School of hard knocks
So you want to be a professional wrestler?
Get in line.
Thousands of pro wrestlers exist in the United States, with about 500 in Western Pennsylvania alone.
But hardly any appear on national television or on pay-per-views with World Wrestling Entertainment, the international leader of the industry. Those wrestlers earn $1 million or more per year performing in front of thousands of people in sold-out arenas and millions more on TV.
However, most wrestlers perform in gymnasiums or hotel ballrooms, picking up less than $100 for showing their skills in front of 200 people.
"No one's making any money at this,"said 34-year-old Butler resident Seth James, a pro wrestler for 12 years. "It gets in your blood. Most guys are happy if their gas is covered getting to and from a show and maybe you wind up with a few extra bucks in your pocket."
Welcome to the independent wrestling circuit.
Sterling James Keenan, Far North Wrestling (FNW) heavyweight champion, compares the levels of professional wrestling to those of other competitive sports."The WWE is a whole different world," he said. "Forget about the money. The entire atmosphere is different. It's like playing baseball in the minor leagues compared to playing in Yankee Stadium."FNWis an independent pro wrestling organization based in Butler. It carries a roster of 25 wrestlers and puts on 12 shows per year on the western side of Pennsylvania — half of which take place at the Butler Days Inn. The next show is scheduled there for 8 p.m. Friday.Wrestlers with stage names like Shiima Xion, Jason Gory, The Mauler, C.J. Sensation, Super Oprah, T. Rantula and Lord Zoltan comprise the roster.None of them will ever be confused with Hulk Hogan, The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin of WWEfame.And none of them care.They learn and practice their craft in their spare time while holding down full-time jobs elsewhere. They became pro wrestlers by enduring the rigors of a pro wrestling school comparable to an Army boot camp.No pain, no gain.
"We have wrestlers who work for PennDOT, a sheriff's department, stock broker, laborers — they come from all walks of life," FNW owner Dan Polinsky said. "The common denominator is a passion for this business and the willingness to do what it takes to get in the ring and entertain people."There are nearly 600 independent pro wrestling organizations in the world, including 31 in Pennsylvania, the most of any state. Texas has 29.Independent shows adhere to legal guidelines, and FNW is sanctioned by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission."We have to let them know when and where our shows will be,"Polinsky said. "We're required to have medical doctors at ringside, and we have to carry insurance."More than 500 wrestling schools exist in the world, primarily in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom.Hundreds of people have tried FNW's wrestling school, taught by Keenan inside a ring that barely fits inside the garage that houses it.Most eventual pro wrestlers spend a year to 18 months learning and fine-tuning the craft before they're capable of doing a match.James spent eight months working with fellow Butler resident T.C. Reynolds, who spent 22 years in the business performing as the California Kid, American Gigolo and the American Patriot, among other monikers."T.C. was a master psychologist in this business,"James said. "He knows the game inside and out. I just picked his brain."Few people stay with it long enough to actually perform in a FNWmatch. Ashton Amherst, 23, of Saxonburg is one of those few."I've been in love with this stuff since I was 3,"Amherst said. "I played baseball and football until ninth grade, then devoted myself to becoming a wrestler. This is where my heart is."Prospective wrestlers can begin training for the business at age 14. They can't perform in a match until they turn 18."I found this school online, showed up and thought I knew everything,"Amherst said. "When you get here, all you want is to do a show right away. But I was here for four months, still learning things I didn't know that I needed to know."
For Amherst, learning how to "bump" was the toughest step."A bump is falling straight backward after your opponent slams into you, body-slams you, drives you to the mat, whatever,"he said. "All I know is that it hurts.""The tendency is to try to catch yourself before your back hits the mat. But you can't do that. You have to square up your body and absorb the blow," he said.Keenan, 24, has been involved with pro wrestling for 10 years. He performs for FNW, teaches a wrestling school and has been in a few WWEmatches.And he hasn't gotten used to the bumpyet."I don't think you ever do," Keenan said. "Your body just tingles all over. I've wrestled in Spain, doing five shows in six nights. After about a week of that, waking up the next morning isn't fun," he said."My body doesn't feel like a 24-year-old body should feel like."Amherst grimaces when thinking about the morning after a match."You get up, and you have to crack everything," he said of his body.
