WrestleMania 22 was a pretty average ‘Mania, eh? Triple H dressed up like Conan The Barbarian. John Cena dressed as a gangster, accompanied by a young C.M. Punk. Mickie James and Trish Stratus had arguably the greatest Divas match in the history of ‘Mania. We got our second ever Money In The Bank Ladder Match. The highlight of the card ended up being Shawn Michaels versus Vince McMahon, proving that HBK just may be the only guy that could actually carry a broomstick to a Match of Year Candidate.
April 2nd marked nine years since that event took place in Chicago, Illinois. All in all, average WrestleMania. When I think about the 22nd annual edition of WWE’s grand event, I don’t really think of the show itself. Rather, I think about the goal I set for myself following it.
In early 2006, after a lot of contemplating, I decided that I wanted to train to be a professional wrestler. I wasn’t sure I was going to be successful at my attempt. In fact, I’d never done a really athletic thing in my life. I was unsure of myself, to say the least, but I needed to give it a try.
Honestly, I was terrified to try– not just at wrestling, but at anything. Always a somewhat shy and quiet kid, I wouldn’t consider myself a risk taker. For a decently educated kid that was 5′ 4″ and 110 pounds with cerebral palsy with no athletic background, venturing into a wrestling ring was definitely a huge risk. I loved wrestling, and the majority of my life centered around it. If I failed at being a wrestler, I was unsure as to whether I’d ever be able to view it the same again.
I contemplated my choices heavily. At the time, I was 19 years old, living on my own, and struggling to juggle my crappy retail job and my college school work. Before the second semester of college, my car broke down on me. I took it as a sign. I could take a break from school if I chose, because it’d be there to fall back on. If I was going to try to be a professional wrestler, I figured that I had to do it while I was young. I’d work more hours ato work to afford a car. Meanwhile, the wrestling school was in biking distance from my buddy Ron’s home.
**Note: I do not recommend ditching college for pro wrestling… but it’s your life**
I made the decision to move in with Ron and his family, who charged me very little rent. I picked up more hours at my crappy job, and decided I was going to start wrestling school. The school, Cleveland All Pro Wrestling, ran classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So that I’d always remember the date, I decided to start the week after ‘Mania 22, so that I’d always remember the date (so that nearly a decade later, I could write a blog about it).
On April 4th, 2006, I walked into the CAPW school for my “tryout,” which essentially meant you paid $50 to get your ass kicked. If you’re into that sort of thing, no matter how good you are, you keep paying and keep returning until they decide you suck so bad that they won’t take your money any longer. That day, I fell on my back and head hundreds of time, to the point that I was dizzy, seeing stars, and muscles were sore in my back that I didn’t previously know existed. I hit the ropes dozens and dozens of time, which left welts across my back. I hit the turnbuckles hard, but with enough care so as not to hurt myself. I had read stories about guys hitting turnbuckles so hard that they damaged their kidneys, forcing them to piss blood. I didn’t want that to be me.
That day, I sucked. In fact, I sucked for a lot of weeks and months after. Every Tuesday and Thursday in training, I did what I feared most– I failed. There was always something that I’d screwed up each week, and it felt terrible. Ya know what, though? Even though I failed, I never ever quit.
Through pro wrestling, I learn to accept that failure is a part of life. When you fail, you appreciate it more when you finally succeed. If there was something I struggled to do in training, whether it was because of my disability or a lack of athleticism, I found a way. You find excuses– or you find a way.
My point to all of this is simple: The hardest step towards anything is the first one, especially when it comes to pursuing a dream that most feel is impossible. Taking that first step into the Cleveland All Pro Wrestling school was one of the toughest decisions I ever made. Nine years later, I look back on that knowing that I’m not financially rich. Mentally, however, I’m overly wealthy.В I don’t have a huge bank account, but because of one big risk, I’ve been able to experience things that I would never have otherwise. Setting foot into the dark eerie basement of Turner’s Hall not only shaped me into the man that I’ve become, but it helped make my dreams a reality.
Today, I leave you with this:
In life, you can take two paths. One path is the familiar road, the one that you’ve heard about from your family and friends. You graduate, go to college, get a job, settle down, maybe have some kids. It’s the safe path. That’s cool and all, but for those that dream big, we’d rather take the second path.
The second path is one you need to map out yourself, slicing and dicing the bushes in your way. It’s the road less traveled. As you move forward, there will be people in the distance, screaming for you to turn around because what you’re doing is too risky. They’ll say that you can’t do it. Tune out the self-doubt. I am telling you to be brave and keep going. The people that are telling you to stop had dreams that died long ago. Don’t look back. You just may lose sight of the dream.
I can’t promise that you’ll succeed. I will promise you this though. When you do look back, it won’t be in regret.
Buy a shirt at www.prowrestlingtees.com/GregoryIron.
-Greg
