FORWARD BY VINCE RUSSO

WARNING!!!

(The views expressed in the introduction to this book are not in any way, shape, or form, the views and opinions, of the author, or the many others who contributed. As a matter of fact, the views and the opinions are of one man, and one man only, me - Vince Russo)

So you want to get in the professional wrestling business?

Wait a minute . . . let me get you a valium.

It’s been well over fifteen years since I sacrificed my life to the business of sports-entertainment. Yup, that’s what I call it—sports-entertainment. If you purists don’t like it . . . then you can complain all you want about it to your local dirt sheets.

From the first time I saw such greats as the Valiant Brothers, Lou Albano, the Big Cat Ernie Ladd, the Grand Wizard of Wrestling and Bruno Sammartino, I embraced the business for what it was—one of the greatest forms of entertainment that I had ever seen. The characters were larger than life, and the stories . . . the stories were so magnificent that they could only take place on a stage known as the “squared circle”. There wasn’t one single day where I thought wrestling was “real”, or I actually cared about how many stars a faux wrestling match achieved. It was the theatre of the absurd . . . and, as Raven would say, “It was tremendous.”

So when my two video stores were getting their brains bashed in by the new kid on the block, “Blockbuster Video”, in the very early 90’s—I realized that I had to find myself a new line of work. The truth—it wasn’t my dream to get into professional wrestling—I had a wife and two kids and I needed a JOB.

And to be honest, after 15 years, at the end of the day that’s all it is . . . a job-- nothing more . . . nothing less. There is no “dream”, there is no skittle-colored rainbow and there are no unicorns—only hard work, sweat, headaches, heartache and exhausting hours. Now, where as that may sound harsh . . . it’s the brutal truth. The glitz, the glamour and the pageantry of sports-entertainment—isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

I can go on, and on, and on, about the psychology here—why the wrestling business is the way it is—but I’ll spare you. In due time, if you’re “lucky” enough to get where you want to go—you’ll find out for yourself. But, I will say this—there is a HUGE part of me that wished I would have just stayed a fan. Enjoyed it from the confines of my “dungeon” (my finished basement that I never leave) never

having set foot behind that “magical” curtain. Why? Because, what I found behind that curtain wasn’t the great and powerful Oz at all—it was simply a calloused, backstabbing, ungrateful, lying, manipulating, selfish, paranoid, cheating business that has sucked the very life out of me.

WOW!!! If that didn’t take the wind from your wings—NOTHING WILL. But, I’m not going to apologize—I’m being truthful. To date, after working with hundreds and hundreds of people in the industry, I think I can say that I can count on both hands those individuals who were, and are, actually happy. And, I mean “HAPPY”, not what they may perceive as “happy”. It’s a rough life that leaves you with a lot of baggage to haul around. Believe me; the best part of my job has always been going home to my family.

But, enough about me hammering thunderbolts through your beautiful, blue sky, please—read on and find out just HOW GREAT the wrestling business is. But, if you want my advice—here it is. Go to school, get your education, get your diploma, and fine a job—ANY JOB—that doesn’t have squared circles, gimmicks, za-ba-das, or BILL BANKS!!!

Peace. Vince RussoThe Anti-Christ of Professional Wrestling

SO YOU WANT TO BE A PRO WRESTLER?And other ways to get a job in professional wrestling

With commentary from Terry Taylor, Shane Douglas, Scott D’Amore, Mike Tenay and many more wrestling insiders!

By Bill Banks

INTRODUCTION

Before I tell you what it takes to get into the sport of professional wrestling, let me introduce myself.

My name is Bill Banks, and I’m certainly not the most well known person in the wrestling business. I’ve been in wrestling since 1995, first working for the WWF from 1995 to 1999 then WCW from 1999 to 2001 and now TNA from 2003 to present day.

In 1995, while in college in Connecticut, I got a part-time job with the World Wrestling Federation, located just outside New York City in Stamford, Connecticut. I split my days between college and work. Based on my journalism background (my major), I was hired to write results and columns for the WWF on AOL area – long before the WWF even had a website.

Within a few months, Vince Russo – then the editor of WWF Magazine – noticed my work and offered me a job writing monthly articles for the publication. By 1999, I was a producer for the WWF website, an editor for both the WWF and RAW Magazine brands, a backstage producer as well as an assistant television writer for both RAW and SmackDown along with Russo and Ed Ferrara.

In October of 1999, I joined WCW with Russo and Ferrara and moved to Atlanta, Georgia. There, I was also a television writer and backstage producer for Monday Night Nitro and WCW Thunder.

After WCW closed in 2001, I moved back home to Connecticut and took an office job before returning to the business in 2003 with TNA in Nashville, Tennessee, in the same capacities as my jobs with WWF and WCW. Today (2007), I still work for TNA and the company continues to grow bigger every year.

Throughout my time in the sport, I’ve worked closely with such names as The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jeff Jarrett, Sting, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and many others.

I grew up a fan of wrestling and achieved my dream job in life. Each week, I read at least a dozen posts on the internet from fans who want to chase that same

dream and be a part of the sport. Most want to become professional wrestlers or television writers.

Well, it’s not as easy as you might think. Like any major sport, it takes years of blood, sweat and tears to even have a chance at making it to the big time. Many won’t even make it at all. In my case, I was extremely lucky to get a job at the WWE office, but I made sure I worked harder than anyone to prove myself. On the days the wrestling business gets to me, I remember how lucky I am to be a part of it.

The athletes who compete inside the wrestling ring deserve all the respect in the world. They spend many years putting their bodies through constant punishment on each and every night. They spend their lives on the road and see little of their family. They are a rare breed. The world you want to enter is not as easy one, but if you truly have a passion for it, you just might make it.

First and foremost, I will say this: I have never competed inside a wrestling ring. However, what I can share with you is the tools you will need to make it in this business and advice from those who have helped make stars. From getting your start to making it to the “big time” on television, I can tell you – from my experience – what separates those who make it to those that don’t.

So, if you’re serious about becoming a pro wrestler or getting a job in the wrestling business, this is a realistic look at what you need to do to achieve it.

PART 1 – SO YOU WANT TO BE A PRO WRESTLER?GET YOUR EDUCATION FIRST:

My first piece of advice to fans that ask me how to become a professional wrestler is this – GET YOUR EDUCATION FIRST!

I’ve met numerous wrestlers on the independent scene that either left high school early or went into wrestling shortly thereafter. They wrestle for a few years and end up never making it or getting injured. Not only does the reality hit them that they will never achieve their dream, but they don’t have anything else to fall back on. If you have any shot at going to college, do it. Wrestling will still be there for you when you’re done.

Many youngsters want to capture that dream of becoming a wrestling star as soon as possible, but it’s important to get the rest of your life in order first. TNA star Scott D’Amore – who also runs the Can-Am Wrestling School in Windsor, Ontario, Canada – talks about Edge and Christian Cage concentrating on college early on…

Scott D’Amore: “The example I always cite is Edge and Christian Cage. They started training right after they finished high school and while they

were in college. They would work shows here and there on the weekends, but college always came first with them. For me, wrestling came first and if there was any time for college I did it.

They both graduated and got their degrees – I’m still a few credits short. They could have never imagined they would one day be millionaires and top stars in the business. At the time they were two skinny 20 year-old guys who weren’t guaranteed anything in the business. They did it the right way. If they would have blown out a knee or had their wrestling career cut short by injury, they had their degree to fall back on.

D’Amore continues with the story of how he broke in prior to college and some of what he missed out on in his early adulthood:

Since the age of nine I told everyone I wanted to be a pro wrestler when I grew up. When my fourth grade teacher went around the class and asked everyone what they wanted to be, I told him I wanted to be a wrestler. He told me to stop being stupid and to pick something else. Who tells a nine-year-old kid they can’t be what they want to when they grow up?

Anyway, when I was 16 years old my brother’s hockey coach was a local pro wrestler. He had a wrestling school and he placed an ad in one of the newspapers. I talked to my brother about him and picked up the phone to call him. I’m lucky there wasn’t caller ID back then because I probably dialed 15 times and kept hanging up when he answered. I was scared to talk to him. After I got the nerve to finally talk to him, I started my training.

For the first year I was interested in chasing girls, so I was a bad student. But I kept at it. I don’t regret in any way how I did it, but now I don’t usually take students into my school until they’re 18 or done with high school. It’s completely hypocritical of me because I wrestled for two years during high school, but looking back now there was no reason for it. I should have probably concentrated more on school and football and just been a teenager. My senior year of high school, I missed out on a lot by wrestling on the weekends. I missed parties and dances to go out on the road sitting in a car going from show to show with guys twice my age.”

As far as my own personal experience, enjoy your college years as much as you can. Because I was so driven to get a full-time job with the WWF, I missed out on a lot of the “college experience”. When I wasn’t taking classes, I was working at the WWF. When I wasn’t working at the WWF, I was doing college work. That was my life for almost three years. I broke down my daily schedule into hours and stuck to it. Now, I wish I could have enjoyed college a little more.

INVEST THE TIME:

If you think any major promotion like the WWE or TNA hires wrestlers off the street – you’re wrong. Sure, promoters are sometimes guilty of trying to make no-talent, knuckle-draggers into stars, but in 99% of those cases their staying power in the sport is minimal. If you really want to succeed, you need to live, breath and eat it – and most importantly, you have to have a passion for it. In other words, you need to put in the time to learn it.

You will be required to spend long hours training, often under punishing conditions. You will be expected to spend long hours in the gym training. Say goodbye to junk food, because your diet is one of the most important aspects to staying in top shape.

After six months of training, you might get lucky enough to wrestle on an independent show (by the way, probably for no money). You’ll have to drive hundreds of miles on the weekend for free just to get your ring time in. Some guys do this for years before they even catch a break.

So, you had better make sure you have a flexible job in the beginning. With the amount of time you’ll have to devote to wrestling, you’ll have little time for anything else besides a job to pay for your dream. And if living with your parents is still an option, take advantage of it. You’re going to need all the help you can get.

But before you dive headfirst into your dream, make sure it’s really for you. Talk to your family first and get their thoughts. It’s going to be a big step for you and one you’ll have to devote a lot of time to.

FIND A REPUTABLE WRESTLING SCHOOL:

There’s a reason why backyard wrestlers never make it to the big time – because you won’t learn a thing by doing it (in my opinion).

Once you’ve decided you want to chase your dream, the first thing to do is find a reputable wrestling school run by a reputable trainer. There are hundreds of so-called “wrestling schools” out there that are run by “trainers’” just looking to take your money. If the instructor’s only claim to fame is that he was once the Hardcore Champion for the Mudlick Wrestling Federation in Kentucky, then you probably want to go elsewhere.

I’ve heard dozens of horror-stories from wrestlers about schools they attended to get their start. Instead of reading up on the school and learning about it beforehand, they jumped into the first opportunity they found. Just like any purchase, buyer beware!

Longtime wrestling veterans Terry Taylor and Shane Douglas offer the following advice on picking a school…

Terry Taylor: “Some wrestling school owners I’ve seen never made it big in the business and they say they can train wrestlers to be stars. How can they do that if they’ve never done it for themselves? So they just take people’s money and woefully unprepared them for life in the wrestling business. Another problem is the physical abuse. Because some of these wrestling school owners never made it they like to beat people up for fun and take their money, which is not what our business is about.”

Shane Douglas: “I would hear stories from other guys about bad wrestling schools – especially in Pittsburgh because there were so many of them. This one guy opened a wrestling school about 30 miles from Dominic DeNucci’s school, where I trained. He was training guys and had no idea what he was doing. You would see his students get in the ring and do things that were not only stupid, but downright dangerous. They would take their bumps the wrong way or turn the wrong way into holds and spots. Little things like that I saw, having been trained the right way, stuck out like a sore thumb.

In our business the risk of injury is very great. One small slip or error and there’s so many ways to get hurt. There are still a lot of schools out there today run by guys that have no more credentials to train you than my mother does. They will take your money and use you. There’s no guarantee of any jobs even though they claim it. There are so many guys who have wrestling schools that have no business training students. They send these kids out there with the potential of getting them seriously injured. I think a lot of them are shysters and it’s despicable what they do.

If you go to a wrestling school, make sure they have the credentials to be training you and take their promises of stardom with a grain of salt. I remember how badly I wanted to make it in the business and I can see how a lot of these kids today will fall for anything. The tell-tale sign that you’re at a bad school is that these trainers and owners will just blow smoke up your ass about what they can do for you.”

TNA star Lance Hoyt also stresses the importance of choosing wisely, based on his own personal experience…

Lance Hoyt: “The guy who owned the school asked me to come out for a tryout. I had no clue what professional wrestling was really all about. I had been watching it on television for a few years and enjoyed it, but I really had no idea what to look for in a school – I just took the first offer.

My first day of wrestling training, they had me taking bumps and dropping elbows and things like that. Looking back there’s no way I should have been doing that on the first day, but they didn’t know any better or didn’t

care. The next day everything was sore on my body and I almost didn’t go back.

The guy who trained me didn’t own the school. He had a little bit of training from Ivan Putski, so what I would learn was the little he knew from Putski. It was as quick as he could throw it at me and if I got it he would move onto something else. He didn’t even care if I was mastering what I was doing or executing the move the right way.

The owner had no credentials. He was one of the most extreme marks in the world that decided he wanted a wrestling school to rip people off. At the time I didn’t know it. All I knew is he had a nice facility with photos on the wall of him with different wrestling stars. It just sounded great. He talked about all the promotions he’d worked with and all the wrestlers he’d met.

Low and behold he was just a mark who would show up at the right place at the right time and get pictures of himself with stars. He played it off like he knew these guys personally, but I didn’t know any better. So when he said jump I jumped. I more or less started to realize that what he was saying was a total con. It was a great con when you first heard it. The problem was I heard it over and over again and after a while you start to read between the lines and understand the BS that is being said. At that point I decided to go to another school.”

So what kind of qualifications does it take to open a wrestling school? None. Anyone could open a wrestling school if they wanted to. You don’t even need a ring – just a mat, a sign out front and someone stupid enough to pay you.

Case in point – while conducting an interview with a TNA wrestler for our website, he shared a story about a student he broke in with at a wrestling school. The student completed the six-month training course, but didn’t get along with the trainer. So to stick it to the trainer, the student opened his OWN wrestling school after his initial training. Yes, you read that right – he opened his own wrestling school six months after learning the basics. And yes, some people were dumb enough to pay him to train them.

Scott D’Amore shares a fairly common example of how students can get ripped off…

Scott D’Amore: “I had one student who came to my school after he had trained at another. The owner offered to train the kid for $2000 and fed him all kinds of stuff like he was going to be a star and he knew Vince McMahon personally and would call Vince after his training to get him a job with the WWF.

So the kid gave him the money and shows up for class on the first day and there’s no ring. “Where’s the ring?” he asked. The guy tells the student “There is no ring – I’m going to train you in my backyard just like I learned.” So he trained him for two days, taught him a few moves and then gave him the phone number for the WWF. He told him to call up and tell Vince he was ready to wrestle. Obviously, he never made it through to Vince McMahon and no one returned his calls.

Wrestling schools open and close all the time. I tell people to make sure they find a reputable school before they agree to anything. Guys will just take their money and run. I heard one guy was able to convince five students to give him $500 each as a down payment to train and then didn’t show up for the first class. He just sole $2500 from them and took off.”

There are several well-known schools throughout the United States run by some of the best in the business. Their schooling may cost more, but you’ll have a much better opportunity of succeeding long term if you’re serious. You can easily find information on the internet about schools run by the following reputable trainers: Scott D’Amore, Harley Race, Afa The Samoan, Shark Boy, Brother Runt and Dory Funk Jr. The Ring of Honor promotion also offers schooling.

These schools are just a few of the reputable facilities out there. You can expect to pay upwards of $2000 or more just to attend, so it’s quite an investment and one you shouldn’t take lightly. I would also suggest going to several major independent wrestling shows in your area and asking around. When I say major independent shows, I don’t mean the events that draw 10 people in some guy’s backyard. I mean events run by longstanding promoters who have a proven and successful track record in your area.

Once you are accepted into a school, you’ll be taught the basics. You will learn the proper way to run the ropes, how to absorb the punishment of being slammed in the ring, how to lock up with an opponent, throwing punches, applying headlocks and so on.

Your dream of delivering a Snuka Splash off the top rope is a long way off until you learn the proper mechanics and master them. You’ll be expected to study hours of video of yourself screwing up while training – learning what you did wrong and how to correct it.

How important are the basics and mechanics? Very important. When wrestlers mail tapes to major promotions hoping for a spot on the roster, the first thing management looks at is if the wrestler has his or her basics down. We aren’t watching to see you pull off a cool double-flip suplex from the top – we want to see that you know how to wrestle properly.

TNA star Shark Boy runs his own school in Ohio called “The Shark Tank” and shares another story about students who come to his school with previous training…

Shark Boy: “Generally speaking, be careful who you trust. Make sure you’ve heard of this person who you’re about to hand $2000 to train you. If you’ve never heard of them make sure they have references you can talk to. Try to find out who has graduated from the school and talk to them. I’ve also gotten stories such as ‘Hey can you give me a discount on your classes because I’ve already had six months of training with Joe Blow.’ I ask, ‘Well, who’s Joe Blow?’

‘Oh, he’s this promoter down in Nowhereville, Kentucky’

‘Ok, what did you learn?’

‘A lot’

‘Well, show me’

Then they lock up and take the headlock on the wrong side and obviously the guy has pissed away $2000 to learn nothing. So I would say not to let that happen to you.”

One good thing about attending a well-known wrestling school is that many tend to hold their own independent events as well. Rather than hit the road right out of training and suffer the hardships that come with it, your best bet is to remain a part of the school and compete on their events. They also have connections to major promotions like the WWE and TNA, which you’ll read more about later.

SCOTT D’AMORE ON HIS SCHOOL – “THE CAN-AM WRESTLING SCHOOL”:

“I run the Can-Am Wrestling School in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. We train three days a week.

As far as help, I have Alex Shelley who works with more advanced students, teaching them Lucha Libre and different styles. The two main guys who help me with classes are Tyson Dux, who was trained by myself and Joe Legend, as well as a graduate student of mine named Gutter.

We have three regularly scheduled classes during the week and I’m usually there for one of them, sometimes two. Basically there is a program in place at my school. It’s a system I was taught that I’ve modified along the way. I think everyone has their own system and that’s fine. There’s a million different ways to do the same thing. But we have our system they have to learn.

If they want to branch out along the way and learn different styles that’s fine, but my guys have a good grasp of my system and how we do things. I evaluate their progress once a week. Tyson Dux and Gutter handle a lot of the hands-on training and Alex Shelley is there to go over other fine points with the students. After being around for 13 years, we have the system down to a science.

We don’t put a set time limit on the course. We don’t say it’s three or six months or a year or 20 classes. There’s a set fee that you pay and you continue until completion. What we consider completion is when the instructors and myself make the decision that you’re ready, then we put you in your first match.

What I have that I think sets us apart from everyone else is what I call our “Aftercare Program”. A lot of wrestling schools out there get you in, take your money, teach you what they want to teach you and then send you out and say ‘Now go get yourself booked somewhere’.

With our Aftercare Program we have guys that graduated seven or eight years ago that still come in to train. There’s a two-fold affect to that – one, this business is always changing and revolutionizing, so they’ve got a chance to come back and keep their skills sharp and up-to-date and learn new things. The other thing is if you come back, the deal is you have to work with everyone. You might have to help out a guy who has been there for three weeks or you might work with someone who’s been on television for five years. So, everyone gets the benefit of working with different styles and different people with different experiences.

It also helps the students coming up because they get the benefit of being able to get in the ring with pros such as Rhino, who still stops by the school to train. When he trains, he might get in there with someone who’s only taken four classes or he might get in there with Chris Sabin. He knows that and understands the importance of that, both for him and to the other students. In this business, you have to learn to lead in the ring, so it helps a guy like Rhino or Chris Sabin to re-educate themselves. It’s one thing to learn something and know how to do it. It’s another to learn enough to be able to properly teach it to someone else.

I usually tell guys before they sign up to come in and check it out and see if it’s the school for you. We’re a no-frills school. We’ve got a clean warehouse, but it’s not anything fancy. We’ve got a nice ring – it’s one of the old WCW touring rings. So you’re in a good ring in a good building. It’s not air conditioned, so in the summer it’s hot. In the winter it can get drafty and damn cold. So you’ll sweat in the summer and freeze your ass off in the winter.

There are no frills and no workout equipment – do that on your own time. We’ve got people who help with training and nutrition programs. But I’m not there to babysit you in the weight room – I’m there to teach you how to wrestle.

