To the wrestlers on the forums...

[nisi]

gimmieabreakbrain said:

hey it doesn't matter if you are deaf, dumb, blind like Anne Frank, believe me I fought people who are just like that, I have really bad hearing in one ear so I know how hard it is to hear things called in the ring, you just have to let the person you are working know that and everything should be fine. Don't let anything like that take away if this is something you really want to do.

As for hoping to get into TNA or something like that, workers who are in well known feds more times than not are very paranoid about their spot and really won't help workers, other than friends, get any foot into any door. Not saying all are like that but most are. If you go into this thinking that you are going to get signed by TNA or ROH (I won't even mention WWE) then you will be VERY dissapointed. There are 1000s of Indy workers all over the world and not even 1% will even get a first look by anyone in the biz. Just go in there and do your thing and learn the craft, but hey, you never know. You may very well be part of that under 1% that does get a look. I know Shawn Davari (but I haven't spoken to him in a couple years since before his WWE contract) and he made it.

Very well said, bravo. Pursue it because you love it, but be realistic and have a back-up plan. Communicate with your opponent and work together for a match where you both look good.

And it might sound a little cutthroat, but you are absolutely right that guys are a little paranoid about bookings and are not eager to "help the rookie get a break." My friends got me in solely on the condition that I accept no pay, drive hundreds of miles, never take bookings in other local feds. I got to be the heel of the undercard and it was fun, but there was no question of me getting a "push" or advancing. I was okay with that, and there were lots of other guys who were okay with jobbing or setting up the ring, because that was the condition for getting in.

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

therob said:

godz said:

I was never trained, ever. I just lied my way onto shows by saying that I was. I'd been studying wrestling and doing backyard stuff (good stuff, not garbage weapon crap) for so long that I could fake it pretty well.

However, I don't reccommend this.

Oh, and as far as the "give" with the ring....taking back bumps never hurt me, but the few times the back of my head smacked off the mat...that did hurt.

you have to always tuck your chin. thats the first thing my school told me when I learned to bump.

Yeah, I was taught that too, believe me.....problem is, when you're hot as **** and tired as hell, you sometimes forget....and powerbomb = death

[hollywood]

Since this is turning into the insider's question thread...

I'm just curious. Has anyone here ever realized mid-match that the match they were working was a really good one? Not necessarily a 4-star classic, but the crowd was eating it up and you knew it?

[gimmieabreakbrain]

hollywood said:

Since this is turning into the insider's question thread...

I'm just curious. Has anyone here ever realized mid-match that the match they were working was a really good one? Not necessarily a 4-star classic, but the crowd was eating it up and you knew it?

oh i have and not that I would ever consider anything I do 4 star or 3, I'm very hard on myself and always think I could do better but you can hear the response from the crowd as the match goes on. When the holds and your chain wrestling just flows together well and you have good comebacks and in tag matches good heat with the crowd and hot tags and when the crowd pops when the face FINALLY gets his partner in you can feel all that. Like it was said before time flys in the ring, 5 min seems like 2 and 15 seems like 5 when the match is good, when it's a dud it seems like forever. But yeah during the match I have thought to myself "wow this is great!" and then I get a boot in my mouth for getting sidetracked! LOL

[hbk619 - QUACK!]

nisi said:

sizzlereyrey said:

Do you need to have good eye sight to do wrestling? I'm not going to do it with my eyeglasses on obvisiously. Should I get contacts or laser eye surgery? I'm seriously considering training but I'm quite unsure about making a lifestyle of it.

I would definitely at least get disposable contacts just to have the depth perception you will need. You may well lose some in matches, but better to start a match with them than with nothing.

there was a famous heel wrestler or manager, who was short-sighted and squinted whenever they went to the ring/in-ring, they made it part of their gimmik. I just wish i can remember the name.

And i am, hopefully, sometime soon, going to try and convince my parents to take me to the local gym. so even though this wasnt my thread, thanks for all the info!

[-Lithium-]

What should someone due in order to prepare for the training?

[gimmieabreakbrain]

hit the gym and work on cardio. Run, stairmaster, swim, anything you can do so you can condition your body to use a lot of energy. You are going to get so very tired (blow up) that it's hard to catch a breath and you'll be huffing and puffing and that's only after the first run of the ropes and you'll still have to run the ropes again and again. That's the main thing, just get yourself ready to use a lot of energy. Don't worry too much on the great body part, Dusty Rhodes is a fat guy but he can put on a broadway at any time. (one hour match)

[KLRA]

hollywood said:

Since this is turning into the insider's question thread...

I'm just curious. Has anyone here ever realized mid-match that the match they were working was a really good one? Not necessarily a 4-star classic, but the crowd was eating it up and you knew it?

Oh I thought one time I had a freakin' amazing match going on...then I broke my leg and it was all downhill from there.

One time I thought I was having a HORRIBLE match, my timing was off, and I couldn't hear what the other guy was saying because my ear was plugged up. F'n Dave Meltzer gave it 3 and 3/4, so what do I know?


One of the big things you have to remember is that success doesn't come instantly. Unless you're famous from something else, you're going to have to plug away for a bit before you "make it." Hell, I've wrestled for roughly five years now and I only JUST started "making it."

Also, no cardio you ever do can quite prepare you for what it's like in the ring. The only thing I can reccommend is doing shuttle runs. That's what finally got me up to the cardio level that I wanted. Still, for a while a 5 minute 'match' will pretty much be all you can take. It took me personally about a year and a half before I could go well beyond 15 minutes and still function well.

[x]

Do a mix of long distance running and sprinting

Long distance for the chain wrestling
Sprinting for the spots.

[American Nightmare]

best cardio IMO is LOTS of pushups, situps and squats right after eachother. Meaning 70 squats, 25 pushups, 25 situps, repeat. No stopping in between them too.

Also, and this works wonders:
Sprint like 20 ft. Stop, touch the ground (or something) and run back 20 ft. Keep doing this. What this does is gets your body starting and stopping, therefore making you winded more soon. This is excellent for rope running, and will improve your cardio greatly.

But like stated before, hitting the mat is a lesson in itself. No matter how good your cardio is, you need to condition your body to take that punishment.

[JimHellwig]

This may not be appropriate, but I was wondering if someone could run me through a match with the communication that is passed back and forth during the match. (ie. how much calling is done in a match and how are spots called when it's a long sequence of moves?)

If no one want's tackle this type of question that's ok, as it really takes alot of mystery out of how a match is called. Just curious!

[Psy]

As to how much calling, it depends on the type of match, how much you've gone over before hand, who you're working with and their preferences, etc. No two matches really have the same amount or type of calling. Some guys I worked with used a 'tap code' when they'd set up irish whips, they'd tap the guy's underarms to signal for a pre-arranged spot. Other guys perfected low talking, and others choreographed the whole thing. It's up to the two doin' the dance in the ring at any given time.