Former WWE Name Praises Current Star For Dedication

WWE

There are more ways into the WWE today than ever before, with the WWE Performance Center being at the heart of the process.

Whilst WWE has gone back and forth with its recruitment of independent wrestlers, one constant has been attracting talent from other arenas, including collegiate athletes.

The NIL (Next In Line) programme has seen athletes with no wrestling training courted by WWE with some being fashioned into capable wrestling talent.

Former WWE star Erick Rowan recently named one such recruit who he believes has excelled.

Speaking on the Ten Count podcast, Rowan discussed the challenges of the system, saying:

“There’s some naturally gifted athletes that don’t have that dedication.

“That they made it so far in their sport that they played before, and now they get a chance and an opportunity with WWE.

“And there’s some people that have dedication that’ll prove [it] every day and get better and better.

“Baron Corbin was one of those guys that had dedication in him.

“There’s other guys that didn’t have that dedication in them, to improve and get better.”

Baron Corbin joined WWE’s developmental system in 2012 having had a successful American Football and amateur boxing career.

Rowan would go on to discuss how the “get better and better” mindset also should be something adopted by independent wrestling explaining:

“The same with independent wrestling, I include myself in that, in that I’m a guy [where] I had to be on top of a lot of things, but I kept going and I kept improving because I’m a dedicated guy.

“And when I put my mind to stuff, I follow through, I do it, and those are the kind of people you need in the business.”

He would also discuss egos in wrestling and how to keep those under control, concluding:

“You need people with ‘check your ego at the door’ [attitudes].”

“It’s weird to me because wrestling is — people call it art, people call it dancing, but it’s two to four to six people in a ring at a time having to work together to make each other look like they’re beating the crap out of each other, stretching each other to the limit, without hurting each other.

“There’s no room for egos, to say ‘I’m the best,’ because no, you’re doing the best to make the fans happy.”

Rowan joined WWE in 2011, signing a developmental contract with the Florida Championship Wrestling territory.

He would transfer to NXT when WWE rebranded FCW and join The Wyatt Family.

He would continue to be a member of The Wyatt Family before joining Luke Harper and becoming The Bludgeon Brothers.

In April 2020, Rowan was released from his WWE contract as part of the COVID-19 related budget cuts.

Transcript from Wrestling Inc.

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• NIL
• baron corbin
• erick rowan
• wwe

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