A student may come in and look at my school and think it’s not for them. That’s fine. I tell people to look at as many schools as you can before you make a decision. When I first opened I would refer students to Al Snow’s school and he would refer people to me. There are a handful of good schools across the United States and Canada. Try to check them out and see what fits you – it’s just like picking a college.”

DORY FUNK ON HIS SCHOOL – “THE FUNKING CONSERVATORY”:

“The school is located in Ocala, Florida. We have a ring setup and a small arena for a capacity of 400 people. We have applications on the website – www.dory-funk.com. Before they can become a part of the Funking Conservatory we need a personal interview.

We look for students that have a passion for the business and want to be a part of professional wrestling. We understand ahead of time that every student who comes to the school isn’t going to make it as a professional wrestler.

However, if they love the business and want to participate in it, we see to it they are able to take part in the three-week program and a spot on our BANG! Television show. It’s quite an advantage because if their video is on the internet they can call any promoter and have them look at their skills. The first day is about the basics – we think that’s the most important thing in professional wrestling. We start off with the most basics moves first so they are comfortable with going forward in the training.”

SHARK BOY ON HIS SCHOOL – “THE SHARK TANK”:

“My ‘Shark Tank’ school is located in Ohio. I’m using the Heartland Wrestling facility and I’ve got 14 guys signed up right now. They can sign up at Sharkboy.net. The course I teach right now is 12 classes for $500 and I ask for $200 up front and they pay the rest throughout the course. Each class is three hours long. I have some students who take the course multiple times to sharpen up on their skills and things of that sort.

On the first day, I generally will show them the basic two bumps – the back bump and the front bump. We don’t get too much farther than that on the first day because I don’t want to get anyone hurt. Also on the first day we’ll work on locking up and some very basic chain wrestling. Usually by the second practice I take the bumping to the next level when I show them how to take a back bump from a tackle or a snap-mare or hip-toss for the front bump. There’s also plenty of review those first few days – we review constantly.

From training with Les Thatcher and then at the former WCW Power Plant, I learned a lot of “how to’s” and also some “how not to’s”. As far as the “how to’s” – the same basic bumps that I cover I was taught by Les on the first day.

However, I don’t focus too much on cardio or weight training. At the Power Plant they would beat the cardio into your head. With Les, he would stress the weight training. In my case, I leave the guys to do that on their own time. I do talk about the importance of it but we don’t take class time for weight training or blow-up drills.

If I do incorporate the cardio drills, it’s with something I’m trying to teach them. For example, in one recent class we had what I call “monkey in the middle” where one guy is in the middle and the other students feed in for a bump, but they call it on the fly. So you really have to think fast. That gets a lot of the guys really blown up and tired, but it’s important to think on your feet in the ring.

The first couple of weeks I just hammer home the basics. I try to build a very solid foundation for them. It’s important for safety sake. After that, we start to add moves here and there. For example, after they master a snap-mare I will show them a hip-toss. Then I’ll teach them dropdowns and how to reverse hip-tosses. After that we’ll move onto proper punching and kicking. It’s a slow, gradual process but they need that foundation in order to learn how to wrestle properly and not injure themselves.

I really don’t push students as hard as other schools. When I went to the Power Plant, they pushed us hard every single day. I always saw guys throwing up, walking out or quitting. I treat it more like a college course – they are paying me to instruct them.

For example, in a recent class I had a student who claimed he was sick and wanted to sit out the rest of the session, but I think he was just blown up from the drill we did. I didn’t argue with him. When you go to college, no one yells at you for missing class – they don’t care whether you’re there or not. That’s my approach. If they want to waste their money and time, they can. It’s not my job to make sure they attend and take part. But, I’m going to do my best to make each and every one of them improve. They have to meet me half way to do that.”

THE WCW POWER PLANT:

Before the promotion ended, WCW had its own training school called “The Power Plant”, which was based at the WCW Headquarters in Smyrna, Georgia. It was run by wrestling greats Jody Hamilton and Paul Orndorff, along with fellow trainer Dwayne “Sarge” Bruce.

The Power Plant was one of the most successful wrestling schools in the country during its heyday before WCW folded in 2001. It also gained quite a reputation as

one of the toughest schools as well. In fact, the estimated dropout rate was 80 percent.

It turned out a laundry list of stars who went on to become major stars in the sport, including Bill Goldberg, Triple H, Big Show, Shane Helms, Diamond Dallas Page, Kanyon, Elix Skipper, Alex Wright and many others.

During my time in WCW, Orndorff and Bruce handled the bulk of the training. Both veterans demanded obedience and respect from their students. I spoke almost daily with the trainees, who always complained that Orndorff and Bruce were pushing them too hard. They claimed they weren’t learning as much as they could and were often frustrated and disheartened they hadn’t made it on television yet.

I spoke with Orndorff on a few occasions and asked him one day to explain his training philosophy to me. Orndorff was a no-nonsense kind of guy and told it like it was. According to Orndorff, he acted the part of the drill instructor because in order to create a star that will do whatever the promoter asks, you need to break them down first and make them realize the importance of authority and respect in the wrestling business.

According to Orndorff, the trainees needed to “learn to walk before they could run” which explained their frustration with the training style. Orndorff firmly believed that hardcore and high-flying wrestling styles had a negative effect on youngsters, who would rather hit each other with chairs and land a top rope moonsault than learn the necessary basics of the sport.

Orndorff was right. Some of the students at the Power Plant could do some very cool jumps and flips, but they were extremely sloppy when it came to basic wrestling holds and psychology. The reason why Orndorff continued to hound them on the little things is because they weren’t paying enough attention to perfect them.

The Power Plant held semi-regular auditions, where potential candidates would pay a non-refundable $250 fee for a three-day tryout session. If the candidates survived Orndorff’s trial by fire and impressed, they could continue on with the six-month training program at a cost of $3,000.

According to a sign Orndorff proudly hung on the wall, the motto of the Power Plant was "Pain Is Temporary, Pride Is Forever."

Terry Taylor, a member of WCW’s Talent Relations department during the Power Plant’s existence, had this take on the school:

Terry Taylor: “As far as the Power Plant, and this goes with any other wrestling school, you can’t learn everything in training. Eventually you

have to learn by being out in front of the people. You have to feel the timing and work off the reaction of the people. Those guys at the Power Plant had it rough. They would go to the school Monday through Friday from 9am until 5pm, then get in a car and drive like speed demons up to Nashville to wrestle that Friday night as well as Saturday and Sunday night, then get back in the car and drive back to Atlanta, get back at 4am and then have to be back at the Power Plant at 9am on Monday.

The Power Plant was much more about traditional wrestling and how to become a pure wrestler. The WWF’s training program was about that, but teaching them how to be stars as well. The WWF placed more of an importance on getting the young wrestlers out there in front of the fans so they could react and get their timing down. They had deals with developmental territories to get their young guys out there and working. The guys at the Power Plant would sometimes be there for a year or more before they wrestled in front of any fans.”

HITTING THE GYM AND DIETING:

In addition to the constant traveling and training, you’ll also be expected to dedicate time to the gym to keep your body in peek performance. Gone are the days of beer-bellied, fat wrestlers.

Despite what the average Joe thinks, wrestling is a full-contact sport. The training is intense and painful. It will hurt to get out of bed each and every day – something you had better get used to. Ice packs will become a necessity in your life. Every day you will hurt in a new place on your body. With proper dieting and hitting the gym, you can condition your body to deal with the punishment you will take. Lance Hoyt echoes that statement with his own advice…

Lance Hoyt: “Getting physically fit early on is very important in my opinion. It’s going to protect your body because of the damage wrestlers put themselves through each time they step in the ring. Your everyday Joe thinks wrestling is fake but it’s far from that. I’m a legit 6’7 and if I pick someone up over my head, they’re seven feet off the ground. When I throw them down, there’s no faking gravity. You hit hard. If you can figure out how to beat gravity then you’ll revolutionize this business.”

This doesn’t mean spending hours lifting weights and bulking up, rather, your cardiovascular training is the most important aspect of making it in the ring. You can have the physique of an Adonis, but if you run out of gas during a match you’re doomed. Fans can recognize when wrestlers have nothing left in the tank and promoters hate boring matches.

If you want to make it to the “big time” in wrestling, you’ll also need to be mindful of your diet. Like every other sport, you will need to eat healthy and avoid carbs and fatty foods.

However, in a sport where long hours on the road is the norm and you won’t leave the arena until late at night, healthy dining options are sometimes limited. Today, many major fast-food restaurants now offer healthier eating options. All too often, wrestlers make the mistake of disregarding their diet on the road, but they will always pay for it in the ring.

Say goodbye to fried foods, including french-fries and onion rings. Soda will be replaced by water or other non-sugar drinks. You can order a hamburger or chicken sandwich, but you’ll have to toss the bread. If you can’t stand fruits or vegetables, learn to love them.

Many wrestling stars have their own strict diet, which differs with the individual. It’s also not uncommon to see protein shakes throughout any backstage area at a wrestling event.

CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE AT THE DOOR:

If you enter the wrestling business with a bad attitude, with rare exceptions, you won’t last long. You will quickly learn to shut up, listen and learn, or else you will be cast aside in favor of another student who is more eager.

Terry Taylor: “I was very selfish when I first started out. I had a loud mouth and I was always popping off. There was a wrestler named Gordon Nelson, who was probably 50 years old, 5’10 with a big barrel chest. I had to lose to him and I remember thinking ‘Why should I lose to this guy? I can beat him.’ But I kept my mouth shut and learned a lot from him. Come to find out, he had trained with guys over in England who were legit shoot fighters that could break both your arms in a second. If I had whined like a lot of these young wrestlers do now he probably would have hurt me bad.”

Scott D’Amore: “I’ve had some bad apples, but I just throw them out. I have no reason to deal with anyone who doesn’t want to be there. I threw a guy out who was a Mr. USA bodybuilding champion. I threw him out of the school because I didn’t like his attitude. I also threw out an All-American college linebacker who I thought had more potential than anyone I ever saw walk through my door. I’d rather have a guy who is 5’9” and 190 pounds who I know is going to work his ass off in the ring, try to learn and be respectful and then go to the gym on his free time and do his cardio than a guy who is an elite athlete with a bad attitude.

I don’t run the school to support myself. It doesn’t pay my mortgage and it doesn’t buy me a car. There are not a lot of wrestling schools that have

been around for 13 years. There are not a lot of wrestling schools that consistently put out a good crop of talent like we have consistently done. If someone has a bad attitude, I won’t deal with it. We’ll beat you up a little bit and we’ll stretch you a little bit to try and change your attitude, but if that doesn’t work then there’s the door – have fun training with someone else. If they go somewhere else to train and become a big star, then good for them. I’ll still think their attitude sucks.”

Shane Douglas broke in under Dominic DeNucci, a former WWWF star in the 60s and 70s and a man who took training very seriously…

Shane Douglas: “Dominic would train the hell out of us. There were three of us at the time training under him that ended up making it – me, Mick Foley and Cody Michaels. Training would start at seven in the morning and he would keep us there until seven at night. There was no air conditioning and we would pour sweat all day in that gym. It was an old elementary school gym and I remember during the summer months it would just be ungodly hot, while during the winter it was bitterly cold.

We would start the day with stretching and running around the gym to warm-up. Then we would get in the ring and train. I remember it was three or four months before we were even allowed to hit the ropes. When you’re a kid the first thing you want to do when you get in the ring and run the ropes or climb them – Dominic forbade that. He taught us chain wrestling first. Dominic was an Olympic trials silver medalist for Italy in 1956, so he was one hell of a shooter. To say he would stretch us is an understatement.

During the old school days of training in wrestling, during your first or second session they would intentionally break your arm or leg just to see how committed you were and if you would come back. A lot of guys would just quit, but the ones that would come back would get beaten on more. That would continue for months until they would slowly be allowed to learn the insides of the business. Dominic never injured us but he sure beat the hell out of us. He would put his elbow down on your jaw and push your face into the mat and things like that. He wanted to see how committed we were.”

During my time with the WWE and WCW, I’ve seen many athletes from other sports attempt to enter wrestling with the attitude of “How hard can it be?” Just because they have the physique and a background in sports they usually think they are better than other students. They quickly learn a harsh lesson at the hands of their instructors.

In the sport of professional wrestling, you’ll be asked – or ordered – to do many things that you might hate. But remember, another wrestler can always replace you. Just like any other line of work, there are always people you won’t like. You

will need to put aside your own personal differences to do business with them or someone else will be given the opportunity.

I’ve worked with many wrestlers with bad attitudes during my time in the sport. However, unless you’re a top ratings draw or a friend of the promoter, they often pay for their poor attitude down the road. Promoters have little time for complainers and anyone seen as a bad apple will often be sent home to rethink their outlook on life.

Sometimes those with bad attitudes will be “ribbed” unmercifully by their fellow wrestlers if they cause problems. “Ribbing” is the term used in wrestling for playing a joke or a stunt on a fellow star. They can be good-natured fun for entertainment purposes, or in the case of a wrestler who needs an attitude check, they can be malicious. If the victim doesn’t change their ways it will only continue and get worse.

For example, during my tenure in the WWE there was a certain star who got on the bad side of several veterans for continually talking down to and ridiculing younger wrestlers. While that star was out in the ring, the other wrestlers opened the contents of his luggage and cut up his clothes with scissors. Next, they crazy-glued his shoes to the ceiling and hid the keys to his rental car. This is just a basic example of ribbing in the sport. It can get much worse.

WELCOME TO BEING DIRT POOR

Many trainees go broke just paying for wrestling school, but that’s just the start of your poverty while chasing your dream of being a wrestling star.

Once you complete wrestling school, there’s no guarantee you’re going to be on television the following week. In fact, the odds of that are slim to none. What you will be doing, however, is spending many hours on the road driving to small, independent shows. You will wrestle in towns you’ve probably never heard of and you’ll be lucky to get gas money for the trip home. By the way, you’ll also probably be sleeping in that car quite often.

For example, before Steve Austin was ever “Stone Cold”, he spent years driving his car all over Texas working independent shows, living off potatoes, bread and yes…beer.

Shane Douglas offers a realistic look at making money in the wrestling business today:

Shane Douglas: “Today, kids who want to be wrestlers hear stories like Bill Goldberg, who goes from being a bouncer to a wrestling star and making who knows how many millions of dollars. Bill Goldberg is by far a rare anomaly in wrestling. For every Goldberg there are 30,000 kids out there

that want to be a pro wrestler and think they’re going to be rich from the beginning.

It’s especially tough today to make good money in the wrestling business because there are very few contracts now like the ones we saw in WCW and WWF during the boom period in the 1990s. There are probably five guys making great money in the business right now with the rest of us plugging away and making a decent living. So for any kid out there who thinks they’re going to break in and become an instant millionaire, those days are long gone.”

Wrestling has no medical benefits and you only get paid when you wrestle. Independent promoters don’t offer contracts, let alone medical insurance. If you get hurt, you have to pay for your hospital bills. On the road, you pay for your own gas and food. Nobody fresh out of wrestling school gets put up in hotels and you won’t be taking any private jets. You will struggle to survive financially, you’ll be sore from wrestling every night to make ends meet and you can say goodbye to any social life you may have had.

In others words, unless you have great connections or are the next coming of The Rock, the first years of wrestling will be miserable. Get used to it.

DEFINING YOUR PERSONA:

Wrestling is made up of colorful characters and outrageous personalities. You’ll need to create one of your own.

As previously stated, it’s important for wrestlers to connect with the fans. You want to entertain the fans and hope they remember you and will pay to see you again.

One tip is to come up with a persona or character that is unique and different. If you’re lucky enough, a promoter will let you run with it. However, a promoter will often give you a persona to portray if you’re new to the business. For example, one of the greatest wrestlers today – AJ Styles – began his career under a mask known as “Mr. Olympia”. Even if you don’t like it or are uncomfortable with it, try your best. Figure out how to play it to the best of your abilities. If the promoter sees that you aren’t doing it to the best of your ability, you may not get another opportunity.

There are also numerous wrestlers on the independent scene that wrestle under their given name with no outright persona. There’s a reason why they stay in the independents for years - because they never connect with fans and give them little reason to remember them. Personality is key, a notion longtime veteran and TNA agent Simon Diamond believes is vitally important.

Simon Diamond: “Today a lot of guys are lacking personality. A lot of these young guys don’t realize that it’s still show business. No matter how much some people want to legitimize wrestling or turn it into an Olympic sport – it will always be entertainment. Personality is such a big key because – just like any other entertainment field – that’s what links the fans to that performer. The personality you have draws the fans in and makes the money. You can pull off every cool move under the sun, but if you can’t convey your personality in that ring then you will never realize your full potential. It’s how you get people to buy tickets and merchandise. The wrestling business is built on characterization and personality, not necessarily the moves.”

One tip, as odd as it may sound, is to ask friends or family for suggestions if you are unsure. Your friends and family know you better than anyone. Often, it can be as easy as incorporating something from your background, such as sports, the military or anything else you might have been involved in. Often, the best personas or characters come from simply “turning up the volume” on who you already are.

During my time with the WWE, the process went like this: Once we were given the green light from the trainers that the prospect was ready to move up to television, we sat them down for a one-on-one interview. Vince Russo would ask them a series of real-life questions about their up-bringing, family and life experiences. It was from these interviews that a persona was generated for the prospect. Once you got to know the trainee and their background, you could get a feel for what they would be good at portraying on television.

In addition, good wrestlers will find ways to make their personas or characters come across in the ring, whether it be the way you dress or your wrestling style. For example, George “The Animal” Steele was indeed an animal in the ring – with the green tongue, hairy back and pension for eating turnbuckles. “Ravishing” Rick Rude was in love with his own physique and often took time during the match to admire his own muscles.

Also allow for your persona to develop over time. Never keep your persona the same and always try to evolve it in new ways. A perfect example of this is Sting, who went from a bleach-blonde colorful character to a dark, brooding star bent on revenge in the 1990s. Evolution of your persona is important so it won’t become stale over the years.

Also, it’s advisable to incorporate several specialized moves into your arsenal as well. In other words, a set of moves that you use in every match that the fans will come to expect. Wrestlers such as Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Bret Hart are some of the biggest stars in the history of the sport, and they also have set moves that fans have come to enjoy.

Hulk Hogan has the big boot. Ric Flair has the chop. The Rock has the People’s Elbow and so on. When is the last time you went to a wrestling event and didn’t hear fans yell “Whoo!” when someone landed a chop? That’s because Ric Flair spent years using the move. After a while, the fans caught on and it’s been a staple of pro wrestling since.

Regardless of whether you are a “good guy” (babyface) or a “bad guy” (heel), you’ll need to learn to wrestle both styles. The way you wrestle and your psychology is just as important as your moves. In the simplest of terms, bad guys cheat to win – good guys don’t.

There are many things a heel wrestler would do in the ring that a babyface shouldn’t, and vice versa. Heels yell at the fans during matches – babyfaces look for their support. Heels use the ropes to get a pin – babyfaces pull out the win against all odds. These are just basic examples. However, today more than ever the lines are blurred between a “good guy” and a “bad guy” in professional wrestling, but the true greats always adapt their style based on which category they fit in at the time.

CHOOSING YOUR RING ATTIRE:

Up until the 1970s, ring attire was strictly your standard pair of wrestling tights, usually one basic color. Wrestling style was about as black and white as most televisions at the time. Some wrestlers wore robes, but they looked like the kind in your grandfather’s closet.

In the late 70s, wrestlers such as Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes introduced sequined robes to their attire. Their flashy robes made them stand out. When wrestling hit the big time on cable television in the 1980s, wrestlers made it a point to be as colorful as possible.

That all changed with the popularity of “hardcore” wrestling in the 1990s. The sport took on a grittier and more violent feel and many wrestlers incorporated this into their dress. Cut-off shorts, jeans, baggy pants, sports jerseys and gang emblems were in style. In other words, wrestlers started dressing like they were back in high school.

However, the style became too widespread and before long every wrestler looked like someone who had just walked off the street for a match. Today, the trend is starting to reverse itself, but there are still way too many independent wrestlers out there who dress like bums in the ring.

So, if you have any hope of becoming a wrestling star, chances are you won’t get far wearing jean shorts and a t-shirt in the ring. Investing money in slick-looking ring gear isn’t necessary at first, but it is something you’ll have to invest in if you want to get noticed. If you ever get to wrestle on television, you need to walk, talk

and dress like a star. Robes, trunks, kneepads and boots are all important. Alter the color and design to fit your persona as much as you can. Remember, the object is to be flashy and stand out.

