QuestionQUESTION: Hi my name is James and am 21 years old, i have a few questions.
1) First question is I am about 6'1" and my weight is about 165 lbs. i have been in football as a wide receiver and a corner and was in basketball as a forward,and am athletic was in the Navy, would I even make it in the pro wrestling world?
2) My second question is if i wouldn't be able to make it as a wrestler how do i go about being a referee in the matches?
3) Third question is are there any jobs in the WWE and if you don't know how would i be able to get a hold of Vince to be able to ask him for a job, setting up the arena or something?
4) And my fourth question is do the wrestlers help set up the arena or do people get paid to do it?
ANSWER: Hello James,
(1 Your experience indicates you are fairly fit, but according to the weight you've given, it looks like you could work on developing some more muscle mass- your height is about average, so you'll most likely be doing some grappling moves where you lift the other wrestlers, regardless of what style you use. Having more muscle mass can help you do that lifting.
You probably are doing well already when it comes to the stamina end of things and being able to do an exercise routine, so that is good. Muscle aside, your fitness is probably good enough.
Whether you make it into pro wrestling has more to do with attitude than anything else, as long as you don't have any health conditions which make pro wrestling unsafe (and you don't have them.# Height and weight don't stop wrestlers- though it can influence their styles of wrestling and their characters in wrestling.
Make the most of training. Listen and learn, always be respectful and punctual. Always improve yourself and develop contacts. Be determined and driven to put in the time and effort needed. Be motivated to put in your best always. Don't overwork yourself. Don't neglect to develop your verbal skills and other things you need to do as an entertainer- all pro wrestlers are part-entertainers. Almost everyone has, or can develop what they need to have physically to succeed as a pro wrestler. Attitude- the mental side of things, being able to appropriately use one's body- is what makes the difference.
Remember that getting into the major promotions is not easy. Don't expect to get there anytime soon. You will get opportunities to do so if you are on the lookout for chances, impress enough people and develop your contacts- you can put in a good word for you or let you know about opportunities. Plus, if they are also friends, they can help you to relax and enjoy yourself.
#2 Like with becoming a pro wrestler, to become a referee you go to a pro wrestling school and go through a course. Courses to be a referee are offered at numerous schools. Almost all the big schools offer referee courses. Referee courses take less time and cost less compared to the course to become a pro wrestler.
(3 Jobs in the WWE- outside of being an in-ring performer- can be found through WWE Corporate (link here: http://corporate.wwe.com/)Each job shows the requirements WWE are looking for and a description of the role and responsibilities.
Vince McMahon is very busy. He is an on-air performer, the Chairman of the Board of Directors- spending time in meetings and the Chief Executive Officer running the day-to-day business since Linda left. As such, he is very difficult to get ahold of to ask directly. Unless you know someone in the WWE, I do not know how, other than a random meeting at a show or somewhere, how to get ahold of him in person. Even if you saw him directly, getting him to give you a job isn't the easiest thing to do. You would have to impress him.
(4 People are paid to set up the ring in WWE. The wrestlers don't do it. Outside of the WWE, the wrestlers do that, but in WWE there is a production team that handles all that. This is since WWE has the money, has that kind of a busy schedule and have a more complex set compared to independent shows (which often have next-to-nothing.)
Some of the production team are local workers for a show. That may include those setting up the ring, I don't know for sure. Setting up the ring- or in short, jobs without big qualifications- are not often found on WWE Corporate.
The job at the WWE that is easiest to get right now is this one: http://www.wwe-careers.com/wwe/jobboard/JobDetails.aspx?__ID=*88E3EAA56B2AABAF
Who knows, you might try for it. It would help you to get to know some people and expose you to wrestle styles and moves, but it means you might not be able to go to pro wrestling school during that time. You would also need to know a good deal about WWE, be able to type fast and be able to multi-task. Oh and you would need to work at Stamford.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: 1) I live in Minnesota and was wondering if you know about any pro wrestling schools in Minnesota, and what is the website for them?
2) Is it easier to get into TNA then WWE?
AnswerThese are the only two schools I know of in Minnesota...
Western Wrestling Association & Pro Wrestling School (Western Wrestling Association)
Exact Location Unknown
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Website: http://www.western-wrestling.com/training/training.html
Phone: 612-926-6960
Email:
[email protected] or
[email protected]
W.O.W. Wild On Wrestling Academy
Exact Location Unknown, Duluth,
St. Louis County, Minnesota
Website:: No Website Available
Phone:414-299-9988
Email: No Address Provided
Quite frankly, I know nothing about that last school.
Its hard to get into either. Both are looking for wrestlers that stand out to them. TNA is a little easier to get into because TNA wrestlers overall work more independent shows compared to WWE wrestlers (since they have a busier travel schedule). Thus, more opportunities to work with TNA wrestlers at shows and impress them. both are similar in that they have higher standards compared to independent promotions.
Either way, you need to demonstrate you can communicate well with other, work as part of a team, be respectful to all, work at a consistently high level, wrestle well, tell stories in ring, entertain people and be passionate about pro wrestling, willing to put your most each time and put in the required time and effort. the mroe charisma, the better.