Most wrestling matches last 6 to 8 minutes — not a long time on the clock, but a taxing cardiovascular test for the body."It all starts with the passion, but you have to be an athlete to do this,"Keenan said. "I've had students with all the heart and patience in the world. Physically, they just couldn't handle it."Sam Elias, 18, is a young pro wrestler who has already had his knee pop out during a match and recently had his nose broken by a stray forearm to the face.A two-sport athlete until age 14, Elias quit playing "competitive" sports to work on becoming a professional wrestler."First thing I had to do was get in shape — real shape," he said. "You can't afford to hit the wall when you're in the middle of a match. Then the other guy has to carry you, and it's just no good."Hitting the wall is when your body shuts down and can't go any farther, similar to what a novice marathon runner might experience.Once the physical development is complete — including knowledge of various moves in the ring and how to execute them — the theatrical character development can begin."Every match has a story,"Amherst said. "If you can't sell your character, there's no story to tell. All of us are like struggling artists that way."Just having the heart, the interest and the talent ... that's not good enough," he said."The mentality of this business can be overwhelming," Keenan said. "Once you're in front of a crowd and that bell rings, you can get thrown for a loop.
<table width="300" height="275" border="0" align="right" valign="top" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><embed src="/assets/mov/BE46269517.MOV" width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" ></embed></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/" target="_blank"><span class="style11">Requires Quicktime Media Player </a><br><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Times New Roman">Video by Brandon Gerthoffer</font></span><td></tr></table>"Two guys are in there beating the hell out of each other, yet they have to trust each other. Still, mistakes happen, and people get hurt."James has played the role of a heel 99 percent of the time in his career and prefers it that way."Getting people to hate you is so much easier than getting them to like you," he said. "It's never hard to make somebody mad at you."Character development is as critical to independent shows as it is to the WWE, even though 250 to 300 fans is considered a good crowd on the independent circuit."Our fans would rather spend $15 to see a show from up close in their own backyard than to drive to Pittsburgh and spend $40 or $50 to see a WWEshow," Polinsky said. "Independent shows are more family-oriented. We want parents to feel comfortable bringing their little kids."But there's no denying ... Every wrestler in every school everywhere aspires to be in the WWE. That's the pinnacle," he added.While James is a longtime wrestler, he said he continually works on improving his in-ring performance."To remain competitive and stay on shows, you have to improve your game,"he said. "There's always new guys coming in, raising the bar."James has taken his share of "chair shots" — getting hit in the head with a metal chair — over the years and insists there's no easy way to be on the receiving end of such an act."You grow accustomed to taking the hit,"he said. "Wooden chairs are rougher because there's no give, but a metal chair still hurts.""I got hit with a trash can one time and discovered there's such a thing as contact amnesia. That's what the doctor told me I had when I couldn't remember a thing about that match," he said.A technical account manager by day, James already has succeeded where most wrestlers fail. He's performed in a WWEmatch."June of 2006," he recalled. "They needed some extra talent for a show in Wheeling, W.Va., and I got on. I wrestled Tatanka in a 4- or 5-minute match on one of the last tapings of the old Velocity (TV)shows."My goal was to get there once. I'll never forget it. Independent shows pay between $20 and $75. The WWEpays a minimum of $250 and they'll double it if you do well."James will keep on wrestling — not to get back into a WWEring — but just to stay in the ring, period."You're always sore, you're always bruised but it's a privilege to perform, and I love the camaraderie with the other guys in the locker room,"James said. "I'll keep going until it's not fun anymore or my body breaks down — whichever comes first."