Terry Taylor, Lance Hoyt and Shark Boy discuss the evolution of their own ring attire:

Terry Taylor: “Most of the stuff I got to wear early on was hand-me-downs. For example, the first robe I wore was made by a lady named Olivia, who was the wife of Mr. Wrestling II, and she made Ric Flair’s robes. When I was making no money, I scraped up $2500 for the robe because I wanted to look like a star. I invested in my character and the attire because I knew it was important.”

Lance Hoyt: “Up until I started working for TNA I pretty much wore the same pair of leather pants. I bought them at Wilsons Leather Outlet for $35. I was painting my own designs on them. I would go to the Hobby Lobby and places like that to buy different kinds of metallic paint pens. I just couldn’t afford nice ring attire. Now I help out with a wrestling school in Dallas and one of the girls that came to the school was a seamstress who knew how to sew and things like that. So, part of her bargain to get into the school was that she wouldn’t pay the tuition fee but she could instead make gear for the guys who were teaching her. She started making some really professional looking gear for me. I drew up the designs and then she would create them.”

Shark Boy: “I got my ring attire through a company in Columbus, Ohio that specialized in wrestling gear. They go way back. They’ve been designing gear for guys for years. I pulled something off the discount shelf – it looked like the fish character I wanted to portray. Originally I wanted to be a piranha but they had a shark outfit instead, so I went with that.”

In addition, treat your ring gear as if it is special to you. After over 30 years in wrestling, Ric Flair still takes care in folding his robe and handing it to the ring attendant before each match. Many young wrestlers could learn from Flair. These days, I can’t tell you how many newcomers I’ve seen get in the ring, take off their attire and simply throw it to the ground or toss it over the ropes to the floor. If you don’t believe what you wear is special, why should the fans?

When you first begin training to become a wrestler, you can wear whatever is most comfortable. But when the time comes to compete in front of an audience, make sure you look your best.

Today’s wrestling stars usually have local seamstresses that design their gear for them. There are also a handful of wrestlers who design gear for their fellow

grapplers. Unless you work for the WWE, there is no promotion that will make your gear for you – that’s something that will come out of your own pocket.

Your best bet is to search the internet for designers that specialize in professional wrestling, or ask wrestlers at local independent events who they might recommend.

As far as how to design your ring attire, that’s up to you. There are dozens of generic designs available for beginners but remember – you want to stand out – so be as creative as possible.

THE ART OF THE PROMO:

Shawn Michaels once said that fifty percent of being successful in wrestling is what you do in the ring, with the other fifty percent what you say on the microphone. Unfortunately, many wrestling schools don’t teach you how to be charismatic or develop your persona – they teach you to wrestle. Most of the time, the rest is up to you.

One important reason to learn how to do interviews is that it will lead to more money and possibly other entertainment opportunities. As a wrestler, you are also an entertainer and businessman. By being great talkers, some of the best have been able to branch out into Hollywood, ala The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash and others.

Learning how to entertain the fans with your mouth is just as important as being a great wrestler. With a few exceptions, gone are the days of big brutish wrestlers screaming into the camera. Today, you need to be able to tell a story and express emotion.

In the 1960s and 70s, interviews with wrestlers were done at ringside immediately before or after a match. In the 80s, the WWF brought interviews to another level with weekly talk-show segments like Piper’s Pit. More of an emphasis was placed on the entertainment value and other major promotions followed the trend.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to a wrestler who can “cut a great promo”. Some people think that good talkers are born that way and they have it in them. In other words, it comes naturally. You either have the gift of gab or you don’t. In my opinion, that’s true to an extent. Obviously, not everyone can be as charismatic as Ric Flair, The Rock or Hulk Hogan, but there are ways to improve yourself.

First, study from the best. Whenever I visited wrestlers training in the WWF or WCW, I always told them to go out and find tapes of interviews from Ric Flair, Jake Roberts and Arn Anderson. They are considered to be some of the best

talkers and for good reason. But, this doesn’t mean you should outright copy them. Instead, it will help you understand how to develop your own style.

Second – practice! One piece of advice I often give is to videotape yourself practicing in front of a mirror. Work on ways to improve your facial expressions. Use body language. Practice in the shower or while shaving in the morning. Practice during the many hours you’ll be driving in your car from town to town. Practice before you go to bed at night.

But one bit of advice – be different. Don’t be that wrestler who thinks they’re the baddest man on the planet and talks that way, because it’s not believable and has been done to death. I can’t tell you how many interviews I’ve seen by wrestlers five-feet tall who think they’re unstoppable when I could probably kick their ass. Don’t be the “tough guy”, unless that is, you’re seven feet tall and built like a tank – instead, be creative and be unique.

Shane Douglas has always been considered an extremely gifted talker. His promos will go down as some of the most controversial – and entertaining – in the history of the sport.

Shane Douglas: “In our business the promo is keenly important. The old generation, guys like Bruno Sammartino and Dominic DeNucci, few of them could do good promos. They more or less just “spoke” to the fans like you and I were having a conversation. In our business today, because the entertainment value has overcome the athletic value, it’s become much more important to speak. Being able to get in the ring and do a promo and project your character is vitally important and something that, in my opinion, is becoming a lost art. I see so few kids in the business today that truly have that gift for gab.

I’m not from that school of thought that you either have it or you don’t. I firmly believe like the moves you do in the ring, you have to work to better yourself when it comes to interviews and promos. Today, a lot of kids look to the greats on the microphone and try to copy guys like Ric Flair. You can’t emulate Flair because he’s already done it to perfection.

If there’s five wrestling personalities you really like, take pieces from each and mold them together with your own personality so it fits you. I see kids today go out there and they think you have to scream through wrestling promos. You should only raise your voice when the emotion calls for it. Others times you should just speak calmly.

I agree with Shawn Michaels’ statement that it’s 50/50 what you do in the ring and your mouth, but I would go even farther and say sometimes talking is even more important for some wrestlers who aren’t great technicians. For example, Michael Hayes was never a great wrestler but he

could talk with the best of them and he always made money in the business because of it. Being able to project your character in the ring is sometimes more important than the moves.

Today a lot of these kids breaking in think doing 27 high-flying moves in a row is going to get you somewhere. In my opinion, if they can’t talk, then they’re limiting themselves to the amount of money they can make.”

During my time with the WWF and WCW, Vince Russo, Ed Ferrara and myself handled the bulk of producing promos and interviews with talent. Some wrestlers who were skilled at promos only needed bullet points written for them. Others needed more coaching.

Russo placed great importance on wrestlers perfecting their interviews or promos. If the interview wasn’t to his liking, we would make the talent do it over and over again until they got it right. We would even stay after the event had ended to complete interviews, which frustrated the producers, cameramen and wrestlers, but it was for the good of the overall product.

Many of the wrestlers in the WWF and WCW relied exclusively on Russo to help them with their promos. One example was Goldust (Dustin Rhodes), who often quoted movie lines during his interviews. Russo and Rhodes were movie fanatics and often compared notes before arriving at the arena. Other wrestlers, like Steve Austin, The Undertaker or Mick Foley, would get with Russo during the day to discuss the details of their interviews.

The stars who typically shined with their promos and interviews were quick-witted and good at improvisation. The best I ever worked with was The Rock, followed Mick Foley. Both knew how to tell a story and be entertaining at the same time. They mastered facial expressions and could go from one emotion to another with ease.

My personal favorite was Arn Anderson, who I had the pleasure of working with during WCW. By that time, Arn was retired from the sport and was serving as a backstage agent, but on a few occasions he was featured on-camera for interviews. I always made sure I was there when Arn did an interview because he, in my opinion, was tremendous at telling a story, conveying his emotion and made it believable. You couldn’t help but listen to him.

Some of the best technical wrestlers in the business were never great at interviews, preferring to let their amazing abilities do their talking in the ring. Stars like Bret Hart and Chris Benoit never had the gift of gab, but I enjoyed working with them to produce their interviews and promos. Veteran wrestlers often helped younger or inexperienced talent with their interviews, such as Shane Douglas and Hugh Morrus.

In WCW and TNA, Douglas would routinely shadow interviews with young talent. If he saw something they could improve on, he spoke up. Some producers frowned on this as they didn’t like other talent taking over their shoot, but I always welcomed such help. Every time Douglas offered advice to wrestlers for an interview, it always turned out much better.

HITTING THE ROAD:

There are few wrestling stars that go from training to television. The majority will spend years traveling the road from one small event to another, gaining experience and recognition. It’s common for newcomers to have to drive 200 to 300 miles every weekend. This is part of paying your dues in the sport. Most of the time, you will only make enough money to pay for your gas back home, if you’re that lucky.

First off, make sure your car is reliable. Promoters are only going to use you if you make the show, so if your car breaks down on the side of the highway, your reliability will come into question. Car problems are your problem. Veterans like Terry Taylor, Shane Douglas and Simon Diamond can attest to the long hours on the road…

Terry Taylor: “I made 50 dollars a match and I spent every penny of it being in the wrestling business for the first three or four years. I slept in my car, I split rooms and I didn’t eat much. I wanted to be a wrestler more than anything.”

Simon Diamond: “The farthest I ever drove for a wrestling event was from New Jersey to Detroit. It was around 14 hours. I left on Thursday night and got there Friday morning. I wrestled that night then got in the car and drove right back home.”

It’s not uncommon to sleep in your car and live off fast-food restaurants. Pack a pillow, blankets, fresh clothes and food – you’re going to need it.

Shane Douglas: “Mick Foley and I used to travel around in his old clunker car, hoping and praying it wouldn’t break down on the side of the road. Several times it did and we would get to shows late because of it. Dominic would ream us for it. We would save money by stuffing six guys into a car to help pay for gas and split the cost of motel rooms.

As far as food goes, I remember working for the UWF (Universal Wrestling Federation) and it was infamous for the long drives – sometimes eight to twelve hours a day in the car. We would sit with our bags on our laps just to make room for each other. The rare times we would stop at a restaurant, you wouldn’t look at the left side of the page to see what you would eat, you would order by looking at the prices on the right side of the page. On

most days, we would do the “Wrestler’s Gourmet” which was a loaf of bread and a pound of baloney and someone in the car would slap together sandwiches and pass them around. That’s how we ate.

As far as hotel rooms, back in those days for the UWF in Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas you could get a room for $35 a night. So four or five of us would pile in these rooms. We would take the mattress off the bed so some of us would sleep on the mattress, some got the box spring, some got the floor. We would always rotate. If you wanted to get some personal time you would take a pillow into the bathroom and sleep in the bathtub. Those are the ways we would save money on the road. You had to. We weren’t making enough money to survive and even then you were barely making ends meet.

The first time I ever made real money in the business was with WCW as part of the ‘Dynamic Dudes’ tag team. Back then I was making $3,000 a week. When I signed that contract I thought I was a millionaire. So it took me eight years before I started making real money in the sport. Finally I could get a hotel room by myself and I could order a steak if I wanted one. But I’m glad I had that experience and perspective because it makes me appreciate what I have today.”

When you have completed your initial wrestling training and it is time to venture out, the smartest thing to do is concentrate on competing on local independent shows in your area. Keep your travel localized and try to make a name for yourself.

Making friends with the students you went through training with is also key to survival on the road. They will likely be competing on the same local events as you, and will have to go through the same hardships early on. Anytime you can travel with someone to split costs, it will benefit both of you. It’s not uncommon for up to six wrestlers to pack a car on the road just to save on costs. Just ask Scott D’Amore…

Scott D’Amore: “In the summer of 1997, myself, Edge, Christian, a guy named Glen Kulka and another guy named Rodney Blackbeard would just pack into my jeep. That was five big guys packed into my small jeep, with sometimes a sixth guy in the luggage space in the back. We would get one hotel room, always on the ground floor so we could sneak the rest of the guys in through the outside patio.

Then we would take the mattress off the box spring – two guys on the mattress, two guys on the box spring and maybe another guy under the desk or in the bathroom. I think our record was eleven guys sleeping in one hotel room.

I used to fake a knee injury and pretend my mother worked at whatever hotel chain we were at just to get the discount rates. I would wrap my knee and fake an injury and tell the people at the front desk that I had just come from the hospital and that I was on pain medication. I would then dump my entire fanny pack on the front desk looking for my mother’s employee card. More often than not they took pity on me. If that wasn’t working, I would pretend to accidentally put weight on my bad knee and I would fall in the middle of the lobby. It was pathetic. Edge and Christian used to tell me all the time I deserved an Academy Award because I would keep going until they gave me the discount.”

Or, in the case of Lance Hoyt, he was able to learn more by traveling with other students:

Lance Hoyt: “It was very beneficial for me when I was traveling from the San Antonio/Austin area to Arlington for a promotion called PCW (Professional Championship Wrestling). I would travel with guys who had gone to Shawn Michaels’ school and two or three of the guys actually trained directly with Shawn. Michaels also had trainers that really knew what they were doing as far as proper training and psychology.

During those trips, a lot of what I learned was by asking them questions. They went through full training for five or six months before they were allowed to do student matches or work on the shows that Shawn was promoting in the area. Even though they were still young and green, in comparison their training was much more extensive than mine. I was very receptive to it because I wanted to learn. I wanted to know what I was doing wrong and how I should correct it. I knew my height and my look would be to my benefit, but I knew if I couldn’t do what I was supposed to do in the ring I wouldn’t be worth much.”

Terry Taylor offered the following story about his travel schedule early on in his career:

Terry Taylor: “I drove 3,000 miles a week when I was working for Bill Watts in Louisianna with the UWF. I was based out of Alexandria. Monday was a show in New Orleans, which was 220 miles each way for me. Tuesday was Baton Rouge, which was another 120 miles down and back. Then I would wake up at 6am to drive to Shreveport to cut television promos all day. Wednesday night I wrestled in Shreveport or somewhere nearby. Thursday was Biloxi, which was 250 miles each way. Friday was Houston, which was 500 miles from Biloxi. I did that every week. Saturday was 275 miles to Little Rock and back. I would get home from Little Rock just to wake up the next day to catch a 7am flight to do a double-shot in Oklahoma AND I had to pay for my own flight. I did that for three years straight.”

PROMOTERS:

The most important thing to know about wrestling promoters is that the majority are just in the business to make money. As a newcomer, you will get little to no respect from promoters, as they are only interested in a warm body to put in the ring against their local up-and-coming star. You will quickly learn that the wrestling business is made up of people who will stab you in the back, use you or lie to you to get what they want. You have to be smart and expect to be burned. The important thing is not to let it kill your passion and keep going.

Terry Taylor: “Most promoters try to make as much as they can. There’s two ways to do that – draw a big house or not pay the talent much. I worked televised matches for years and never got paid. The deal was that if you were on TV, that exposure allowed you to do other things. Being on television WAS your pay. For the WWF tapings they used to do years ago, I’d be in the last match of the night at 11pm. I’d make $50. My hotel room was $100. My rental car was another $150. Food was probably $30. So my exposure was losing in the ring and then losing another $200 on necessities, but I did it to be a star.”

For example, you may drive 200 miles to compete on a small independent show only to learn the promoter has cancelled your match. Or, you might be promised a small payday for competing on the event, only to be told afterward that the promoter didn’t make enough to pay all the wrestlers. This is common in the sport, and you should never turn to anger in these cases. Promoters talk with each other and the last thing you want is a bad reputation.

In other words, swallow your pride and move on.

Shane Douglas: “Dominic DeNucci never taught us the bad, political side of the business. I learned it by the seat of my pants and got taken advantage of dozens of times. I remember early on we drove all the way out to the other side of Ohio for a show. We wrestled the first match but later on we all had to come back for a battle royal at the end. We all went to the ring for the battle royal, but when we came back through the curtain the promoter was gone. I can’t tell you how many times I got taken like that.

At that stage of the game when you’re young and don’t have any leverage you have to take promoters at their word. Now after being in the business so long I don’t leave the house unless I have half the money in my hand. That’s to protect my family. As a wrestler I can’t afford to go on the road for three days and spend money on food and hotel and transportation to get screwed in the end.”

Established stars can – and will – get screwed even today. No one is safe from bad promoters, as D’Amore can speak to…

Scott D’Amore: “Not that long ago myself, Petey Williams and Chris Sabin all did a show in Columbus, Ohio, and the promoter stiffed everyone on their pay. The promoter just took the gate and ran. We were half the schmucks for not getting him to pay up front before the show. A lot of the guys were pissed and talked about leaving – well, you can do that or you can go out and give the 200 fans that showed up a good night. They paid good money to come to see us. We’re getting screwed no matter what. Do we want the promoter to screw the fans too? No. So we all talked and decided to go out there and wrestle.”

As stated previously, you should always use your schooling as an anchor point when you first hit the road. Spend as much time competing on the events promoted by your school, but once you branch out, talk to your trainer or instructor about what other promotions they might recommend. Many of the more well known wrestling schools have established ties with promoters who run shows throughout the country and have a proven track record.

DEALING WITH THE PAIN:

The longer you compete in the ring, the more injuries you’ll get in your career – and that can lead to a lifetime of dealing with pain.

Ever year, wrestlers have to go under the knife for a variety of injuries – torn ligaments and muscles in the knees and arms, broken bones and noses, cartilage and nerve damage. If you are able to go a year without suffering an injury, consider yourself lucky.

Older wrestlers who have been around tend to suffer more. The younger you are, the quicker you are able to recover from injuries. However, the many slams and drops you will take in the ring throughout your career add up and your body will suffer the consequences. As the years go on, you might face major surgery such as knee or hip replacement, back surgery or in worst-case scenarios, fusion of neck vertebrae.

Unfortunately, as wrestling styles become more high-risk and daredevil, many younger stars will face the same surgeries as their older peers. This will lead to a lifetime of pain for most, and dealing with the pain is important not only for your career but also your long-term health and well-being.

It’s no secret that like most major sports, pain pills have found their way into wrestling. When some wrestlers make it to the “big time” and are on a nonstop road schedule, they turn to prescription pills to make it through the pain. For many wrestlers, pain pills are simply a fact of life – the important thing is to never let them control your life.

From the first day you begin your training until the day you retire from the sport, you will likely wake up each day in pain. The more punishment you put your body through, the more you’ll feel it. Chiropractics, massage therapy, constant icing and even yoga can help alleviate some of the aches, but there is really no way to be “pain free” in the wrestling business. You learn to live with it and hope that it won’t affect your health as you get older.

IT WILL BE A WHILE BEFORE YOU’RE WRESTLING AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN:

Everyone who wants to be a professional wrestler has dreams of competing in the main event at Madison Square Garden. We all have at one time or another. But in order to get there, I guarantee you’ll wrestle in your fair share of outright dumps dressed up and called “arenas”.

Terry Taylor: “I’ve wrestled at rodeo barns where there were no showers. The shower was a hose in a cement drain and we would wash each other off. There was dust and poop and it smelled like a barn, but that’s what we did to make it in the business. I wrestled in buildings early in my career that I was sure were condemned.”

Scott D’Amore: “Early on I wrestled in barns with dirt floors with cow and horse manure everywhere. I’ve wrestled outside at state fairs where you had to walk through 200 feet of mud before you got into the ring. I remember one time they actually brought in a golf cart to bring us to the ring, but the golf cart got stuck in the mud during the second match.”

Many independent events hold bouts at high school gyms, community centers or even in outdoor parks. When it comes to independent events, showers and locker rooms are often a rare luxury. In some cases, the locker rooms may be no bigger than your typical living room – and you’ve got 15-20 wrestlers crammed in a place that small.

The biggest locker room I’ve been in would have to be when I was with the WWF for the 1997 Royal Rumble at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, which is larger than a football field. The locker room was the size of a large movie theater. In fact, we had to drive golf carts just to get to different locations. Another large facility was the Astrodome in Houston, which WCW appeared at when I was there.

The smallest locker room? That would probably be the NWA Wildside arena in Cornelia, Georgia. The place barely fit 100 people (if that) and the locker room was the size of a large walk-in closet. When WCW signed a development contract with NWA Wildside in 2000, I drove there from Atlanta during the winter to see a show. Backstage were probably thirty wrestlers in a room no larger than 15 feet by 15 feet all huddled around a space heater. But, the modest confines

didn’t hurt the competition – after all, that night I got to see two relative newcomers named AJ Styles and Ron Killings compete for the first time.

Lance Hoyt: “A guy who I know was promoting his own show and called me up and asked me if I’d wrestle on it. When I got to the address I remember pulling down a dirt road that led into a parking lot. The lot was so old that big mounds of grass were growing through the asphalt.

When we walked in, it was the shoddiest wrestling ring I’d ever seen. It had a plastic mat on top of it, not even a real wrestling canvas. I think he had no more than 15 chairs around the ring. The event was being held inside some kind of auto warehouse. Everything was dusty and it was easily 110 degrees. I think about seven people showed up that night.”

