elbow Academy, located in the same building with Fit Legit Strength and Conditioning. Rickey runs the wrestling end of things, while Vince, a certified strength and conditioning coach, operates the Fit Legit portion.
Located inside a beautiful 3,000 square foot facility in North Royalton, Ohio, aside from The Monster Factory in New Jersey and the WWE Performance Center in Florida, is one of the only wrestling facilities I know of to not only be located in a building with heat and air conditioning, but has weights and a certified strength and conditioning coach that runs classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, as well as a Saturday morning class.
Utilizing free weights, kettlebells, battle ropes, tires, heavy bags, and body weight exercises, the Fit Legit classes, led by Vince, put you through a series of rigorous exercises in under thirty minutes that force your body to work harder and grow stronger. It’s not just great for guys like myself, Gargano, and TNA’s Mark Andrews, who’ve all participated in the classes on more than one occasion, but it’s good for anyone looking for a change in a weight room regimen, or a person looking to improve their overall conditioning.
For students of The Roaring Elbow Academy, the strength and conditioning classes are offered at a discounted rate– a rate so cheap that you might as well give it away. Currently, The Elbow has 6 students, all at different levels in wrestling training. Guess how many utilize the weight training classes on top of wrestling?
One.
One student by the name of Mr. Paul Milton.
Two students come a couple times a month.В One student has come two or three times in the last year. Two have never attended a class in nearly a year of training.
Only one, Mr. Paul Milton, as far as I know, has a regular workout routine outside of Fit Legit Training classes.
Alex Daniels, one of the top students at AIW’s school, attends every strength class… and he goes to the other school.
Recently, Rickey and Mark Andrews, who regularly assists with Roaring Elbow classes, had a serious discussion with the kids about what it takes to succeed in pro wrestling–talking to them about stepping up their game, not just during wrestling training, but in the weight room. Mark went around and asked the kids, ranging from ages 18 to 26, to see how many students wanted to make wrestling their regular job. To his shock,В every student responded with saying that their goal was to be a full time pro wrestler.
Geezus Kerist.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t know if The Roaring Elbow kids know how good they got it. They have had air conditioning all Summer. They have a virtually new ring.В They can hit all four sides of ropes. В They can bump directly in the center of the ring without fear of injuring their back or neck. Furthermore, if they’re unsure of dieting and exercise techniques, not only do they have a guy who studied these things at Ohio State University on site to tell them what to do– HE CAN WORKOUT WITH THEM AND SHOW THEM.
I don’t want to single anyone out, but this student knows who he is:
There used to be no Saturday strength and conditioning classes until a couple of months ago. This particular student gave Rickey and Vince every excuse as to why he couldn’t lift during the week, but he said if you start a Saturday class, he’ll come every time. He has yet to attend one, and during the talk from Rickey and Mark, the kid had this to say about not attending the strength classes:
“Well, I work all week long, and the only days I have off is Tuesday and Thursday, and I have wrestling training that day, so it’s really not a day off. The only day I have to myself is Saturday.”
I think my head will explode just typing that.
f you think you don’t need some sort of workout regimen on top of wrestling a few hours a week, you’re a nut job. No matter your size, your physique still plays a factor in wrestling– and it’s part of your job В to look the part.
Find an excuse, or find a way.
I used to work a regular job– on top of wrestling training– on top of weight lifting– on top of driving hours to shows, sleeping a few hours in my car, wrestling, then driving immediately home– sometimes going directly to work without sleep.
To be successful at something as unrealistic and as crazy as wrestling, especially when you have youth on your side, your success comes down to how much you’re willing to lose on the one in a million shot that something comes of it. You give up having a relationship, because chances are your significant other doesn’t understand why you’re destroying your body by throwing yourself backwards onto plywood and metal beams for zero dollars. You give up your Friday and Saturday evenings, those nights that most people in their teens and twenties spend partying, to essentially drive eight hours, get punched in the face, receive a hot dog and a handshake for your efforts, and head straight back home.
No matter what your dream is, the same two ingredients are required… hard work, and luck.
If you’re a wrestling trainee, or an aspiring pro wrestler, I want you to look in the mirror. Ask yourself why you wanted to be a pro wrestler in the first place. If your answer is for fame and money, quit now, because you chose the wrong profession.
As you look in the mirror, ask yourself what qualities do you have right now that make you believe that you even have a chance of standing out in a world full of wannabes. For me, though I was short and scrawny, I knew I brought something different to the table with a disability. However, I knew that wasn’t enough. I needed to work harder than everyone else, 24/7. A decade in to wrestling, though I make more money than most, despite having a unique character, and a pretty decent physique, I’ve never had a wrestling contract, and as recently as last month, I slept in my car for a few hours before a show to save $50, because I’m saving money to buy a house…В ten years into the business.
I know that I’m fortunate– and every kid getting to train with Johnny, Candice, Rickey, Mark, and Vince should feel fortunate. They are doing something that most people will sadly never do… they’re living their dream. When most people dream, however, they only think of the beginning, and the end result. They don’t think of everything in between and what’s required.
I never dreamt of sleeping in an 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis in the middle of Bud, West Virginia when I was 20 years old. I never dreamt of being concussed, lying in a hospital bed, wondering if I was going to die. I never dreamt of spinning out in the rain, crashing and totaling my car on the way to a wrestling match.
But I also never dreamt about standing face to face in a ring or sharing conversations with CM Punk, Diamond Dallas Page and The Dudley Boyz. All the bad shit makes you appreciate those moments that much more, because you know the hard work it took to get there. There are no shortcuts with this gig.
Am I wrong for feeling this way? I don’t want to discourage any of the kids. In fact, I hope this encourages them to step it up. I just have this feeling that theВ kids coming into the business should appreciate the trainers that they have (I mean, The AIW School has a guy currently doing work with WWE, and The Elbow has assistance from a guy contracted to TNA), the better facilities, and the opportunities that they have in front of them. Maybe I’m wrong. But then again– maybe not. After all, we’re all wired different. Some are willing to risk more to get what they want.
As far as we know, we have one shot at this life; one shot to live our dream. If it’s really what you’ve always dreamt about, you probably shouldn’t half ass it.
-Greg
If you’re interested in The AIW Training Academy, The Roaring Elbow Academy, or Fit Legit Training, here’s where you need to go:В
