Horror Stories of Legends Entering the Wrestling Business

Description

Becoming a wrestler still isn’t easy – but it’s not like it once was. Some old-timers protected the business and wouldn’t let just anyone try out to be a wrestler. It was a tough, hard business, and the guys who could go for real wanted to ensure that the people they shared their locker rooms with would take the business as seriously as they did. Discover the jarring (and often painful) reality many wrestling legends faced after choosing to become a wrestler! Breaking Into Wrestling – Weeding Out the Strong From the Weak Everyone knows the story of Hiro Matsuda breaking Hulk Hogan’s leg when Terry Bollea was just a tall, chunky beach bum of a kid who thought he wanted to become a wrestler. Matsuda thought he’d seen the last of the kid, but when Hogan showed up, again and again, Matsuda began to take him seriously and started training him. Wrestlers like Matsuda, Bob Roop, and Mike Graham made sure guys who wanted to become a wrestler in Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida had what it took to be tough inside the ring and out. Anyone could try out, but after an hour of free squats, wind sprints, push-ups, and sit-ups, Roop would take them into the ring and apply the sugar hold, an excruciatingly painful submission move. Most people begged for mercy. The ones who could take it might — might — be called back to train. 1. Magnum TA In the Carolinas, notoriously nasty tough guys Gene and Ole Anderson applied the same kind of pressure to the young men who tried out.