On TNA’s “Sting: Return Of An Icon” DVD, the star told a funny story about wrestling one of his first professional matches at a county fair. In order to get to the shower area, the wrestlers had to sneak through the bleachers under the fans. While Sting was making his way under wearing nothing but a towel, a fan saw him and yelled out his name. Moments later, he was surrounded by fans under the bleachers asking for his autograph. Sting finally made it to the showers, only to find there was no handle on the door, only a hole where the knob should be so anyone could look inside. Sting was finally able to shower only after one of the security guards promised to stand in front of the door.

So, long story short, expect to wrestle in some interesting “arenas” early on in your career.

THE PITFALLS OF INDY PROMOTIONS:

All too often I’ve seen wrestlers come into the “big time” from independent promotions with the attitude they’ve already learned everything there is to know. Trust me, you don’t.

Today’s independent promotions can be a great place for young wrestlers to hone their craft, but they’re also a place to learn many bad habits.

Before the era of the WWE, wrestling was broken up into various territories across the United States. A handful of promoters carved up the country and established their own promotions. If a territory was to be successful, it had to have a roster of talented wresters along with local television clearance. Along with weekly or monthly television tapings, these territories also held non-televised “live” events. The wrestlers that competed for these territories were expected to be dedicated to their craft and ready to pay their dues just to be a part of the sport. Getting a spot on any roster back then was extremely tough.

Unfortunately, due the many shoddy independent promotions currently in operation, almost anyone can walk off the street and appear as a “wrestler” on these shows. Like the promoters running them, most are untrained and know little about having a good wrestling match. Each year, many independent wrestlers are hurt – often severely – attempting a maneuver they have no business trying or have even practiced before.

With such little emphasis placed on teaching these wanna-be wrestlers the basics and proper techniques of wrestling, it’s no wonder why the majority of independent wrestlers go nowhere in the sport. Proper wrestling is often replaced with hardcore bloodshed and crazy moves just to “wow” the fans.

However, I am still contacted by dozens of wrestlers each year who think they are ready for the “big time” after a few months competing in an independent promotion. In the videos they mail out, they wear cut-off shorts and t-shirts, look about 150 pounds soaking wet and their highlight match is a hardcore brawl with chairs and tables. I’ve seen hundreds of tapes like this and not one of them have ever received a call back for any job openings.

In addition to a real lack of proper technique, independent promotions can also have a “fishbowl” effect on wrestlers who compete for them. A wrestler will often compete in front of the same 100 fans each week, sometimes becoming personal friends with those same fans outside of the ring. They never adapt or change their style and wrestle the same way week in and out.

In order to gain experience as a wrestler and ply your trade, you will need as much ring time as possible against opponents with different styles. Branching out and wrestling for different promotions is the best way to do this.

TERRY TAYLOR ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING THE FUNDEMENTALS:

What most wrestlers today lack are the basic fundamentals. For example, my son wanted to learn how to play drums so I took him for lessons. They start off teaching you the basics of drumming first. But he wanted to start out doing what the drummer for Rush did, the fast stuff. He didn’t want to learn the basics. You can’t do that.

It’s the same with wrestling. Guys want to get in there and do moonsaults and hurricanranas, but they don’t want to know the actual nuts and bolts that make those moves mean something. They don’t respect the business. They want to be stars but they don’t want to embrace what makes them stars. They think the business is here to make them stars. No, it’s not. They’re the vehicle that makes the business better so that everyone can make a living.

When I teach at wrestling seminars, I try to explain to students the fundamentals of why we do what we do inside the ring. I asked the Undertaker once – and nothing against him because he’s one of the greatest ever – but I asked him “Why do you circle your opponent when your match starts?”. He told me everyone did it. But I asked him, specifically, why he did it. He couldn’t answer.

Muhammad Ali would circle left or right depending if his opponent had a better left or right hand. He circled away from his opponent’s strong side to allow himself an opening to get a good jab in. Wrestlers circle their opponents to get them to put their weight on their front foot or to get them off balance so you can take them down or get a better angle for a move, but no one realizes that or thinks of it anymore when they do it. They just get in the ring and circle their opponent and they don’t know why. Today, guys just get in there and dive and flip and there’s no reason behind it. There’s no foundation built to where it means something.

I tell these guys they need to set the foundation in a match and then tell a story, which none of them want to hear today. The story is based upon how you do what you do, not the moves you do. Some of them get it, most of them don’t.

An old-time wrestler once told me to think “shoot” - think realism - but work it. How many times have you seen a wrestling match where two guys bloody each other up and then the next week they come out and wave at the people and do poses for the camera? Well, if it was real, wouldn’t you come out and immediately go after the guy that bloodied you the week before? If you got punched in the face, what would really happen next? You would check to make sure you still had all your teeth.

Not today – these young guys just go onto the next flip or moonsault. They don’t treat it likes it’s real and they don’t work like it’s real. That’s why I think the fan base has soured to wrestling over the last decade or so. The object is to get a guy on his back and pin him, not do one crazy move after another. I’ve seen guys slam an opponent on their back only to pull him back up to hit another big move. You got the guy on his back – so pin him! It’s against everything that makes wrestling make sense and they wonder why people don’t get with it.

In my seminars, I tell them if you start it off right and lay the groundwork and you have the basics down, then you can do your big stuff. The foundation of the business was built by the basic moves and the proper fundamentals. For close to 100 years, every wrestler sold a bodyslam the same way. Wrestlers conditioned people that a slam was supposed to hurt you and when you got hit with a bodyslam, your back had to hurt. In the last 10 years, these young guys have undone a 100 years of what the fans were conditioned to believe and understand. They get bodyslammed and pop right up like it doesn’t hurt. I see guys get hit with a piledriver and then kick out of the pin a few seconds later.

It took 100 years for wrestlers to make fans think a certain way and in the last 10 years it’s all be undone. Many newcomers today don’t respect the moves and they don’t respect the fan conditioning that wrestlers spent generations perfecting. Today it’s all about the fast-paced television match and getting your high-flying moves in.

Another problem is the lack of emphasis on wrestlers bettering themselves in the ring. Today, everyone gets guaranteed deals and there’s no incentive for improvement. Back when I was coming up I was making $250 a show while Roddy Piper and Ric Flair were in the main event making $1000. Well, why? Why were they making more money than I was? I was the same size as they were, so what was it? I learned that I had to make myself a better wrestler to get to that main event. The guys today have no incentive to do that. Whether you have a good match or a bad match the guys today still make the same amount.

When I get into the ring with students at a seminar, I show them what a hold really feels like. I show them the importance of positioning in the ring. Realistically, if I throw you into the ropes and go for a back elbow, but I give you more than one step, then you should be able to duck it or see it coming and avoid it. Today, a guy standing in the middle of the ring will whip his opponent into the ropes and give them three steps before he hits them with something. It’s ignorant and doesn’t make sense. The proper way to do it is to whip him into the ropes and follow him so it’s less than a step before you hit him. You want the ropes to look like it forced your opponent into your move with more velocity.

They also play to the camera and the fans before they hit a big move. Why? The object is to beat the guy. I see wrestlers throw their opponent into the corner, then spin around for the camera before running at the guy. Why? Realistically, you should throw that guy into the turnbuckle and be right behind him when he hits. The whole thing is – if it was real, what would you do? The young guys today have forgotten about that and they don’t want to learn it or be told about it.

Twenty years ago, I might wrestle you every Monday night for six months in the same territory. We had to do something to make sure the people wanted to see us every week. We had to be able to listen to the fans while we were out in the ring. No wrestlers talked to each other before the matches.

I wrestled Ric Flair at the Superdome for 48 minutes and I didn’t know what the end of the match was going to be. We were the main event. I didn’t know how long we were going or anything. We went out there and wrestled as we went. But it was that way for everyone who wrestled back then. A lot of wrestlers today couldn’t even fathom working like that in front of people.

The biggest difference between my generation and today’s generation is that back then, we gave. If I wrestled you, I would ask what moves you wanted to hit in order to make you look better. What could we do to make the match better?

Now guys get together and tell each other what moves they want to hit. Well, then the other guy is thinking he has to get two or three extra moves in just to look better than the other guy. It ends up being a tug-of-war who gets the most moves in. Instead of it being about giving, today it’s all about taking. It’s more about the individual now than the company and that’s wrong.

SCOTT D’AMORE ON WHAT WRESTLERS TODAY ARE LACKING:

I could give the same rant that the veterans do about guys today doing moves that don’t mean anything or they don’t have the proper transitions to go from move-to-move or they’ve just out there going highspot to highspot - and that’s all very accurate.

I think a big problem is some wrestling schools just teach you how to do the moves and don’t explain the psychology behind doing the moves or how to properly go from one move to another. What we do at my school is take each move and break it down and explain why you’re doing it. What you learn on day three branches off of what you learned on day two and so on. I don’t think there’s enough proper guidance out there after training for newcomers. You can come up through a good school and learn respect and the rules of the game, but once you get out into the independents there’s no proper guidance to assist with your learning process, because you can never stop learning in this business.

Also, guys today don’t know how to chain wrestle. They do a few chain wrestling moves just so they can run their next spot. With my new students, when they first get in the ring they’re not allowed to punch, kick, chop, jump off the top rope or do any fancy moves. First and foremost they learn how to wrestle, period. Guys in my school will log 100 hours of chain wrestling before they log 10 hours of spot wrestling. I don’t let newcomers in my school come off the top rope. The more advanced guys can and we have crash pads for that. But not for new trainees, never.

SHARK BOY ON WHAT WRESTLERS TODAY ARE LACKING:

It’s a lot of the same stuff I heard when I first broke in. In my opinion, newcomers today need to learn to slow down. A lot of guys are in such a hurry and don’t focus on the little things like how you walk to the ring, how you get in the ring and how you carry yourself in the ring. I know that sounds simple but a lot of the young guys today were never taught how to act like stars when they come out through that entrance. They’re usually too worried about remembering a series of moves.

I also think the young guys today complain way too much about stupid things, such as “Why am I being eliminated third from a battle royal while that guy gets to stay until the end?”, guys who question why they are doing jobs or why they’re

in a certain spot on the card. I try to explain to them that I’ve been doing this for ten years and just last week I put over Abyss in the ring in two minutes. I doesn’t matter how long you’ve been doing it or who you know or where you’re at, sometimes you’re asked to play a small role and sometimes you’re asked to play a bigger role. Sometimes it takes a lot of time for the newcomers to learn that reality.

SHANE DOUGLAS ON WHAT WRESTLERS TODAY ARE LACKING:

Respect for the business and the history of the business. When I broke into wrestling I could tell you who everyone was and what angle they were involved in. This was before the days of wrestling on cable. But I would religiously buy the wrestling magazines every month and study all the promotions and wrestlers. That’s how I became such a huge fan of Ric Flair, by reading about him first before I even saw him on television.

These kids today don’t understand how political the business was for my generation breaking in. We had to scratch and claw our way past the established names that didn’t want to give up the spotlight. Before my time it was always a tradition for the wrestlers to eventually step aside and hand the torch to the young lions. After a while, many established stars stopped doing that, so it was tough for some of us to break through. Mick Foley basically had to cripple himself to get the spotlight on him. I had to go out and say things that were so outlandish that burned so many bridges for me just to get noticed.

HOW TO GET NOTICED BY THE MAJOR PROMOTIONS:

After you’ve paid your dues in the sport and have a firm grasp of your career, you’ll obviously want to keep chasing that dream of being in a Pay-Per-View main event.

So now begins your mission to get a job with the big promotions…and because you shelled out the cash for this, I’m going to give you some great pointers on how to do it…

Firstly, there’s a big reason I told you to go to a well known wrestling school – that’s because many of the people who run those schools have an “in” with the major promotions. When the WWE or TNA hold television tapings, they often rely on these schools and their trainers to supply them with students to serve as on-air security, or if you’re lucky, meat for one of their top stars to annihilate.

But don’t make the mistake of trying to introduce yourself to Vince McMahon or Jeff Jarrett – they are busy enough, and it’s also disrespectful. Keep your mouth shut, don’t attract attention to yourself and do what you’re told. If your trainer is confident he can take you backstage at a major wrestling event without you

acting like a jackass, you may just get to go back. Hopefully, you’ll become a regular and people will begin to take notice of you.

The majority of wrestlers who want to get a job with the big promotions send in videotapes and resumes. In both the WWE and TNA, there is a talent relations department that handles reviewing tapes sent in by prospects. I’ve spent many hours over the years reviewing tapes with those in charge at both companies, so here’s some pointers on how to put together a good video.

First and foremost, try to make it as professional looking as possible. Have your contact information on the front label. I would also suggest taping a small picture of yourself on the tape. VHS tapes are acceptable, but if you can put the video on DVD send that as well. Cover all of your bases.

If you’re having someone tape your matches, make sure it’s a good camera and they get close-ups. You might even ask if they could film ringside. I’ve seen far too many tapes with matches shot from a distance. Obviously, from a budgetary standpoint hardly anyone can afford to hire a camera crew. Just make sure it’s a good camera and you have someone with a clue how to operate it. If the crowd is sparse, make sure they are filming tight on you and not the audience.

However, what you will need is someone with a video editing background to put your tape together. The quality of your video matters just as much as what is on it. If your tape looks like it was edited with a VCR, you probably shouldn’t bother sending it in.

No one is going to sit through an hour-long video presentation. In fact, you’re lucky if they watch the first five minutes of your video before they move on to another. If you haven’t hooked them within the first minute, you’re done.

What I suggest doing is this: For the first 20-30 seconds, introduce yourself, in gear against an interesting background (and I don’t mean a brick wall). Stick to the basics – your name, age, height and weight. Your promo will come later.

Next, transition to a quick, two-minute highlight video of examples of your best chain wrestling. Don’t just include high-flying dives and moonsaults. In the first few minutes of the video, we’re examining your “look” and technique. One you’ve proven that to us, we might keep watching.

Next, cut a thirty-second promo. Make sure the background looks professional. The promo/interview is an important part of your video for a few reasons. One, once you’ve proven your technique, you need to show them you have personality. Second, in today’s “Crash TV” style, the show has to move quickly. While interviews would go up to three minutes in the 80s, today the norm is a minute to thirty seconds. Do several versions of the interview and pick the one

you like the most. Remember - no swearing, screaming or impersonating other stars.

Next, show some good 1-2 minute chunks of footage from matches. I would suggest against showing an entire match, because once again, you don’t want to bore the viewer. Show us that beyond your highspots you actually have a working knowledge of how to put a match together and work with opponents. Also, don’t bother including hardcore wrestling. That’s a good way NOT to get a job. If the only footage you have to put on tape is a hardcore match from an independent event, don’t bother sending a tape in.

One other pointer regarding interviews/promos – do several in different styles at the end of your tape. Show them you have the ability to deliver different emotion. Often, wrestlers send in videos portraying only one gimmick or persona and are sure those watching it will think it’s pure gold. Again, we’re watching for your technique, “look” and if you’ve got personality. More often than not, we could care less about your gimmick, because one will be assigned to you if you are lucky enough to ever got a job with the big promotions.

After you’ve finished your video, the next step is to put together a good one-page resume along with some decent promotional photos. Spend the money to get a few professional close-up shots done at a local photographer – the rest can be anything you wish, but just make sure you look good.

The resume should include the following, neatly organized on good paper:

Name and contact informationPhysical stats (height, weight)Previous background in sportsSchool or college informationPrevious or current promotions you’ve wrestled forWrestling schools attended and contact info for the trainer

Once you’ve got your video and resume prepared to send out, one bit of advice is to call the WWE or TNA main offices to find out who to send the package to directly. On their websites, they will tell you to address it to “Talent Relations”, but that usually means your package will sit in a pile with others in the mailroom until someone gets around to watching it. If you can politely inquire as to who heads up the department, you stand a better chance of getting that tape delivered straight to their office.

In addition, have copies of your video and resumes with you at all times while you’re working for independent promotions. You never know when a star or representative from the WWE or TNA might be at the same show, so always come prepared.

ESTABLISHED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING SCHOOLS:

Disclaimer: As previously stated, you should learn as much as you can about a wrestling school before attending. If possible, call the school to ask if you can preview a class.

The Can-Am Wrestling SchoolTrainers: Scott D’Amore, Alex Shelley, Tyson Dux, GutterWindsor, Ontario, CanadaMore information at www.bordercitywrestling.com

FXE Pro Wrestling Academy(407) 816-1045135 Drennen Road,Orlando, Florida 32814More information at www.fxewrestling.com/academy.htm

The Funking ConservatoryTrainer: Dory Funk, Jr.(352) 895-46582200 NE 36 Avenue, Ocala, FloridaMore information and application at www.dory-funk.com

Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling CenterTrainer: Afa The Wild Samoan(610) 435-1666P.O. Box 251 Whitehall, Pennsylvania 18052More information at www.wildsamoan.com

The Shark TankTrainer: Shark Boy(513) 771-165010800 Reading Road Suite ACincinnati, OhioMore information at www.sharkboy.net

Windy City Wrestling School(773) 978-7317Chicago, IllinoisMore information at www.windycityprowrestling.com

Harley Race Academy Of Professional WrestlingTrainer: Harley Race(573) 392-4100119 South Maple Street in Eldon, MOMore information at www.harleyrace.com/wlw/hracademy.htm

Kowalski Institute Of Pro Wrestling / Chaotic Training CenterTrainers: Mike Hollow and Killer Kowalski(978) 852-8534100 Belmont Street, North Andover, Massachusetts 01845More information available at www.chaotictc.com

All Pro Wrestling Bootcamp(510) 785-839621063 Cabot Blvd.; Suite #1 Hayward, CA 94545More information at www.allprowrestling.com

CHAPTER 2 - OTHER JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING

Part 1 – A Brief History Of My Time In WrestlingPart 2 – On-Air JobsPart 3 – Behind The Scenes JobsPart 4 – Office Jobs

Obviously, not everyone has the body or the athletic background to become a professional wrestler. However, there are other venues you can take to get into the wrestling business, which I’ll discuss at length in this section. From television production to office management, there are many different jobs available within the sport. Some jobs are tough to get, while others are easier to attain through previous experience in the particular field or even by way of a college internship.

“On-Air” jobs include announcers, referees or ring announcers.

“Behind The Scenes” jobs include television writers, agents, television production and photographers.

“Office” jobs include working at the promotion’s main headquarters

PART 1: A BRIEF HISTORY OF MY TIME IN WRESTLING:

Since I first joined WWF in 1995, I’ve had many different job duties in my ten years working for the WWF, WCW and now TNA. I guess I should begin by explaining how I got in and what it took for me to climb the corporate ladder.

In October 1995 I was a sophomore in college in Connecticut (Journalism major) and looking to take part in an internship. I wanted to concentrate my efforts on sports journalism but I ultimately had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree. I decided to concentrate on two companies – the first being ESPN, located in Bristol and about an hour drive upstate from my hometown, or the World Wrestling Federation in Stamford, which was a 20 mile drive for me.

First, I called each company and found out the heads of their respective human resources department. I already knew they would want me to send in a resume, but I made sure once they received it they would remember my name.

So each week for a month, I mailed out the same resume to ESPN and the WWF, including articles I had written for my high school and college newspapers, along with other articles I had published in several magazines. I had previously been the editor for my high school and college newspapers, so I had a wealth of writing experience to show them.

After mailing each package, I will follow up with a phone call to the human resources department. Yes, it bordered on harassment, but I made sure they remembered me if an opportunity came up.

One month after I started mailing out the resumes, I received a call back from Matt Deluca, then head of hiring for the WWF, who wanted to interview me for a part-time internship opening.

I had grown up a huge wrestling fan and had followed it during high school and college. Just six months earlier on my birthday I had attended my first WrestleMania in Hartford, Connecticut – sitting in the very top row of the Hartford Civic Center to see Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor. Little did I realize I would soon be working for them. For a kid in college and a longtime fan, this was a golden opportunity that I wasn’t about to let slip through my fingers.

I arrived at Titan Towers in Stamford one week later. After sitting in their massive front lobby for twenty minutes, I was met by a human resources representative and brought up to the second floor administrative wing of the office where I was asked to wait in a conference room. The room was filled with WWF Magazines and promotional literature along with a giant cardboard cutout of Diesel (Kevin Nash).

As a fan, it was very exciting moment to walk through the halls of Titan Tower. Lining the offices were pictures of some of the greatest moments in WWF history. Everyone was dressed professionally and there were hundreds of offices. It was an eye-opening experience to see just how “corporate” a wrestling company could be.

