BACK WHEN I was in college, I had this random idea of becoming a pro wrestler especially after my college blockmate showed me footage of Brock Lesnar destroying John Cena with a gazillion amount of German Suplexes.
It was amazing to look at the facial expressions of these two superstars, from Brock Lesnar's villainous smile and John Cena's exhausted and hopeless look.
I knew deep inside that wrestling wasn't real, yet I was still captivated by the narrative. Cena was on the verge of breaking records and was viewed as a superhero icon that everyone should look up to, while Lesnar came in as a menacing beast, hellbent on destruction as seen with how he ended The Undertaker's historical WrestleMania streak.
Perhaps a day will come when I can perform in the squared arena and craft an impressive storyline, though back in those days, academies in the Philippines were non-existent.
Fast forward to 2024 and I learned that wrestling academies are beginning to emerge in the Philippines, with the Filipino Pro Wrestling (FPW), offering a training session to aspiring pro wrestlers in the country.
So far, I've only done the first day and there were a lot of things I've learned in my experience.
YES! YES! YES to cardio!
My curiosity in becoming a pro wrestler made me conduct a lot of research about the industry, and I discovered one common theme: cardio.
Aspiring WWE superstars would experience the relentless gauntlet of cardio exercises and upon seeing the level of sweat, I realized that pro wrestling isn't a joke.
Indeed there's no denying that the narratives and moves are fake, but the grind isn't, and WWE coaches and trainers would do everything to make one's life miserable.
Billy Gunn even said it best in one episode of Tough Enough saying: "You need cardio more than you need to swing a hammer," which makes a lot of sense since matches in the WWE could last beyond 20 minutes.
And the same applies with the FPW Academy's regimen, as cardio was the first litmus test.
We had three rounds of HIIT workouts ranging from burpees, pushups, situps, squats, etc., and holy cow, it was...exhausting. One of my peers even threw up afterwards.
This eventually made me wonder, 'Why are we doing this?'
The importance of cardio
"It is a completely different beast. When it comes to cardio, it's not a steady cardio, there's a lot of stops, goes, ups-and-downs," revealed FPW Academy coach Ralph Imabayashi in an exclusive with SPIN.ph.
So why are these movements required? Imabayashi went deeper.
"There's a lot of up-and-down movements and changing positions in wrestling and you have to do it quickly while you're still able to talk and breath because that's how pro wrestling is. You have to execute these moves cleanly with cardio because if you don't, you're going to hurt your opponent."
The intensity in cardio isn't something to overlook and this was evident with Imabayashi's experience with aspirants.
"There are a lot of movements that cannot be replicated in other sports or exercises so sometimes you see these big jacked dudes come here and try wrestling and cardio pa lang wala na sila, ubos na sila," he reflected.
And when asked about which exercise is the best to boost your cardio, according to Imabayashi: "I tell them do a lot of burpees because there's a lot of movements where you are standing, lying down, next time you're standing again, then lying down, like just constantly changing your pace."
So before you begin your first day, make sure to boost your cardio and come in shape.
Not everyone can be a pro wrestler
After my cardio workouts, there were a lot of other drills that we conducted ranging from bumps, rolls, etc.
After three hours of training, I was physically and mentally exhausted. It was a baptism by fire, which made me curious if there were those who questioned their decision to try out pro wrestling.
"50% is too nice, like for example 10 people would come in, three to four people will stay. That's how rough it is. You really need consistency to survive here," revealed Imabayashi.
But it's not the physicality that would define a wrestler as there are other attributes that should also be considered. Pro wrestling isn't just about the maneuvers since it is also important to assess if one's gimmick, persona, or microphone skills can resonate with the audience.
"If you're great in the ring, that's good, but what about the character? What will make people care about you?"
Indeed charisma, character work, and physicality are essentials in the pro wrestling scene, however these aren't the only factors that could make or break one's career.
"We had wrestlers who had a lot of potential but they just couldn't stick to it. They couldn't dedicate time for this and I understand that. There are things bigger than wrestling...They have things in their lives that they have to attend to, so they have to step back. I don't blame anyone for doing that," reflected Imabayashi.
He added: "I understand why some people just drop half way, when they realize that there are so many things that go into it.
The attitude era
Given the struggles of becoming a pro wrestler, there's no denying that a high degree of mental fortitude is required to suceed.
However attitude is also something that will be placed under a microscope, especially when one's career flourishes.
"You have to be coachable, you have to be open to feedback, and you have to keep an open mind. If those three aren't with you, you live with your own world inside your head, and if you deflect all the criticisms and notes that we gave you, that's when nothing happens," said the FPW Academy coach.
He further elaborated: "You have to keep your ego aside, because some people they come here thinking that there is something or thinking that they're at the top of their academy class, when they go into main roster training, they start day one again they realize that they're not that good and it kinda hurts their egos."
And once they're overwhelmed by the magnitude of the scene, things could slowly unravel.
"It's ok to get frustrated. It's normal, but you have to sit back, take everything in, and keep moving forward because if you have an attitude right now, that's when everything stops."
There are many bumps (both literally and figuratively) that pro wrestlers endure, and it would take around six months or even years for one to reach the main stage.
And to reach that level, Imabayashi offers his words of wisdom.
"If you want to succeed here, you really have to give your time to pro wrestling because there are a lot of things that go into it."
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