The WWE organized its first trial training in Germany in Cologne. More than 40 men and women were allowed to be present and get a little closer to their dream. SPOX looked behind the scenes. One insight: there is a German talent as a monster.
“One, two, three, W-W-E!” Matt Bloom and his wrestling students come together again at the end of the workout and chant the magic letters. W. W. E. Then each student thanks individually and by handshake with an awesome “Thank you.”
Matt Bloom is the head coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. In his active wrestling career, the 150-kilo man was known as A-Train and Tensai, among others, and now takes care of the wrestling offspring.
But today Bloom is not standing in the hall in Florida, today he is standing with his whistle around his neck in the Motorworld Cologne. On the grounds of the historic airport at Butzweilerhof there is a meeting point for car lovers, including the official collection of original memorabilia by Michael Schumacher to marvel at.
But this Wednesday everything is different. The WWE has placed a ring in the middle of the hall. On the occasion of the Germany tour, in the evening there will be a live show with the RAW superstars like Braun Strowman or Seth Rollins, the historical first tryout of the WWE in Germany will take place in Cologne. This is the first small step on the long way to becoming a superstar.
More than 40 men and women from almost two dozen different countries are present and want to show themselves. The athletes have different backgrounds, some come with experience from the European independent scene, others are bloody beginners.
For example the German Strongman xChampion Raffael Gordzielik. Almost two meters tall, 170 kilograms heavy, he once visited camps of the NFL Europe. Nickname: “German Godzilla”. He might well pass for a monster, indeed.
Or 23-year-old Aleksandar Jaksic from Munich, a former semi-professional basketball player who trains at Alex Wright’s wrestling school. But also people from the MMA area, bodybuilding or rugby are represented.
What exactly is WWE looking for? “The most important thing is the entertainment factor. We’re looking for someone who can entertain people. Who puts a smile on the fans’ faces. Works of art are created on a cinema screen. It’s the same with us. It’s like James Bond,” Robbie Brookside explains in an interview with SPOX.
The Englishman, like Bloom himself, has a long wrestling career behind him, toured the whole world and became known above all as the tag team partner of his best friend Steven Regal. The native of Liverpool was actually a great football talent.
“I was totally focused on football, but then one night I went wrestling. That changed everything. Wrestling grabbed me. So much so that I was kicked out of the soccer school team because I preferred to go wrestling. But I’ll still be a glowing Everton fan all my life. Don’t ask me about Jürgen Klopp and the Reds,” jokes Brookside.
The 52-year-old assists head coach Bloom at the four-day tryout in Cologne, at the Performance Center he takes care of the beginner’s class. “Every day is different. Once I came back from vacation and there were eight Chinese in front of me. Just one knew English and they had no idea at all about wrestling. When I look around here, I see some exciting talents. Our job is to recognize these talents and promote them. Anything is possible. Five years ago, I had Braun Strowman with me. Everybody laughed at him. Nobody laughs anymore today,” says Brookside.
Strowman, “The Monster Among Men”, became one of the biggest stars in 2018. As soon as he’s in the ring, and again in Cologne in the evening, it doesn’t take long until all the fans start to shout his spell. “Get these hands!”
Also Thomas Pestock, better known under his ring name Baron Corbin, is in Cologne on this day and stops by at the tryout. Pestock was actually on his way to an NFL career, even signed to the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals, but never played a game. In 2012 he decided to jump into the WWE.
“The biggest challenge for me was that in football everyone is expected to show no feelings or weaknesses. Just don’t cry, just don’t show emotion, that’s not allowed. The opposite is desired in the WWE. We want to show emotions and touch the fans,” says Pestock to SPOX.
Pestock has made the stony way to becoming a superstar. Currently he is allowed to exercise power as General Manager of RAW (“This is the best part of my current role”), the years of torment has paid off.
“It’s important to stay hungry, then you can make it. I’m glad how it went. It’s a tough job at times, but when I walk into a stadium or a hall and everyone booes me out, it’s the best feeling in the world for me. I love it when the fans react so strongly to me,” says Pestock.
Who will make it from the tryout participants to the Performance Center in Florida is uncertain. However, it is clear that there are already German role models for everyone. So Alexander Wolfe made it to Smackdown, with Marcel Barthel, the son of the German wrestling legend Axel Dieter Sr., there is a hopeful talent in the development league NXT.
“Marcel Barthel has what it takes to play a big singles match at WrestleMania in the not too distant future. And Alexander Wolfe will probably be part of the SAnitY group by 2019. It is absolutely possible that one day a German will be in the main event of pay-per-views,” Canyon Ceman looks to SPOX for the future. After all, Ceman is the “Senior Director of Talent Development” at WWE.
Ceman was a successful beach volleyball player before moving to WWE and now looking for talent around the world. Who knows, maybe this day in November at the Motorworld in Cologne was the starting shot for a German WWE superstar career. “One, two, three, W-W-E!”