A few minutes later Matt Deluca came in to introduce himself. We walked across the hall to his office where I saw my resume sitting on his desk. I seem to remember him cracking a joke about it, seeing as how I had another copy in my hand.

I was offered a paid internship job working for the online media department. According to Deluca, I was hired based on my writing background and my job

duties would include – among other things – writing results and articles for the WWF on AOL area.

Remember, this was well before the WWF even had a website. Back then they had a limited area on AOL and only two people running it – my new bosses Jim Monsees and Christine Nesthead.

After accepting the job offer, I was introduced to Monsees and Nesthead and walked down the hall to my new office. Next to me was Monsees, while directly across was the office of WWE Magazine editor Vince Russo (more on Vinnie Ru later).

I was given a tour of Titan Tower, starting on the second floor, and met most of the approximately 75 employees. The tower was four floors total. At the time, the building was broken up by the following departments on each floor:

Ground Floor:LobbyMail/Postal areaParking

First Floor:Gym (Full 10,000 square foot gym with treadmills, weights, small racquetball court, shower and locker room area)Travel DepartmentLegal Department

Second Floor:Human Resources DepartmentMarketing DepartmentPublic Relations DepartmentFull CafeteriaPublications DepartmentNew Media / Online DepartmentPhoto AreaCreative Department (Not to be confused with bookers or tv writers – this was a department of approx. 15 employees dedicated to creating logos, posters, graphics and dozens of other art projects)

Third Floor:Finance/Payroll DepartmentComputer Techical Support Department

Fourth Floor:Executive Wing – The offices of Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, Jim Ross, Bruce Prichard, JJ Dillon and Howard Finkel.

Live Event DepartmentMerchandise DepartmentPay-Per-View Promotions DepartmentTelevision Promotions DepartmentTalent Relations Department

Along with Titan Tower, there was a full Television Production office building about a mile away at another location, two floors, staffed by an additional 50 or so employees. In addition to several wings of editing studios, it also contained a massive warehouse area with a ring (which would later become the training center), the Music Department and a full Photography studio.

My internship at WWF was part-time during the week. I attended Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut, which was 20 miles from my hometown of Stratford. Twenty miles in the opposite direction was the WWF in Stamford, so I had my share of driving each week. I attended college classes in New Haven from 8am until 8pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays while working 9-5 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the WWF.

Getting a job with the WWF was a huge accomplishment for me and I obviously had illusions of grandeur going in. However, my job duties for the first six months were as follows:

-Printing our hundreds of promotional emails each day (many of the major departments at the WWF had promotions going on which fans answered by email. All of these daily hundreds of emails were funneled to my mailbox, and it was my job to print them out and deliver them to each responsible individual in the office.)

-Scanning close to 70 photo slides each day for galleries for the online area

-Writing previews/results/articles each day for various events for the online area

For hours on end each day for six months, I sat in a dark room in the creative arts department and scanned photos – which took an eternity as 10 years ago photo scanners were not as fast as today. It was also my job to crop and color correct the photos. While waiting for individual photos to scan, I would print out emails and work on whatever writing project I was given that day. Needless to say, I didn’t get much daylight, let alone office lighting.

Although my job for the first six months amounted to “monkey work”, I had my dream job. I did as I was told each day to the best of my abilities, kept my mouth shut and stayed late every night to finish important projects. I would often volunteer my nights to be the typist for the weekly AOL chats with WWF stars.

Basically, hundreds of fans would fill chat rooms on AOL. We would have a WWF star on the phone and I would type word for word their responses to the questions.

Although I was simply an intern, I made sure I did my job so well that they couldn’t possibly cut me loose. After my six-month internship, I was offered a part-time paying job to continue my duties.

A few months after that, Vince Russo walked into my office one morning and asked me if I’d be interested in writing for the WWF Magazine. Needless to say, being a journalism major, it’s always an accomplishment to be published in a major magazine and the WWE’s version was in stores across the United States and Canada.

Previous to that, I had never talked with Russo that much. Even though my office was directly across from his, we rarely saw each other and the majority of the time he had his door closed while he worked on articles or met with management or many of the wrestlers who regularly visited the offices. All I knew about Russo from my first six months at the WWF was that he was loud, opinionated, loved to dress in black and had one of the thickest New York accents I ever heard.

During my time at the WWF, Russo was my mentor and the one who really gave me an opportunity to move up the ladder. I split my time between the WWF website and serving as an assistant editor for Russo on both the WWF and RAW Magazines. I wrote the regular monthly departments for each publication along with two or three major feature articles.

Being a part of the publications department allowed me to expand my duties for the company. Thanks to Russo, I no longer had to print out emails or scan photos. Instead, I met daily with the head of the photo department to select pictures for articles. I reviewed page layouts with members of the art department. I edited and changed stories based on Russo’s liking. I worked with the creative arts and merchandising departments to come up with new concepts. The more work he gave me, the more I worked to prove myself.

However, while I was living my dream job, the WWF was in a fierce war with rival WCW. We were getting beaten by WCW in the ratings each week and our live event attendance was suffering. WCW had overtaken the WWF as the top wrestling promotion in the world with cutting-edge storylines featuring the “New World Order”.

In my opinion, WCW had simply caught up with the changing society. While the NWO were beating up opponents with baseball bats on Nitro and WCW was putting on some of the most violent and innovative programming in wrestling history, you could turn over to RAW and see wrestling’s pig farmers The Godwinns and other gimmicky stars such as TL Hopper, The Goon and Duke

“The Dumpster” Droese. WWF chose to stay the course with programming geared toward children while WCW was going after the older crowd.

At the same time, Vince Russo – whose heart bled WWF – was growing frustrated with the direction of the company. He knew if Vince McMahon gave him the chance he could contribute in a positive way to change things. But time and again, Russo’s offers to McMahon were ignored.

At the same time, Russo was writing tremendous articles for the WWF and RAW Magazines, printing real-life stories on WWF stars, something that had never been done before in wrestling magazines. With the new “inside” take on the business in the magazines, subscriptions and sales began to increase. Slowly but surely, McMahon began to take notice as well. The WWF stayed the course with its programming and suffered until Vince McMahon was forced to make a change in April of 1997 when Monday Night RAW suffered it’s worst rating ever with a 1.9.

The morning after that 1.9 rating, I was in my office when Russo arrived for work and was told he was being called to a mandatory meeting with McMahon and other top-level management on the fourth floor. I didn’t see Russo again until that afternoon, when he walked into my office and closed the door.

Russo told me the story of what happened that day – according to him all of the top management were in the executive conference room, with Russo the last to arrive. McMahon was at the head of the table and in front of him was the latest copy of WWF Magazine with Mankind (Mick Foley) on the cover. That month, I had written the cover story about Mankind, title “Inside The Mind Of Madness”, which basically compared Foley to the second coming of Hannibal Lector.

According to Russo, McMahon explained why the meeting had been called and steps were about to be taken to make sure the 1.9 rating never happened again. Then, McMahon opened to my cover story on Mankind and read it word-for-word to everyone in the room. McMahon closed the magazine and, according to Russo, said to everyone “If we can put on television what Vince Russo puts in these magazines, we’ll do a 4.0 every week”.

I couldn’t believe what Russo was telling me – that my article on Mankind helped influence such a change in the future direction of the WWF. In the coming weeks, Russo was made the assistant television writer for Monday Night RAW, and by year-end he was the sole television writer working directly under McMahon. The era of the “WWF Attitude” was born. Later, Ed Ferrara joined Russo as part of the writing team.

In May of 1998, Russo approached me about serving as his creative assistant on the road, another big step for step for me. I had just graduated college and was

working full-time for the WWF and Russo needed someone to help him handle his ever-growing list of duties as McMahon’s right-hand man.

From May of 1998 to the time I left the WWF in October of 1999, I helped in whatever capacity Russo would let me, whether it was producing television interviews, evaluating new talent or working with the wrestlers at Pay-Per-Views and television tapings. When I wasn’t on the road, I continued to write for the WWF and RAW Magazines and was an Associate Producer for WWE.com, which by that point had a staff of 15 people. The ratings had turned around, we left WCW in the dust, the company was generating millions of dollars and we were on top of the world.

I also was granted the opportunity by Russo to serve as an assistant on the writing team with he and Ferrera. Every weekend, I would type out four pages or more of ideas for television. I would then go to Russo’s house on Tuesday mornings to meet with them and pitch the ideas.

The majority of my ideas were torn apart by Russo and Ferrara, but on rare occasions they would use them on television. Some of my proudest moments in the business are coming up with the ideas for The Rock to throw the Intercontinental Title – and Steve Austin – off a bridge during their feud, as well as coming up with the idea for the September 1999 “This Is Your Life” segment with Mick Foley and The Rock that got an 8.4 rating, still the highest-rated segment in the history of cable wrestling to this day.

Obviously, I was on cloud nine. Still in my early 20s, I was in the luckiest position anyone could ask for in wrestling. Russo, however, started to feel the pressures of being the “go to” guy for everyone in the WWF. After a year of dominant ratings, the high-pressure position started to take its toll. He was working long hours at the beckoning of McMahon, was given another weekly show to write with the debut of “Smackdown”, barely saw his family and was an emotional wreck. In October of 1999, Russo left the WWF and accepted a job as the head writer for the rival World Championship Wrestling.

I was in an odd position at that time. First and foremost, Russo never clued me in to his dealings with WCW prior to taking the job. One morning, I arrived at the office in Stamford prior to leaving for the live RAW that night in Nassau, Long Island, to learn that Russo and Ferrara were gone. I considered myself close to Russo and was shocked I didn’t know a thing about it. At first, I thought it was a joke. It wasn’t. I tried calling Russo’s house several times before leaving the office for the arena only to get his voicemail. Everyone knew I was a “Russo guy” and I wondered what to expect that night at the event. Everyone at the office wanted to know if I had spoken to Russo. I hadn’t. Apparently, the rumor was that Russo had called McMahon the night before to inform him of his decision.

An hour or so later, I arrived at the Nassau Coliseum for the production meeting and was met out in the hall by Shane McMahon, who also served as my boss under the New Media department with the website. Shane pulled me aside and asked if I had spoken to Russo, which I told him the truth – I hadn’t. Shane then told me not to worry about it and everything would be fine, but I couldn’t. I considered Russo my mentor and a close friend, so I couldn’t help but think about it. I went about my regular duties that night working with the talent and going over changes to the show with Vince McMahon. Oddly enough, McMahon never mentioned one word about Russo to me that night. It was business as usual the following week as we held RAW at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. I still hadn’t heard from Russo.

A few days later, I received a phone call at home from Russo, who apologized for keeping me in the dark. He explained why he did what he did and offered me a job with him and Ferrara at WCW. I later spoke to Bill Busch, the new WCW head, on a contract offer.

On Thursday night, I accepted the offer and took my last drive to Titan Towers on Friday morning to inform Matt Deluca of my decision. Deluca tried to talk me out of it, but I was set on leaving. After exiting his office, I went and spoke to Jim Monsees about my decision. We talked, shook hands and then I walked out of the WWF and drove home. That weekend, I went to Russo’s house to write WCW Nitro with them and I was at my first WCW event that Monday for Nitro in Philadelphia.

I do regret some of the bad decisions I made in leaving the WWF. At the time, I was happy with my position, but I had a blind loyalty to Russo, which played heavily into my decision. The reality of being under such pressure with Russo gone scared me, and instead of going to Shane McMahon to address my concerns I chose to take the easy way out.

In my early 20s I was doing well financially and had my family around me in Connecticut, but I decided to leave that all behind to join Russo. I never even called Shane to explain myself. To this day I still regret leaving the way I did and it was wrong. In 2001 at the final Nitro from Panama City, I got the chance to see Shane again and attempted to apologize for the way I left. Shane was very professional about it and shook my hand, but I knew from talking to him that I would never be welcome back again. It was some type of closure, at least.

I say I made a bad mistake by going to WCW for a number of reasons. Going from the WWF to WCW was like being hit in the face by a baseball bat. Ratings were on the decline, the locker room was running the company and the corporate structure was in shambles. Plus, from day one we had people in the company doubting our every move.

When Russo was the head writer in WWF, he had Vince McMahon watching his back – and that meant he was bulletproof. McMahon had the final say because he owned the company. In WCW, there was no Vince McMahon to back Russo up. Instead, a conglomerate owned the company and several people with no clue about wrestling had the final say. Plus, there were forces within WCW that wanted Russo’s job and undermined him at every step. Within four months this led to Russo leaving WCW, and I was once again on my own.

I spent almost two years working for WCW, writing their television and managing their website during the company’s dying days. It was a miserable experience and I missed my family and friends back home. Russo made a brief return to the company with Eric Bischoff (whom he replaced) at the end in a last-ditch attempt by management to right the direction of the company, but it was no use. Russo and Bischoff clashed creatively and didn’t get along. Before long, Russo left again, leaving Bischoff to run the company along with Turner management member Brad Siegel, who saw little reason to keep the company going with such huge debt. Bischoff made a bid to buy the company from Turner, but little did he know Vince McMahon was secretly in the process of purchasing the company. The rest, they say, is history.

After WCW was purchased in 2001 and the final Nitro was held, I returned home to Connecticut and got a job working at an architecture firm for two years. The WCW experience had driven a stake through my heart and killed my love of wrestling. I wanted nothing more to do with it and realized I would never be able to go back to the WWF.

But after two years, I had the bug again after watching some TNA Wrestling broadcasts. Russo joined TNA in 2002 and I began to talk to him over the phone about it. Less than a year later, I had an offer on the table to join the company. Here we go again - following Russo! I felt I could still contribute something positive to the wrestling business and to be quite honest after you work in wrestling there’s no way you can possibly sit behind a desk in a 9-5 job. I moved to Nashville, Tennessee in July 2003 to become a member of TNA Wrestling and have been with them since.

Now, the reason I just wrote that entire story about the WWF and WCW - I’m about to explain the major differences between the companies and their structure and why one ultimately thrived while the other died slowly.

As previously mentioned, it all started at the top. Vince McMahon and the McMahon family privately owned and operated WWF (until it went public in 2000), but in the big picture they still call the shots. WCW, on the other hand, was owned by media conglomerate Time Warner/AOL, with several chairmen. WCW was part of Time Warner/AOL’s entertainment division, which had a dozen or more management leaders. Then there was the upper management of WCW itself, who answered to the entertainment division, who in turn answered to the

Time Warner/AOL chairmen. In other words, there were several bosses with the final say in WCW.

The WWF at its peak prior to my departure in 1999 had well over 100 office employees, not counting the roster and road crew. It had pristine offices and organization and structure. WCW on the other hand was run out of a two-story brick office building in Smyrna, Georgia, with approximately 40 employees. Management and division heads came and went on a monthly basis, as Time Warner / AOL employees regularly jumped from job-to-job and division-to-division. While the WWF’s employees were driven and had a passion for wrestling, some of WCW’s employees were often cast-off’s from other Time Warner / AOL divisions and cared less about the sport.

In the WWF, each department had anywhere from three to ten employees. When I left in 1999, I believe the largest may have been the New Media / Internet department headed up by Shane McMahon, which had 25 employees by my last count. At the time, the company was beefing up its New Media division because the internet was exploding and there was plenty of money to be made. In comparison, when I arrived in WCW, there were three people operating the WCW.com website.

Communication and meetings were also key to the success of the inner-workings of the WWF. Each week several departments met with each other for hours to go over upcoming target dates, projects and plans. Everyone was kept in the loop.

Each department in WCW was made of usually one to three employees and communication was lacking. Meetings were rare and departments never coordinated efforts.

In my opinion – here’s what it comes down to: The WWF succeeded partly due to its stars such as The Rock, Steve Austin and others, but the real strength was the way the company was run and operated from within, with professionalism and organization.

In contrast, WCW at the end was mismanaged, poorly organized and the only reason it achieved any success was because Eric Bischoff paid huge sums of money to steal WWF’s stars, introduced the NWO and brought wrestling up to speed with the way society was changing. WCW reaped the rewards of one basic idea and fed on that success for as long as it could. The WWF created a new generation of stars with its massive marketing machine and allowed young and creative minds that loved wrestling to head that charge.

So with that all said, here are some other jobs outside of being a wrestler:

PART 2: ON-AIR JOBS

Referees: Almost every referee I’ve worked with has come up through the independent scene before making it to the big time. They would volunteer their time for no pay at small independent shows just to learn the trade. If they got lucky and made some connections, they would end up in the larger promotions.

Many of the referees who are regulars for the WWE have been doing it for many years. You will notice that many of the current referees there were the same referees that worked for years in WCW.

A number of wrestling schools also offer courses on training to be a referee. Some schools will make you take the wrestling training course first in order to learn everything about the particulars of a match. I recommend this if you truly want to be a good referee.

Here is how TNA referee Rudy Charles got his start:

Rudy Charles: “I was sitting in the stands at an independent wrestling show and I made the comment to one of my friends that being a wrestling referee sounded like an interesting job. I was already a referee for other sports and I always used to watch the referees during wrestling matches. My friend encouraged me to go talk to them. So I did and the promoter invited me to start training to do it. I went through a six-month training course and then had my first bout.”

TNA referee Andrew Thomas got his start when he was hired by the NWA Wildside promotion in Georgia, where AJ Styles and Ron “The Truth” Killings got their start. Thomas was brought on to work on their television production staff, but he also decided to train to be a referee. Thomas took the same training course as the wrestlers. After a few years of producing television for Wildside and serving as a referee, Thomas got his big break in TNA in 2002 and has been the regular referee since.

Announcers: So you want to be a wrestling announcer? Here is how one of the best, Mike Tenay, got his start:

Mike Tenay: “I started watching wrestling on television in 1962 and got hooked on it and went to my first live event that same year in Los Angeles. I was really into reading the wrestling magazines as a kid. When I was 10 years old, I submitted my first story to all the magazines out there. I started writing stories for a lot of the national wrestling magazines at that point.

In 1966, I started a wrestling newsletter, nowhere as detailed as today’s newsletters. From there I worked at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles writing stories for their programs. Remember, I was still just a kid. From there I kind of got out of wrestling. I maintained an interest but not as strong.

In 1991, I was a guest on a sports talk radio show that had just started in Los Vegas. During the course of the interview the host asked me if I could talk about working in wrestling in Los Angeles when I was a kid. The phone lines went crazy that night. Two nights later they offered me my own wrestling talk show. It went from a one-hour show to a two-hour show and then a three-hour show. I ended up doing that show for five years. I had a lot of guests from the wrestling industry and I got the reputation of specializing in international wrestling including Lucha Libre.

When AAA and WCW had the “When Worlds Collide” Pay-Per-View, none of the regular announcers wanted to do it so they asked me to do color commentary. Based off my performance at that show, Eric Bischoff hired me to do WCW Nitro.”

Back in the 70s and 80s, wrestling announcers and broadcasters were usually former wrestlers or longtime wrestling personalities with the gift of gab. Perhaps the greatest combination ever was Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, who called the WWF matches during the heyday of the 80s. Prior to announcing, Monsoon was a longtime – and feared – wrestler with the WWWF in the 1960s and 70s. Heenan was also a longtime wrestler and manager before donning the headsets. Of course, everyone knows about Jesse “The Body” Ventura, who was another broadcast partner of Monsoon and also a former WWF wrestler. There was also “Lord” Alfred Hayes, as well as the famous backstage interviewer, “Mean” Gene Okerlund.

Outside of the WWF, other well-known and respected wrestling announcers in the 70s and 80s included Gordon Solie, Lance Russell, Tony Schiavone, Bob Caudle and Bill Mercer.

In recent years, names like Jim Ross, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Mike Tenay, Don West, Joey Styles, Michael Cole and Tazz have all manned the broadcast booths.

Being a good commentator isn’t as easy as calling every move. You’ve also got to be able to explain why the wrestler is doing that move, provide history of each wrestler, convey emotion, explain the storyline and hit time cues while having people backstage and in the television truck giving you pitches and suggestions in your earpiece.

Today, it’s still extremely tough for a “wrestling outsider” to earn a commentary role, but in recent years there have been a few exceptions, such as Michael Cole and Don West. Cole was a reporter and news broadcaster before signing on with the WWF, while West was the famous pitchman for the Shop At Home network.

If you’re still interested in becoming a broadcaster in wrestling, there are still several avenues to explore outside of ringside commentary. For example, you might try your luck as a backstage interviewer, although those opportunities are quite rare and you should have an abundance of previous on-air experience.

In addition, the major promotions also employ several people who provide voice-over work, but don’t appear on camera. This may include DVD voice-over work, commercials, internet broadcast hosts and more.

