My Experiences As A Pro Wrestler
Over the past weeks, I received a lot of emails asking me about my experiences as a Independent Pro Wrestler. How was it and was it worth it? So, let’s dive right into it!
During my peak time in the business, I have to say I was having a great time. I wrestled every weekend, two to three times. It would start with a Friday night show, then a Saturday night show, and I would also perform on a Sunday show. There were times I worked two shows on a Saturday, back to back. But, let me break it down into a couple categories.
Pay – When I first started getting bookings, I wouldn’t worry about how much I got paid because I was happy for the opportunity to work on a show, and I wanted to continue to get booked on future shows. I get asked, “how much did you make?” I made 10 to 20 dollars a show when I first started. As I started to gain popularity, I would make 40 to 50 dollars, and towards the end, I would make 75 dollars for local shows and 100 dollars or more for out of state shows. Now, would I have survived on the money I made from wrestling on the weekends? The answer is No! I needed to work a full-time job to make ends meet. I did make extra money selling merchandise. But, without working a shoot job (regular day job, as we call it) I wouldn’t have been able to survive. The money I made from shows paid for gas, food, and lodging.
Travel – At first, I loved the travel. I was fortunate enough to work in various states throughout the country. It was great getting to see new places and meet new fans. But, as time passed, the travel became very taxing on my body, and I wasn’t able to get enough rest during the weekends. If I travel out of state on a Friday for a show, depending on the location, I would either have to travel back home, or go straight into the next town I was performing the next day. There were many times I would sleep three to four hours, get up and go eat, find a gym to train and suntan place to……well, to get a tan for the show. After working shows all weekend long, I would get home, unpack and start the week by going to my shoot job. By the end of the week, I would pack my bag, and do it all over again. So, unfortunately, there were many personal events that I missed because I was working on a wrestling show every weekend.
Health – I bring this topic up because I feel it’s important to share it with you. There were times I was not feeling well because of injuries suffered in the ring. Pain, unfortunately, is part of the business that a performer needs to learn how to manage. I would take Ibuprofen and use ice packs or Tiger Balm on achy muscles. If I had a sprain, I would soak it and if I didn’t have the time, I would wrap it tight and deal with it. After, a long weekend of wrestling, I would go home, have to go to my shoot job in pain and find a way to heal. So, staying healthy, was very important. But, when you travel around performing in shows, the time to recuperate was very short. The last thing you wanted to do was to miss a booking, because you were in pain and/or injured.
Now, everything I wrote in this column, is what I personally dealt with as an Independent Pro Wrestler, and would I do it again? Yes, I would! But, I would do a lot things differently that would have benefited me more, and the people around me.
If you have a question or comment please send it to eavil183@yahoo.com and have a great weekend!
