The Making of a Pro-Wrestler
by Ric Drasin on 2001-12-12

The making of a Pro Wrestler takes a special kind of person who has the heart and drive to put themselves through rigorous training, abuse and punishment. Most people have no desire and would shy away from such a thing. I have mentioned to people in the past about training for wrestling and the first thing out of their mouth is, oh no, my back could take those falls. These are the same people that ask, isn’t it fake?? Well, obviously they have a shadow of a doubt otherwise why would they make those comments.

Whether it’s fake or not depending on how you describe that, the falls and ins and outs of the business are ‘real’. There is no way you can fake jumping off of a turnbuckle or doing a back drop, etc. You do fall and you do hit hard. It hurts and it’s punishment and you have to adapt to it I’m not sure you ever adapt but doing it consistently does build a certain tolerance to the jarring of the mat.

To start with, you must be in good health, free of injuries, and any prior ailments or movement limitations. Working out with weights to build your body is a good start. You need the strength from weight training and also the bulk to be able to pick someone up. A good workout program at least 4 times a week is best. Train each body part twice a week and do some power movements in your work out

Also, good eating habits are a must. Heavy on the protein, chicken, fish, steak and then an ample amount of ‘carbs’ such as baked potatoes, rice, broccoli and fruit.

Mainly you need the mental drive to go ahead with this and the strength to fight off the negativity of friends. People will try to discourage you and ask you if you are crazy and why you would want to do such a thing.

Look at Trapeze flyers, racecar drivers, boxers, ball players and the list goes on. We all need something to fulfill us and if it’s wrestling then so be it.

You also have to realize that there is a 99% chance that you are going to make little to no money from this business. When I started out it was $35 a match and sometimes $15 or 25. It hasn’t changed much today in the Independent market unless you are a name. And there are plenty of those around who need the work.

If you are thinking of WWF, you have to be realistic. Lets look at it this way. They have a stable of champions already. Then they have the undercard guys. Below that are all the wrestlers from ECW and WCW. Below that are people that they are grooming and those from ‘Tough Enough’. Beyond that there is 1000 submission tapes a day. How many get looked at? I don’t know but probably not all of them.

So your motivation must be a ‘labor of love’ for the business and you definitely need another job. If you work a couple of times a month, you’re lucky.

I’m not saying don’t pursue your dreams. Do it and do it well. It could happen, but realize the flip side. If you do submit a tape, put 3 min of your best work on it. Most important make sure the cover of the video has a picture of you on it. It should be an awesome photo either action or something of you that shows you to your best.

If it catches their eye, then they’ll view it and that’s what you want. Just remember when you listen to a CD. You look at the cover, and then you listen to about 30 sec of each song to see if you’ll like it and then you move on. A submission tape is the same thing.

Ok if you want to be a Pro, remember my key points.
Focus,
Workout and get in good shape
Workout in the ring and be a solid crisp worker
Develop a character
Make a good demo

Good luck and I’ll see you at the top.