However, no promotion is going to hire a broadcaster or voiceover person without previous experience. So if this is your goal, your best bet is to hook up with a local independent promotion and try to convince them to let you conduct interviews or call matches. If you’re still in school or college and want to get a head start in this direction, get a job with your university radio station and host a weekly program or provide play-by-play for a sports team. If you can get an internship with a local radio station or news channel, this will help as well. The more experience you have in broadcasting, the better.

Once you have the experience, your best bet is to call the promotion and ask who is in charge of television production, then send your resume to their attention.

Ring Announcers: How David Penzer, former WCW and current TNA ring announcer, got his start:

David Penzer: “It was with a small group called Global Wrestling Alliance down in south Florida. The guy who ran it was a psychologist, and my father was also a psychologist. I used to be a DJ and I enjoyed wrestling so my father got me hooked up with the guy to be their ring announcer.

As far as how I got into WCW, there was a guy named Bob Roop who was the booker for Global Wrestling Alliance and he was a big name in wrestling back in the 1970s in Florida and Georgia. At one point during the Georgia Championship Wrestling days, he was Ole Anderson’s right hand man. So when Ole got creative control in WCW he hired Bob Roop as an agent and Bob got me in the door in WCW.”

David Penzer, along with Jeremy Borash, handle the ring announcing duties for TNA Wrestling. Outside of ring announcing, Borash also has several behind-the-scenes responsibilities with the company, including producing video packages.

Many longtime WWF viewers regard Howard Finkel as one of the best ring announcers of all time. His booming voice was associated with biggest star entrances in the WWF during the 1980s. Finkel got his job with the then-WWWF in the 1970s when he met Vince McMahon, Sr. while working as an usher at the New Haven Coliseum in Connecticut. From there, Finkel became the lead ring

announcer for all WWF events. Obviously, with the WWF’s constant touring schedule, Finkel couldn’t ring announce at every live event, so another WWF employee named Tony Chimel began getting the duties. Chimel was also a part of the “road crew” that helped set up the arena prior to each event, so he traveled everywhere with them. In 1999, the WWF hired Lillian Garcia to ring announce. Garcia had an afternoon radio show in South Carolina and had an extensive singing background.

PART 3: BEHIND THE SCENES JOBS

Television Production: Getting a job in the Television Production side of professional wrestling takes a lot of experience and a little luck. In the WWE’s case, they employ an entire television production department, based out of a large studio facility in Stamford, Connecticut. These same employees travel with them on the road to television tapings and Pay-Per-Views. When the WWE is looking to hire an employee for their Television Production department, they typically put out an ad in trade journals or their corporate website. Outside of production assistants, which are usually entry-level jobs, you will need to have extensive experience in other television and entertainment avenues if you hope to get the job.

The majority of producers who succeeded at WWE started out as production assistants straight out of college or climbed their way up through an internship. If you are attending college and focused on a broadcasting/television major, you have a shot at getting an internship. It might eventually lead to a full-time position. However, just like every other production assistant job, you will do a lot of the grunt work.

In WCW’s case, they kept a small number of dedicated Television Production employees on staff but also relied on outside contractors to fill certain jobs for live events and television tapings. For example, the directors and producers were WCW employees, but those who ran audio, lighting, satellite trucks and so on were local contractors.

Many of them also had other jobs within the Turner Entertainment properties – meaning they might work basketball or football games one week and then wrestling the next. WCW might employee one crew in Florida while using another in California. It saved on overall costs, but resulted in a lack of conformity every week. While the WWE’s production crew were under one umbrella and knew the specifics of their job week in and out, WCW’s crew was a mixed bag of people from different jobs and backgrounds.

Longtime wrestling director Keith Mitchell, who has run television production for World Class Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and now TNA Wrestling, explains how he first broke in to wrestling:

Keith Mitchell: “I was working for a television station in the early 1980s and the manager thought it was a good idea to start broadcasting wrestling. He got to talking with Fritz Von Erich, who ran World Class Championship Wrestling in Dallas and I was part of the crew that worked on the shows for the station. I started out with Fritz running the cameras and field production such as producing packages and features with the wrestlers.

At the time I was also doing other sports from the Southwest Conference such as baseball and football. I was also doing some work for ESPN including rodeo broadcasts. I guess the thing that really caught Fritz’s eye was a package I did on Kerry Von Erich called “Eye Of The Tiger” that really put Kerry over as a huge star. Fritz started using me more – one day I might run the cameras, the next day I would be the floor manager and I might be on location producing a commercial or package for the show the day after. There were other producers working with Fritz but for some reason none of them ever clicked with him. Fritz gave me the shot at producing the show around 1982. The first big show I produced was the big Texas Stadium event in 1984 where Kerry Von Erich beat Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Title.”

Television Producers:

The following advice is from two individuals who worked with both the WWE and TNA, David Sahadi and Simon Edwards. Sahadi was one of the top creative television geniuses at the WWE and brought his knowledge to TNA in 2005. Edwards was an Associate Producer at WWE, helping create the “SmackDown” program each week before joining TNA as a Producer in 2006.

David Sahadi: “College, schooling, a communications major? Yeah, whatever. As far as I am concerned, they matter very little in the "real" world of television or entertainment industry. The biggest thing is this: experience.

And to get experience, you must think small. Roll up your sleeves, check your ego at the door, and just jump in. You will say "Hello Bottom, this is Rock." But if you have true desire and ambition, you can eventually ascend to the top of the business.

I began my career as a "gopher" at NBC Sports in the fall of 1983. My dad, a successful sports writer, pulled a few strings with a few friends at the network and that was my proverbial foot in the door.

I started out working one day a week (Sundays) logging football games for "NFL Live", the network's pre, halftime and post-game show. Basically, you sit in a room with an technician who is recording the games and you write

down the timecode of EVERY single play as it happens, as well as the results of each play. When a touchdown, turnover, sack - or other big play occurs - you write all that information on a "play sheet" which also contains the timecode and tape number. A "Highlights Coordinator" usually in charge of 3-4 games per day, then collects your sheets and decides which plays he wants to edit into highlight packages. The Highlights Producer then gives his approval, and is the man in charge of coordinating ALL the highlight packages and paperwork (info/stats) with the studio, which was 2 floors above.

Through hard work and dedication, I eventually became a Highlights Coordinator, then the man in charge, Highlights Supervisor. A year later I was still only working one day a week (and not getting paid much money at all). But the hard work got noticed, and eventually I landed a gig as an intern for the Sports On-Air Promotions Department. After six months, I was hired as a Production Assistant for the department. Four years later, when my boss left the network, I interviewed and became the Head of On-Air Promotions for NBC Sports, in charge of producing spots for all weekly programming as well as implementing promotional campaigns for the NFL, NBA, MLB and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

In 1992, I was courted by John Fillipelli, the Executive Producer of the WWF. He had previously worked as a game producer for NBC and that is how he knew me. After months of courting, and meeting Vince and getting a tour of the huge and expansive production facility in Stamford, CT, I decided to delve into unknown waters.

I knew very little about professional wrestling at the time. As a big fan of the era of Freddie Blassie, Bruno Sammartino, Ivan Putski, Superstar Billy Graham and The Iron Sheik, I lost interest during the emergence of Hulk Hogan, when I felt the business was getting a little too cartoony. But I wanted a new challenge. I was named Director, On-Air Promotions, responsible for a staff of three. We produced all the promos and graphics for WWF. During my eleven years there, my staff expanded to nine, my title changed to Creative Director, and my duties expanded to vignettes, character development, cold opens, show ideas and all promotional campaigns. While there, I introduced film, video treatments, and a cutting edge quick-cutting editing style, which they had never seen before. I wrote and produced over 5,000 promos and directed over 300 spots on film, including four spots that aired in the Super Bowl in 1999 as well as 2000.

You know the rest of my professional history from there...

Bottom line: Experience. Get your foot in the door, do anything and everything, and the rest is up to you.”

Simon Edwards: “After I graduated from school (University of Vermont), I was pretty desperate for a job. I wanted a job in TV, but I had a degree in Psychology. The only job I could get was a warehouse job at QVC. I used to take products that were going to appear on the air, pull them from the studio warehouse, and prepare them for air. My hours sucked, I worked Wed-Sat 6pm-4am, but I knew if I worked my ass off, I would end up in production. I was eventually promoted into the Full Motion Video dept. where I had the same hours, but would shoot the products for air, rather than just set them up. While I was working this job, I made a few contacts, one of which (Maureen Bonner) ended up getting a job at WWE working as a Production Assistant. We kept in touch, and when a position opened up at WWE, I jumped on it. 

I remembered watching wrestling during the Monday Night War era, so I was pretty psyched. I was also excited because the job would give me the opportunity to do a lot of video editing, which was something that I had always wanted to learn how to do. 

I started off in the international department, and worked my ass off, 80 hours a week, learning how to edit video packages. I earned all the producers' respect, with my work ethic, and creativity (mainly through my entrance video concepts) and they started putting me on bigger projects, and made me the backup Production Assistant on Raw. I eventually became the Smackdown Production Assistant, and eventually was promoted to the Smackdown Associate Producer, which was one of the top Associate Producer spots in the company. 

After 3 1/2 years working for the company, I felt it was time for me to move on. With about 20 other AP's in the mix, and too many steps to climb to become a producer, I had to do what was best for my career. I moved to LA from there where I worked as a Segment Producer for a company called Creative Differences. It was a drastic change... my hours were suddenly 9-5, and the job was mostly paper work and phone calls, which sucked. After a few months I got bored and got in touch with Dave Sahadi about working for TNA. TNA had just got the Spike deal, and they were looking for producers, so I got hired on as a producer. 

My advice for anyone looking to get into this business would be:

- Prepare to work your ass off for below-market rates

- Check your attitude at the door

- If you are a fan who really wants a job in wrestling production, I would advise against marking out in front of your potential employers. It's great that you may love the product, but to people working in the business,

producing wrestling is a job that is taken very seriously and is not a career you want to take up if your only goal is to screw around and watch wrestling.

- Make your resume reel memorable... chances are you will be required to send a reel if your trying to get into one of the larger companies. Show your potential employers that you can take a month-long storyline and edit together a :45 second package... that is one of the main things we look for... will this guy be able to jump in here and start cutting packages? Can he detect a great shot? Can he write an intriguing script for a commercial spot? There are no training seminars when you jump into this business, so we look for people who will have the self-motivation and talent to be able to adjust to his or her new surroundings.”  

Television Writer: Easily the most popular request I get each week! I wish I had a dollar for everyone who has written me about how to become a television writer or booker in professional wrestling, because I would have retired long ago.

The simple answer is this (and you probably won’t like it): You’ve probably got better odds hitting the lottery than landing a job as a television writer in wrestling.

In my case, I got extremely lucky. I was able to get my job with the WWF and work my way up from there based on my journalism background and college experience. I was able to work closely with Vince Russo, who gave me the opportunity to write television with him.

In some cases, longtime former wrestlers or personalities are considered good candidates to write television or provide input, as they’ve spent many years working in and studying the business to know what works and what doesn’t. Names such as Pat Patterson, Jim Ross, Bruce Prichard, Terry Taylor, Bill Watts, Dusty Rhodes, Kevin Sullivan, Ric Flair and Jim Cornette have all been “bookers” (or TV writers) at one time because of their extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the sport.

In recent years, Vince McMahon has employed several writers from Hollywood to book his television and pay-per-view events. For example, prior to joining Russo on the WWF creative team, Ed Ferrara was one of the head writers for several USA Network programs.

Another thing to keep in mind is that no major wrestling promotion accepts ideas submitted from fans or those looking for a job as a writer. Many of these letters are simply returned to the sender. It’s not a case of the promotion disrespecting you, but it’s done for legal purposes. There have been a handful of instances where fans have threatened to sue promotions because they felt their ideas were stolen. So if you’re wondering why your letters filled with ideas keep getting sent back to you, now you know why.

So, long story short, your odds of getting a television writing job off the street is near impossible. You’ve got to work your way up through the sport and gain experience and respect before you will even be considered for such a role.

Agents: From time to time, you will hear the term “agent” when watching a wrestling broadcast, but very few probably know what it means. For example, during a brawl you might see several longtime or retired wrestlers called “agents” trying to separate the fighters. But beyond making rare cameos, agents are vitally important behind the scenes.

When the average fan hears the word “agent”, they might think of a sports agent, or someone who represents a client during contract negotiations. In wrestling, the term “agent” has a different meaning entirely.

Agents are responsible for making sure every facet of a match is taken care of before it ever enters a ring. In the simplest of explanations, they are a liaison between the wrestlers and management. The day of a wrestling event, each agent is given one or several matches to oversee. They are charged with working closely with the wrestlers involved to make sure the match is put together correctly and it comes across on television the way management and the writers want it to be.

Because agents are so vital and are sometimes forced to be negotiators and even babysitters, it’s important that they are respected by the wrestlers and management. Many longtime wrestlers often aspire to become agents after they have retired to not only pass on their knowledge to the younger generation, but to continue their career in the sport outside of the ring.

Examples of wrestlers who have gone on to be agents behind the scenes are Pat Patterson (considered one of the best agents ever), Blackjack (Jack) Lanza, Gerald Brisco, Ricky Steamboat, Jerry Lynn, Scott D’Amore, Shane Douglas, Tony Garea, Michael Hayes and Fit Finley.

Becoming an agent takes many years of competing in the ring and earning the respect of your peers. There has never been a case in either major promotion where a new employee was given a job as an agent. It simply doesn’t happen in the sport.

Photographers: Many of the photographers you see ringside are often hired by wrestling magazines (both U.S. and Japanese) to cover the events. They are paid by the magazine to travel to each event and shoot the matches for photos for particular articles.

The WWE has their own staff of photographers that cover each show as well. In the case of TNA, our photographer Lee South actually started out as the

webmaster of our website in 2003. At the same time, the company didn’t yet have a dedicated full-time photographer, so South decided to give it a try. He quickly developed a passion for photography and a great eye for what to shoot. Today, South is considered to be perhaps the best photographer in the wrestling business.

I’ve dealt with several independent photographers over the years who think shooting wrestling can’t be much harder than any other sporting event. They learn quickly it’s not as easy as it sounds when they have to avoid being constantly trampled by wrestlers. Plus, they realize capturing good wrestling photos is all about timing.

Anyone can shoot someone applying a headlock. However, few can capture the moment of impact on a high-risk move and make it look good. Wrestling photographers need to develop a sixth sense about what move may or may not be coming next and set up in the proper angle for it.

If you’re interested in pursing ringside photography for wrestling, I suggest you hone your skills by first volunteering to photograph independent shows. Once you’ve got your timing down and have a decent portfolio together, send it to the head of the publications, creative arts or marketing department of the organization you want a job with, as those are the people that deal directly with the most photography needs.

I would also recommend sending your resume to some of the top wrestling magazines, as you’re more likely to land contracted jobs with them covering events in your area. If you can work yourself up as a regular photographer for the magazine, you may get to travel and shoot some of the bigger wrestling events.

Security: Generally made up of local independent wrestlers based on where the promotion might be holding an event that night. They are rarely paid, but it’s a chance to hopefully get noticed by someone and meet some people backstage.

PART 4: OFFICE JOBS

Every major promotion has an office staffed by employees with many job roles. In the WWE’s case they employee upwards of 75 office personnel, not including their television production staff. In WCW’s case, they had around 40 office staff. In TNA’s case, it’s around 25.

Merchandising: Every major promotion has its own merchandising department, which is responsible for fulfilling orders and distribution of merchandise on the company’s website or at live events.

Creative Arts: Responsible for creating graphics, posters and marketing materials. You must be proficient with programs such as Photoshop,

QuarkXPress and the latest graphic software. Projects the creative arts department typically handles are as follows:PostersT-ShirtsWebsite graphicsMagazine and marketing materials / adsGraphics for use on television and at live eventsPay-Per-View logos

Home Video (DVD): Includes production and distribution of DVDs. You must be proficient in programs such as AfterEffects, DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Pro and DVD Architect. Job roles include creating the DVD projects, consulting with creative services to develop artwork and graphics as well as working in conjunction with the promotion’s DVD distribution company to increase visibility and sales and develop marketing campaigns.

Affiliate Relations: Includes working directly with Television and Pay-Per-View providers to increase visibility for the promotion. This includes meetings, providing marketing materials, creating sweepstakes and special offers, scheduling replay times, negotiating deals/contracts with each individual provider and much more. Basically, those who work in Affiliate Relations are the liaison between the promotion and their TV and PPV outlets.

New Media (Website): The way I got in! When I was helping to manage the WWF website, everyone on our staff was a jack-of-all trades when it came to websites. You had to be able to write columns and news features, know photo and video software programs and design web pages.

Live Events Coordination: House shows, television tapings and Pay-Per-Views don’t just happen by themselves. Each promotion has a staff of several employees who work hand-in-hand with arenas and other venues to set up live events. This includes handling ticket information, filing the necessary paperwork for licenses to hold the event, promotions, arena configuration, staffing for the event and so much more.

Legal Consultation: Each promotion also has a legal department, responsible for filing trademarks, overseeing and finalizing contracts (both with wrestlers and outside clients or companies) as well as negotiating and settling legal disputes.

Travel Services: Every major promotion has someone who handles the travel needs of both the office staff and wrestlers. Most – if not all – are registered travel agents and have prior experience in the field.

Publications: While TNA does not yet have a publications department, the WWE does. Job roles include staff reporters (typically a part-time position), magazine layout staff (responsible for creating the individual pages with QuarkXpress),

copy editors and publishing supervisors, who work directly with the magazine distribution company, much like affiliate relations.

CHAPTER 3 – RANDOM WRESTLING STORIES

A TYPICAL DAY BEHIND THE SCENES AT A WRESTLING EVENT:

In 1998, I wrote an article for RAW Magazine that Russo and I considered somewhat groundbreaking at the time for a wrestling publication – a look behind the curtain during a day at a typical Monday Night RAW. From the time I arrived at the arena until I got back to my hotel room after the event, I took notes on everything I saw that day from the backstage area and inside the television truck. It even surprised me how much goes on before, during and after a televised wrestling event.

The first people to arrive at the arena are usually the road crew, who come the day before in trucks packed with rigging, lighting, props, the wrestling ring and dozens of other production cases filled with wiring and equipment. Each promotion has a handful of regular road-crew members that travel from city to city, with local hands brought in the day of the show to assist them with the setup of the arena. The satellite and television production trucks also arrive the night before, as do the staff and wrestlers.

The next morning, the road crew begins unloading the trucks. Hundreds of yards of television cable cover the arena. Rooms backstage are selected for certain purposes and signs are taped on them – an office for top management, a “communication” room containing printers, computers and fax machines, meeting rooms, a photography area, rooms for interviews and pretapes, locker rooms, announcers room, etc.

At around 10am, the staff, writers, agents, directors and producers arrive for the production meeting, where the event format is gone over in detail. This can typically take over an hour. Following the meeting, the production employees begin to set up the television trucks and establish schedules for interviews, pretapes and live shots for the day. The agents, writers and top management usually have a second meeting to discuss the individual matches in more detail.

The television truck is the lifeblood of the broadcast and is typically portioned off into tiny rooms for audio (entrance music, arena audio, etc), videotape (replays, rolling footage into the show, recording of the show, etc), as well as the main area where the director and producers sit. This room is the biggest, filled with television monitors that feed the video from each individual cameraman. The television production employees who run the trucks will spend the rest of the day testing and retesting equipment before the event begins.

At noon, the wrestlers begin to arrive at the arena. By this time, catering has been set up and the staff and wrestlers get a quick bite before getting to work. During lunch, producers and agents will usually inform the wrestlers what they are scheduled for that night. From lunch until their match goes on, agents will typically work with the wrestlers throughout the day.

At around 1pm, producers and cameramen begin pre-tapes with wrestlers. In one room, you may have a wrestler doing an interview about his match that night. In another room, wrestlers might have their pictures taken for various marketing materials. In yet another, wrestlers might be shot against green screens for match-up graphics for that night.

Wrestlers who don’t have pretapes usually hit the ring after lunch to practice or stretch. Others listen to music, watch movies, play video games or take a nap. Following pretapes, the director typically has a meeting with the cameramen and lighting and pyrotechnic crews to go over the format for that night.

Interviews, meetings and arena and television truck setup continue throughout the afternoon. At around 6pm, the thousands of fans gathered outside are let in the building. From this point until the start of the event is what can only be described as the “eye of the storm” – a relative short period of calmness backstage before the action unfolds. Agent and management go over final details of matches and any changes, the wrestlers don their gear and tape up and producers make their final preparations for various live shots scheduled during the broadcast.

When the broadcast begins, the television truck kicks into high gear. Over headsets, directors are in constant communication with lighting, cameramen and backstage producers. The amount of chatter can be mind-boggling. While some wrestlers compete in the ring, other wrestlers are hustled from location to location backstage for live shots.

Behind the entrance ramp sit a series of tables with television monitors and headsets where management and agents watch the matches. This is known as the “Go” or “Gorilla” position. They are in constant contact with the announcers and the television truck. In the locker rooms, wrestlers gather around monitors to watch the action in the ring. Listening to wrestlers dissect each other’s matches can sometimes be more entertaining that what’s going on in the ring.

After each match, the agents have a brief meeting with the wrestlers to go over the pros and cons of the bout. If medical attention is necessary, wrestlers are immediately treated for cuts or injuries. If a wrestler doesn’t have any interviews or live shots scheduled after their match, they hit the showers and take in the rest of the broadcast. Everyone is expected to stay until the last match has left the ring, both for learning purposes and out of respect to the competitors.

When the broadcast is over, the wrestlers pack their bags and head back to the hotel. Members of management and television production briefly meet to discuss any problems or situations that may have occurred that night. Other production employees “break down” the TV truck and arena, which includes finalizing tapes from the show, dismantling the ring and interviews sets, taking down the lighting, repacking equipment and more. The day may be over for the staff and wrestlers, but the road crew will work well into the night cleaning up the arena and backstage area and reloading the trucks. All this for a two-hour show!

A DAY INSIDE A BOOKING MEETING:

When you have a weekly show on television, you are constantly planning and strategizing what comes next. The booking for each week’s RAW happened immediately after we flew back to Connecticut from the previous RAW. On Tuesday morning, Ed Ferrara and I would drive to Vince Russo’s house in Trumbull, Connecticut, to plan out the following show. Being the “rookie”, my job was to be there at nine o’clock sharp with ideas in my hand – along with coffee. If I didn’t bring the coffee I wouldn’t hear the end of it

I always preferred the smaller bookings teams, which we had with Russo and Ferrara. They were always on the same page and disagreements were far and few between. In larger booking crews, sometimes too many chefs can ruin the recipe and makes for a long, time consuming and draining day – which we had many of with the WCW creative team.

Russo, Ferrara and I would gather in Russo’s living room. The television was always set to SportsCenter or Seinfeld, two of Russo’s favorite shows. Along with his coffee, Russo always had a giant bag of pistachios by his side.

Russo had a set system for booking the shows, as he would always start with the main storyline and what the main event needed to be based on what happened the week before. Once those two items were established, the rest of the show, elements and matches all fell into place.

Another aspect of booking that Russo excelled at was finding some way, any way, for every talent to be involved in the show. During WWF’s peak ratings period in 1999, each and every one of the talent on the roster was involved in some kind of storyline.

By the end of the first day, we usually had the basic elements for the show. Once we had a rough show in place, we would call it a day. For the rest of the week, Russo and Ferrara would meet with Vince McMahon to go over the shows at his house in Greenwich, Connecticut. According to Russo and Ferrara, the days with McMahon were always long and tedious. They would arrive at nine o’clock sharp and might stay until midnight.

When it came to evaluating each show, McMahon was a machine. It wasn’t uncommon for Russo and Ferrara to have to drive back to McMahon’s house after they left to go over something else or spend long hours on the phone discussing details of a particular angle. McMahon seemingly never slept and always wanted to talk about the next show. Even on the flight to the TV tapings, McMahon would always want Russo and Ferrara sitting nearby to go over the show. In other words, once Russo become the head writer for the WWF, he was at McMahon’s beckoning call 24-7, 365 days a year.

I’ve always been very appreciative of Russo for never subjecting me to that side of the booking with McMahon. To the average person reading this whose dream is to be the head booker for WWF, the reality is that you give up your life to Vince McMahon. There is no free time or personal time. You live to serve the master.

Russo’s home and family life began to suffer. When Russo went to McMahon to explain he was nearing burnout and needed to spend time with his family, McMahon told him to hire a nanny instead. That is the reality of working for Vince McMahon.

One example of that will always stay with me: One week, Russo was the sickest I had ever seen someone. He was suffering from the flu and could barely get out of bed, let alone drive to the airport to catch his flight. But he knew not going to television wasn’t an option with McMahon. Russo was sick throughout the flight, sick at the hotel (spending the entire time shaking in his hotel room bathtub) and sick at the arena. I honestly don’t know how he made it through the trip.

That night as we were checking into the hotel, Russo was so exhausted that he put his head down on the front desk. In came McMahon, who walked up to Russo, slapped him on the back and said jokingly “So, did I get everything out of you today?”

That was always McMahon’s running joke with Russo, but it was starting to get to him, especially on that night. Those were the days when I first started to see the pressure getting to Russo. Not even he could outwork Vince McMahon – nobody can.

The booking meetings for WCW were among the most entertaining – and draining – days in my time in the wrestling business.

The WCW booking meetings (while Russo was still in charge) usually consisted of Russo, Ferrara and myself, with Terry Taylor, Jeremy Borash and Glenn “Disco Inferno” Gilberti later joining. The creative team was larger than ours at the WWF because that’s the way WCW management wanted it.

Our regular booking meetings were held at a local DoubleTree Hotel conference room in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a nice, cozy atmosphere, but we sometimes

wore on each other. For example, I thought there were times Terry Taylor would pick up his laptop and beat Gilberti to death with it.

Glenn Gilberti was one of the most entertaining people I’ve ever worked with in wrestling. He was never in a bad mood and it was near impossible to get him angry. Part of the reason Russo wanted him in the booking meetings was to provide comic relief. Whenever we all felt brain-dead with nothing left in the tank, Gilberti would always get us laughing in some way.

Gilberti was also the master of pitching absolutely horrible ideas – most of which he was never serious about in the first place. For example, I think he spent an entire month masterminding his ultimate bad angle – the invasion of martians in WCW, which began with Mike Tenay being revealed as an alien on a live Nitro broadcast. I won’t even go into his idea for the WCW debut of the Invisible Man. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to work with Glenn in recent years, I still wish he had a place in the business – he belongs in wrestling and can still contribute to it in many positive ways.

The WCW bookings meetings would usually take two to three days, depending on how much we accomplished and what particular talent problems we had to overcome that week.

In the WWF, there were few - if any - roadblocks to overcome when we booked the shows. Remember, Vince McMahon ran a tight ship and the talent did as they were told. If they didn’t like it, they could find employment elsewhere.

In WCW, it was an entirely different ballgame. Upper management might not like particular aspects of the show, wrestlers might balk at doing something or find creative ways to get out of it and even Standards & Practices would have their say. For those of you who may not know, Standards & Practices were a division established by Turner Entertainment to review content of their shows and take out anything they might find offensive (more on them later). So as you can imagine, we had many more hurdles to go over to write a show in WCW than in the WWF.

After we broke from the WCW creative meetings, Russo would type up the format for Nitro while Ferrara would handle Thunder. From there, I would get copies of the written formats. At that point, my job was to break down the show into scripts for each individual talent.

Each star would have their own script that I would pass out to them at the arena. It would have the details of their matches and interviews and which segment each would air. It was also my job to write out the promos and interviews for each talent. Some I would only provide bullet points for, while for others I would type up a entire generic interview that they were free to put into their own words. It all

depended on the star and their particular strengths and weaknesses with interviews.

After Nitro and Thunder were finished and we flew back to Atlanta, the creative process would start all over again.

STANDARDS AND PRACTICES

When I arrived in WCW in 1999, I was introduced to the world of Standards & Practices. In the world of Turner Entertainment, the S&P people had a lot of power. Their role was to see that nothing offensive made it onto the network. I’d imagine since the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” their rules have become more stringent.

Each week, S&P would always find something objectionable in our shows, forcing changes the day of the event. Other times it would be altering the contents of a pretape or an interview. For example, during one particular pretape for Nitro, Roddy Piper arrived in a limo and was met outside by Rhonda Singh. Piper made a remark about her being “fat” before he walked past.

However, S&P would not let the pretape air on television, claiming it would offend “fat people”. So, we had to redo the shot and take out any reference to Rhonda’s weight.

It was always a “cat and mouse” game with S&P, as I found out my first night in WCW at a Nitro in Philadelphia

One of the pretapes called for Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to leave their locker room holding beers, with the idea being they were too inebriated to compete that night. Hall and Nash were playing off the perception on the internet that they were party animals who didn’t take their jobs seriously.

After reviewing the script, one of the heads of S&P called us at the arena on speakerphone and told us they would not allow Nash and Hall to carry alcohol, which they claimed would promote underage drinking (never mind the fact it was airing at 10PM at night). Russo, Ferrara, Nash and I were in the room for the call. I saw Russo look at Nash and smile, then he said…

“Well, the idea we’re trying to get across here is that Nash and Hall are in no condition to wrestle tonight, so what if they are holding bottles of cough syrup?”

“Come again?” the S&P head said.

“Well, instead of the alcohol, maybe they have really bad colds and have the cough medicine as proof that they’re in no condition to wrestle?”

S&P agreed to the change, not realizing that hardcore alcoholics resort to cough medicine when they can’t get alcohol. So, Nash and Hall did the entire routine with cough syrup. The fans “got it” and it was actually a lot funnier.

At times, S&P’s decisions could cause huge problems during a live show. For example, on one Nitro broadcast Bill Goldberg promised to hunt down Russo and get revenge on him. The shot called for Goldberg to find Russo at the arena and chain him to the back of his truck and drag him down the road to a pit he had dug with a shovel.

All of the shots in the arena would be live as it happened, with the final shot to be pretaped during the show. In other words, while the show was going on in the arena, the final scene was taped down the road, with the Television Production truck waiting for delivery of the tape to air a half hour later as the “out shot” for the program, ie, the last thing viewers saw.

After Russo and Goldberg returned to the arena, the tape was delivered to the truck and Russo went back to going working backstage with the wrestlers. A few minutes later, with 15 minutes left to go in the live show, Russo was called out to the television truck. The S&P person who reviewed the tape said they would not allow us to show Goldberg dragging Russo with his truck, as a black man in Texas had been murdered two months prior when he was dragged to his death by a truck in a racial incident.

Needless to say, Russo was livid. There was no time to redo the shot. So what ended up airing was Goldberg finding Russo at the arena, saying he was going to make him pay, followed by a shot of Russo being thrown in the hole with no explanation of where they were or how they got there. The scenes with the truck were completely cut out.

The big problem I had with the way S&P operated is that they never provided anyone any kind of guidelines or parameters. Whether or not content was objectionable was entirely up to the S&P rep’s own personal tastes. In the big picture, it was just another way we were handcuffed in WCW and led to a lot of things not making sense to viewers.

GOING BACK TO THE ROOF WITH FOLEY:

It was the video that introduced millions of youngsters to backyard wrestling – the grainy film of Mick Foley jumping off a roof. The video became one of the most popular pieces of footage ever played on WWF and helped catapult Foley’s career to the top as a hardcore legend.

In 1998, I pitched Russo an idea for RAW Magazine – I wanted to travel back to the house with Foley and recreate the scene all those years later. I wanted to

bring Foley back to where it all started that day in Long Island and document it for the magazine. Russo loved it and made a call to Foley to set it up.

The day of the shoot I picked up Foley at his childhood home in Long Island, where he often stayed if it was within driving distance of an event. Along for the ride with me were a photographer and producer to film it. For the first half hour, we drove Foley around town while he pointed out childhood landmarks and shared memories before giving us the directions to “the house”. Here’s the thing – Foley wasn’t sure who lived there anymore, so we weren’t sure what to expect. It once belonged to his friend in the video, but they had long since moved.

We arrived at the house and Foley gave us a brief tour of the backyard where he and his friends used to wrestle. No one was home and the place looked abandoned. It never dawned on us as to how we were going to get Foley back up on the roof, but we did manage to find an old wooden ladder in the garage, which I was sure would collapse if Mick tried to climb it. Surprisingly, it held and the star was back up on the roof posing for pictures. The only thing Mick didn’t recreate was the leap (obviously).

As Mick was climbing down the ladder, we heard a car pull into the driveway. Out steps this little old lady to find a camera crew and some guy climbing down from her roof. Foley tried to explain who he was and what we were doing, but it didn’t register. She wasn’t a wrestling fan and told us to “Get out of here or I’m calling the police!”. We all jumped back in the car and took off.

The photos appeared in the next issue of WWF Magazine, with the footage featured on a subsequent Monday Night RAW as well. To this day I wonder if that little old lady ever found out what was going on.

THE FINAL DAYS OF WCW

The dying days of World Championship Wrestling were the most miserable months of my career in this business.

In a nutshell, you didn’t know what to expect every week when you showed up to the Nitro and Thunder tapings. Despite Time Warner/AOL’s best attempts to deny the company was for sale, everyone in WCW knew it was the case. In fact Eric Bischoff, who was pseudo running the company in the final days along with Brad Siegel, told friends he was in the process of making a bid on the company with his financial backers Fusient Media. However, what few knew at the time was that Time Warner/AOL was also in negotiations with Vince McMahon to purchase the company.

Regardless, with the future of company in doubt, WCW took a bad downward spiral in the final months. The locker room clashed with management and each

other, fights broke out, house show attendance was down heavily and ratings were plummeting.

In the months prior to WCW’s closing, I had been working on and off with Bischoff, Johnny Ace and Ed Ferrara as part of the television writing team. Two weeks or so prior to the March 2001 Nitro from Panama, City, Florida, the company was informed that it would be the final WCW broadcast. There was never an “official” reason given, but most assumed the company would go “dark” for a few months before opening again under the leadership of Bischoff and Fusient Media. I was never really all that friendly with Bischoff, so I never spoke to him about it. Knowing I was a “Russo guy”, I don’t think Bischoff trusted me – or liked me - but we were still cordial nonetheless and never had a problem working together in our brief time. He buried me in his book, but I wasn’t surprised.

I wish I could remember what we had originally written for the last Nitro in Panama City. What viewers saw that night was far different than what was originally booked for that day – and what a day it turned out to be.

A few days before the final show in Panama City, I got a call from Ed Ferrara who informed me that Vince McMahon had purchased WCW and that Bischoff and his group were out of the picture. In fact, Bischoff wouldn’t be coming to Panama City for the final Nitro.

We arrived in Panama City with the original script, not knowing what to expect. Then night before the show, Ferrara and Johnny Ace were informed that Shane McMahon, Bruce Prichard and Gerald Brisco from WWF management would be coming to the show and that they wanted a copy of the final Nitro format faxed to them. This only meant one thing – the final Nitro would be booked by the WWF.

That morning in Panama City, we held our usual morning production meeting – but it was very short as we honestly couldn’t tell anyone for sure what was going to be on the show that night. An hour or so later, the WWF contingent arrived with their own version of the show – featuring a simulcast between RAW and Nitro. I think the only matches the WWF stuck with that we originally booked were the Ric Flair vs. Sting main event and Chavo Guerrero vs. Shane Helms. The rest of the show from top to bottom was rewritten and changed, including matches, live shots and pretapes.

That day was truly a surreal moment – it was a mix of every emotion. Wrestlers and staff were unsure of their futures. Who would go to WWF and who would be without a job? Everyone was saying goodbye to each other. A lot of people backstage cried that night when Nitro went off the air.

I have a lot of memories from that final Nitro, including watching Sting vs. Ric Flair from behind the curtain and signing off the final WCW Live internet

broadcast with Jeremy Borash and Bob Ryder. The next day, we all flew back to Atlanta, Georgia, not knowing what our future held.

Three days later on March 28, 2001 at the WCW Headquarters in Smyrna, Georgia, Time Warner/AOL representatives called a mandatory meeting for all staff. It was held inside the Power Plant. At the meeting, Turner Entertainment Vice President Of Human Resources Loretta Walker informed the staff that Vince McMahon had purchased World Championship Wrestling and that a “transition” period would be taking place. Information was passed around explaining how to apply for a job with the WWF. That was the corporate way of saying the offices were being closed and it was time to look for a job elsewhere.

We were also informed that this would be our final day at the WCW Headquarters – we would be allowed an hour to return to our offices to retrieve personal items. We were not allowed access to company computers. At the time, I was nearing completion of a novel I had been working for over a year on my WCW laptop, but I wasn’t allowed access to save it to disk. It was lost forever. I learned the hard way to always back up your work!

One hour later, security went office to office to escort employees to the front door. Bags and boxes were searched for anything that wasn’t a personal item. If it belonged to WCW, it was taken away. Once you exited the building, you weren’t allowed back in. On the way out, you gave your name to a Time Warner/AOL official, who in turn handed you a letter stating the details of your severance package.

That was the final day of WCW. One week later I was already back home in Connecticut.

TERRY TAYLOR – THE SELF-TAUGHT MAN:

“I never went to a wrestling school. When I was in college a friend of mine was a former defensive lineman and he knew I was a wrestling fan. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life but he wanted to get into wrestling and asked me to show him everything I knew. So we went to the YMCA and I showed him what I thought I knew. He got a job in wrestling after that.

He was wrestling in West Palm Beach, Florida, and I was there and he asked me to come to the TV tapings. While I was there, Eddie Graham comes up to me and says ‘So, do you have your gear, kid?’ I was getting ready to say no and my friend was behind him motioning me to say yes instead, so I did. I borrowed some boots and tights and had my first match 20 minutes later. I never got the chance to train. I had no idea what I was really doing. I learned in the ring in front of the people on television.”

SHANE DOUGLAS ON “KAYFABE”:

“Dominic DeNucci was very old school and protective of the business. One night, Mick Foley and I were in Ohio, scheduled for a match against each other, and we were downstairs in the dressing room talking when someone yelled “kayfabe!” at us. Dominic had never taught us what “kayfabe” meant. I thought someone was yelling for a woman named Kay, as silly as that sounded.

So Mick and I kept talking. In the room were the Wild Samoans, Bruno Sammartino, Johnny Valentine – a lot of the old timers who were still in the business after their glory years trying to make money. Dominic finally came over and smacked us as hard as he could and pulled us by our ears into the shower area and started cussing us out for not respecting kayfabe. I asked him who Kay was, and he went to smack me again but I covered up and kept asking who Kay was.

That’s when he finally taught us what kayfabe meant, after being in the business for six months. Mick and I were opponents that night and shouldn’t have been seen talking, so we had no idea what was going on when someone yelled kayfabe at us. You hear a story like that today and it sounds silly, but these kids today are smart breaking in and think they know everything. It was a far different world back then.”

HOW DWAYNE JOHNSON BECAME THE ROCK:

In July of 1996, I remember hearing from someone at the WWF offices that we had signed the son of Rocky Johnson (a longtime 80s WWF wrestler) to a developmental contract. That same month, I remember sitting in the WWF cafeteria having lunch with Vince Russo and Jim Monsees when Tom Prichard (then WWF trainer) walked in with two new prospects – one being Dwayne Johnson, the other being a former Canadian Football League linesman whose names escapes me. Prichard introduced them and explained both of their backgrounds, with Johnson the son of Rocky Johnson and a recent football standout for the University of Miami. After the brief introduction, Prichard sent them both on their way out of the cafeteria.

Before leaving himself, Prichard returned to our table and said bluntly “Now, I don’t think I need to tell you this, but one of those guys is going to be a star and the other isn’t.”

Russo’s response? “You ain’t kidding”.

I think everyone who met Dwayne Johnson for the first time knew he was going to be a star. He was tall, in great shape and had a tremendous personality. In addition, he grew up around the wrestling business because of his father, so he was a quick learner and had a respect for the sport.

In fact, WWF officials were so high on Johnson that he was on television as Rocky Maivia only a few months later. WWF officials at the time tried to push him as the big babyface, but with the NWO the coolest thing in wrestling at the time, babyfaces like Rocky Maivia got booed mercilessly. By late 1997, Rocky Maivia became The Rock and later, one of the greatest wrestling stars ever to compete in the ring.

Interesting side story – after Rocky Maivia made his first appearance on WWF television, I was given the project by Vince Russo to interview the newcomer for his first feature article in the WWF Magazine. The article introduced fans to Johnson and explained his real-life background as well as the reason he was competing as “Rocky Maivia” as a tribute to his grandfather, another former WWWF wrestler named Peter Maivia.

The article was published two months later and it was one I was especially proud of. I even got a call from The Rock to tell me he was very appreciative of the story. However, to my surprise, he informed me I spelled his first name wrong throughout the article – the correct spelling was Dwayne. I called him “Duane”. It was the dumbest thing I had ever done as a writer and it’s the reason why I now double-check names for everything I do. So, in The Rock’s first big WWF Magazine article, yours truly spelled his name wrong. Doh!

SO WHO REALLY RAN OVER STEVE AUSTIN?:There were certainly an abundance of crazy ideas that were hatched during my time in WCW. At one point, Vince Russo and Bill Busch considered offering OJ Simpson one million dollars to take a polygraph exam live on Nitro, but Turner management nixed it. My all-time personal favorite idea from WCW that was discussed, but never came to be, would be a first in wrestling history – finishing another company’s angle.

Shortly after I went to WCW, the WWF had a major storyline going where Steve Austin had been hit by a car, but the identity of the driver remained a secret. They kept the mystery going for several months before they concluded it. At the same time, Steve Austin was dating Debra.

We had discussed announcing on a live Nitro during the highpoint of the “Who Hit Austin?” angle that we would reveal the driver’s identity the following week. Seven days later, we would air a sitdown interview with Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Debra’s former husband, who would take credit for hitting Austin. There was a lot more detail involved, but that’s the short of it.

The idea never progressed because no one could find or get ahold of McMichael, who basically disappeared from wrestling entirely.

THE RISE OF GOLDBERG:

“When I was writing the television for WCW, Eric Bischoff asked me one day how Bill Goldberg’s training was coming along,” Terry Taylor told me. “I never heard the name before. Who was Bill Goldberg? Eric had hired him four months earlier and was paying him, but no one knew Eric had hired him. Goldberg was sitting at home waiting for someone to call him. So finally I called Goldberg and had him come in and had Sarge train him at the Power Plant. I think everyone knew right from the start that Bill had an intensity and a look that just made you go “wow”. He had star written all over him from the beginning – it was just a matter of getting him the in-ring experience. He didn’t know a lot but we protected him in the ring. We all knew it was only a matter of time before the people got with him and they did after only a few weeks.”

THE BIRTH OF THE AUSTIN ERA:

Prior to getting into the business, I remember watching “Stunning” Steve Austin wrestle for WCW in the early 1990s. Along with Brian Pillman, the “Hollywood Blondes” were a promising tag team for World Championship Wrestling. After a fallout with Eric Bischoff, Austin was let go from WCW and competed briefly for ECW before he was hired by the WWF. Austin’s first moniker with the WWF was “The Ringmaster”, managed by Ted DiBiase. The character was a wrestling technician who only spoke in a monotone voice – something Vince McMahon was big on for some reason.

After DiBiase left the WWF, Austin pursued a singles career with the new nickname of “Stone Cold”. He was a talented performer, but he wasn’t involved in any of the top storylines or matches at the time. The first time I met Austin, I was running a live AOL chat from backstage at Madison Square Garden in 1996. During the event, the wrestlers were brought in after their matches to take questions from fans in the chat room. During the chat, Austin told fans he wanted a bigger opportunity in the WWF – it was just a matter of him getting it. Little did Austin or anyone know that night at MSG would lead to his opportunity.

That was the same night that the infamous “”Kliq” incident took place – one of the most controversial moments in WWF history. A week or so before the MSG event, the WWF announced that Kevin Nash and Scott Hall had signed with rival WCW, and the Garden event would be their final matches. Behind-the-scenes in WWF, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Triple H and Shawn Michaels were all close friends. The rest of the locker room regarded them as a clique – with the four ultimately referring to themselves as “The Kliq”. The Madison Square Garden event would be their final show together before Hall and Nash went to WCW while Hunter and Michaels stayed with the WWF.

Earlier in the night, Triple H (then Hunter Hearst Helmsley) defeated Razor Ramon (Hall). In the main event, Shawn Michaels defeated Diesel (Nash) inside a steel cage. It was after the main event that “The Kliq” broke an unwritten

cardinal rule in wrestling by going outside of the storylines. Shawn helped Nash to his feet and the two hugged and posed for fans. A few moments later they were joined by Hall and Hunter. “The Kliq” was giving a curtain call to the fans without management’s permission.

The fans loved it – but the reaction backstage was far different. I remember hearing Jim Cornette yelling from another room, obviously irate that no one was stopping them. I saw Vince and Shane McMahon watching from behind the entrance curtain. I think Shane wanted to go out and stop it himself but Vince kept a cool head about it.

There had to be repercussions from the incident, but Hall and Nash were gone and Michaels was one of the top stars in the company. So, the punishment was handed out to Triple H, who for the next several months was relegated to losing every match.

The reason I write all this is for one reason – prior to the “Kliq” incident, Triple H was slated to win the upcoming King of the Ring Pay-Per-View tournament, considering a stepping-stone to a top spot in the WWF. However, those plans were scrapped. As a result, Steve Austin was picked instead to win the tournament that June. Austin finally had his opportunity and he certainly made the most of it.

After beating Jake Roberts in the finals, Austin was interviewed by Dok Hendrix on the live Pay-Per-View, an interview that officially marked the birth of “Austin 3:16” in professional wrestling.

“Jake Roberts – you can thump your bible all you want, but Austin 3:16 says I just kicked your ass!”

The “Stone Cold” phenomenon snowballed from there. At SummerSlam two months later in Cleveland, Ohio, Austin was scheduled to face Yokozuna on the preshow for the Pay-Per-View. I was standing out in the audience with Vince Russo watching fans fill the arena and we both noticed many of them brought “Austin 3:16” posters. I remember Russo turning to me and saying “You see that? He’s about to become the biggest thing in this business.” The rest was history…

I WAS WRONG – ONCE!

I’ll be the first to admit that the first time I saw AJ Styles, I didn’t think much of him. Myself, Bob Ryder and Jeremy Borash traveled about an hour outside of Atlanta to see NWA Wildside wrestling, a new developmental territory with WCW.

I was on the WCW creative/booking team with Russo and Ferrara at the time and Borash wanted me to look at this new high-flyer he had been following. He could

certainly hang with the WCW cruiserweights, but he was certainly wasn’t my vision of a “star” at the time – ala a Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, Sting, etc.

A few months later, Styles and partner Air Paris were wrestling on WCW Saturday night and later made appearances on Nitro and Thunder under the gimmick of “Air Raid”, looking like two pilots dressed in jump suits straight off the set of “Top Gun”. In 2003 when I joined TNA and Styles was a top star for the promotion, he blamed me for the “Air Raid” gimmick, which he absolutely detested. Someone told him I came up with it, which wasn’t the case because by that time I was already off the creative team. Still, I admitted to Styles in the beginning I never thought he would make it to the top. Boy, was I wrong!

THIS IS YOUR LIFE:

One of my proudest moments in the wrestling business was coming up with the idea for the highest-rated cable segment in the history of wrestling – the 1999 “This Is Your Life” with The Rock and Mick Foley.

At the time, The Rock and Foley had combined forces as “The Rock N’ Sock Connection” tag team. The dynamic between them was that The Rock was too cool for a slob like Foley, but The Rock still had a soft spot for him. In turn, Foley did everything he could to impress The Rock and get on his good side.

When I was providing ideas to Russo and Ferrara on a weekly basis, one of the things I did was scan the TV Guide, reading up on plot summaries for upcoming movies and television shows.

One day, I came across the lineup for a “This Is Your Life” marathon of the old 1950s show. It gave me the idea to have Foley and Rock have their own. Knowing Russo was a fan of old television shows, I typed out the idea and emailed it to him – Mick would celebrate The Rock’s life by reuniting him with his former girlfriend, a grade-school teacher, his coach and some others.

Russo loved it and decided to go with it. I’ll never forget watching it from backstage while it was happening in the ring – not only were the fans loving it, but so was everyone in the back. That is, except for Vince McMahon.

The entire segment went for something like 21 minutes, which McMahon was livid about. Even though we had overtaken WCW in the ratings war, they were still competition and McMahon didn’t want to give them an inch. He thought it was too much time to devote to a “talking segment” and told Russo and Ferrara to never let it happen again. So, after watching my idea unfold in the ring, it was a letdown afterwards to see that McMahon didn’t like it. Russo and Ferrara were disappointed with Vince’s reaction as well.

The next day was the SmackDown tapings. I got a ride from Dr. Tom Prichard from the hotel to the arena and a few minutes after arriving, I saw Russo come out of McMahon’s office. “Go look at the door” he told me.

By that, he meant the production office door where the ratings from the previous night’s RAW were posted for everyone to see, broken down by each segment. Next to the “This Is Your Life” segment were the numbers 8.4, and someone had circled it with a pen and wrote “Highest Ever”.

I stood there for a few seconds letting it all sink in. When I turned around, Ferrara was behind me smiling – “Ya, nobody wants to watch those talking segments” he joked. I don’t think McMahon ever apologized or even congratulated Russo or Ferrara.

I think it was in 2004 that WWE did another version of the “This Is Your Life” segment, this time with The Rock honoring Foley. The ratings were much lower for that one…

THE BRAWL FOR ALL:

Back in 1998, Vince Russo pitched an idea to McMahon called “The Brawl For All”. It would turn out to be one of the most controversial competitions in wrestling history.

At the time, the WWF locker room was full of a lot of legit tough guys. There was always talk of which wrestler would win in a real fight, but it was just that – talk. What Russo pitched was making that a reality with the Brawl For All. It was a risky concept, but McMahon agreed.

The locker room was informed of the plans and we welcomed anyone who wanted to participate. Those who did would receive extra pay, with the ultimate winner getting a $50,000 bonus (it may have been $25,000 – I can’t remember for sure).

Each match consisted of three one-minute rounds. Whichever wrestler connected with the most punches per round scored 5 points. In addition, a takedown earned 5 points and a knockdown was worth 10. If a wrestler was knocked out, the match ended. The matches were scored by ringside judges.

The first bout in the tournament featured Marc Mero vs. Steve Blackman, and the fans in the arena didn’t know what to make of it. However, as the weeks and tournament progressed, the fans started getting behind it. By the semi-finals, the bouts probably got a bigger response from fans than anything else on the broadcasts. Bart Gunn emerged as the fan favorite after knocking out “Dr. Death” Steve Williams and The Godfather. Gunn went on to beat Justin Bradshaw (now JBL) in the finals.

While fans eventually got behind the concept, upper management decided not to hold it again the following year. The tournament also resulted in a number of injuries, including Steve Blackman, Road Warrior Hawk and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, who all missed significant ring time

Bart Gunn went on to face Butterbean in a boxing match at the following WrestleMania, but lost. Gunn was released by the WWF a short time later.

THE BLONDE BITCH PROJECT:

One of the most entertaining and creative video shoots Russo, Ferrara and I did during the end of our run in WWF never even made it on television – “The Blonde Bitch Project”. I originally came up with the idea, with Russo and Ferrara writing the script for it.

The “Blair Witch Project” had just hit theaters the week before and was quickly becoming a huge hit. I knew it was only a matter of time before everyone in Hollywood was going to do their own rip-off or imitation, which is exactly what ended up happening.

My idea was to have Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie embark on their own adventure to find the witch known as Sable in what we titled “The Blonde Bitch Project”. Russo and Ferrara went and saw the movie and were excited about doing it. It would get Stevie and Meanie over as characters and the WWF would be the first to do a spoof of the movie.

The day after Russo and Ferrara saw the movie, we had Richards and Meanie fly into Connecticut. That night, we filmed all four segments at Ferrara’s house, which had a small forest in his backyard.

It started off with Meanie telling Stevie the legend of the “Blond Bitch”, which led to the duo venturing off with sleeping bags to find her into the woods in their backyard. Stevie ended up disappearing under mysterious circumstances, with Meanie running around lost and screaming for his friend – despite the fact his house was in plain view.

In the final scene, Meanie thinks he hears Stevie yelling from a neighbor’s house, so he busts down the door and runs past a screaming housewife and her two dogs (portrayed by Ed’s wife, Fran). Meanie runs down the stairs to the basement where he finds Richards facing the corner of a wall like in the final scene of the movie. Richards turns around slowly to reveal he’s dressed like Sable (blonde wig, black leather and all) and Meanie starts to scream like a girl. Meanie was hit in the back of his head and fell to the floor, with the camera falling with him. The last thing we see is Richards’ legs as he tries to dance like Sable over his fallen friend.

Russo, Ferrara and I knew without a doubt it was the funniest thing we had ever filmed for the WWF. A few days later, one of the producers at the WWF had put it all together and it was pure comedy gold. Russo penciled it in to air in chapters on four consecutive SmackDown shows.

The night the first chapter was set to air, Vince McMahon wanted to personally preview the videos. He didn’t laugh at all – in fact, after he was done watching it, he told Russo to pull it from the shows. McMahon never saw the movie and didn’t get the concept. He saw no value in it at all. Russo tried to explain it to him in a last-ditch attempt to save it, but McMahon wasn’t buying it. “The Blonde Bitch Project” never saw the light of day on WWF programming. To say we were disappointed would be a huge understatement.

A few weeks later, I was on a flight to RAW. I was in the first row in coach, while McMahon and several WWF management heads were in first class. Towards the end of the flight, I could see McMahon reading something in USA Today and showing it to Kevin Dunn, who was the head of television production.

I didn’t think anything of it until I was getting off the plane. When I passed McMahon’s empty seat, I saw he had left the paper open to what he was reading, an article about the latest trend in Hollywood - spoofing the Blair Witch Project. I brought it up that day to Russo at the arena, but all he did was shrug his shoulders and walk off.

I wish I had kept a copy of “The Blonde Bitch Project”. Somewhere up at WWF Headquarters those tapes are sitting in a vault somewhere collecting dust.

VINCE RUSSO – MY MENTOR:

I got my big break in this business by perhaps the most criticized, maligned and vilified man in the history of professional wrestling – Vince Russo.

After completing this book, I emailed it to Russo to read and pick apart. But I purposely didn’t include this chapter. He told a very embarassing story about me in his book about a Riddler Halloween costume – so Vinne Ru, payback is indeed a bitch!

The reason I’m writing about Russo is that, in my opinion, he is the ultimate example of a fan realizing their dream to make a big impact on the wrestling business. I’ll get to the people that hate him in a moment.

Russo grew up a huge fan of wrestling – especially the Valiant Brothers. According to Russo, they’re the reason he started watching wrestling.

During the early 1990s, Russo was doing a wrestling radio show in Long Island with Big Vito and Jim Monsees (my previously mentioned boss at the WWF). He wanted to pursue a job with the WWF, so he mailed some letters to Linda McMahon. Linda hired him to be a freelance writer for the WWF Magazine, then full time to serve as the Editor.

A lot of people at the WWF didn’t like Russo. He was loud, opinionated, belligerent and even a bully at times. My first six months at the WWF, the only time he ever said a word to me was to ridicule me in front of Monsees. After a while, I guess I started to grow on him. I couldn’t go a day without him wanting to “Get Coff” every few hours (in Russo language, “Let’s get some coffee”) or our daily four o’clock “C’mon To Tha Thing Machine” (in Russo language, “Let’s go to the cafeteria and buy some candy from the vending machine”).

But, I respected Russo because he wasn’t afraid to speak out. When WCW was beating the WWF in the ratings in 1996 and 1997, Russo wasn’t afraid to stand up and say that the WWF product was lame. While McMahon surrounded himself with “yes men” who told him to stay the course, Russo was the one guy who knew the company needed to catch up to society if it wanted to survive. It needed to change dramatically, and no one else had the guts to make that change happen.

So here’s what a lot of these guys who drag Russo over the coals should think about – without Russo, there would have been no “Attitude” era in the WWF. There would have been no comeback against WCW. There would have been no ratings boom or house show increase. There would have been no huge guaranteed deals or fat payoffs for the same guys who bash him today. The same guys who made more money at any other time in their career while he was writing WWF television.

But at the same time, I’m not going to defend some of the things he (we) did in WCW. Looking back, a lot of it was bad for business and I’m not proud of some of the things we booked. We’ve even had our own personal ups and downs in the past 10 years. There have been times I haven’t talked to him for months at a time. He’ll never admit it, but I know he was disappointed in me when he was forced out of power in WCW the first time and I didn’t walk with him. But we’ve managed to stay friends through thick and thin.

In my opinion, what we did at WWF was capture lightning in a bottle. Russo knew his “Crash TV” concept could work, but what MADE it work was a locker room full of young, energetic talent mixed with solid veterans that were ready for a change. Once Vince McMahon got behind Russo’s concept, everyone else fell into line. That’s why Russo was ultimately doomed in WCW – there was no boss to make everyone follow suit. If you didn’t get behind McMahon’s vision, you didn’t have much of a future with the company. In WCW, they would give you a raise or promotion to make you happy.

Here’s another thing I respect Russo for – he was man enough to admit some of the things he did in WCW were wrong. He was doing it for the almighty dollar and ratings. In case you hadn’t heard, the Vince Russo of today is far different than the Vince Russo I first met. Religion has become a very important part of his life and it’s changed him in so many ways.

In fact, it changed him so much I had a hard time relating to him when he first became a Christian. The guy swore worse than a sailor before he found religion, but he hasn’t uttered so much as an “ass” since. Every one of our phone conversations before his conversion were about the hot gossip in the business, how to increase ratings or the next big storyline. Now when I talk to him on the phone, all he wants to know about is my health and the well being of my family. He’s tried to make amends with the people in the business that he’s wronged. Some have accepted his apologies, while others continue to bash him.

So it comes down to this – you can hate Vince Russo all you want. You can bash him until you’re blue in the face for the things he did in WCW. The wrestling purists will bash him until the end of time, that’s a given. But in my opinion, at one time Vince Russo was responsible for revolutionizing this business.

He gave me my first break. He’s my friend and he’s my mentor.

THE CONDENSED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING DICTIONARY:(Because the sport has a language unto its own!)

Here are some general meanings of terms used in the world of professional wrestling…

Agent – A liaison between the management/writers and the wrestlers. They are in charge of working directly with the wrestlers to set up matches.

Angle – The storyline of a particular feud.

Attitude Era – Coined by the WWF in the late 1990s. It referred to the new, edgier direction the promotion took to battle WCW in the ratings war.

Babyface – A good guy, someone the fans cheer.

Blading – Cutting yourself during a match to draw blood.

Blow Off – The last match at the end of a feud.

Blown Up – Tired, or completely exhausted.

Blown Spot – A move that doesn’t go according to plan.

Booking – The writing of the shows, or the creative team that assembles each broadcast.

Bump – Taking a move, or landing on the ground or mat.

Bury – Causing someone to lose popularity or making them look bad.

Clean Finish – A match that ends without outside interference or cheating.

Clean House – When a wrestler eliminates multiple opponents from the ring.

Color – To bleed.

Comeback – To regain momentum after taking a beating.

Curtain Jerker – Someone who wrestles in the first match.

Dark Match – A match that takes place at a TV Taping or Pay-Per-View that is not televised.

Face – Another term for “babyface” (see above).

False Finish – When the fans think the match is about to end, but it doesn’t.

Feed – The role of the other wrestler during an opponent’s comeback. Usually a succession of moves where one wrestler overtakes the momentum from the other.

Finish – The end of a match or a series of moves or events leading to the end.

Gig – Similar as “blade” (See above).

Gimmick –Commonly used to refer to weapons or objects used in matches.

Go Home – When it’s time to end the match or go into the “finish”.

Go Over – To win the match or beat someone.

Gorilla Position – The area behind the entrance curtain where management and agents watch the watch. Named after Gorilla Monsoon, who was one of the first to man the area.

Green – Someone who is new or not skilled enough.

Hardcore – A violent style of wrestling.

Heat – To get boos from the fans or getting them to hate you.

Heel – A bad guy, someone the fans dislike.

Highspot – A dangerous or high-risk move, or an important part of the match.

Hotshot – When the booker or creative team rushes a storyline or gives away a big moment or match.House Show – Another term for a live event, one that isn’t televised.

Independents – A promotion that isn’t as big as a WWE or TNA.

Jobbing – To lose to an opponent.

Kayfabe – Secrecy in wrestling.

Lucha Libre – A wrestling style popularized in Mexico.

Over – A wrestler who is popular.

Paper – To give away free tickets to fill an event.

Pop – A loud crowd reaction to a wrestler or a move.

Promo – Another term for an interview.

Rib – When wrestlers play practical jokes.

Rub – When a more experienced or popular wrestler is matched against a younger wrestler to make the younger wrestler look good.

Run-In – When a wrestler not involved in a match interferes.

Schmozz – a large brawl or a fight.

Sell – To react to an opponent’s moves, to act hurt.

Shoot – Another term for “real” in wrestling.

Spot – A planned move or series of moves.

Squash – When one wrestler destroys an opponent. A one-sided match.

Stiff – Putting extra strength or impact into moves.

Swerve – An unexpected twist in an angle or storyline.

Work – To fake it, make someone believe.