I’ve been working on something for a while now. Something the wrestling industry has never had. Not a course. Not a seminar. Not another “how to get booked” thread on social media. Something different. Something I wish existed when I started in 1997. Something I wish someone handed me before I spent years being broke, driving hours for shows that paid nothing, and figuring out the business side of wrestling completely on my own. It’s almost ready. Details coming soon. Stay tuned.

True story. It was 2001. I had just wrestled a show about 3 hours from home. I gave everything I had in that ring. Left it all out there. The crowd was into it. The boys in the back said I did good work. Then I got my payoff. Twenty bucks. I hadn't eaten all day. I was running on fumes. Literally. My gas tank was almost empty and I still had a 3 hour drive home. I pulled into a gas station somewhere in the middle of nowhere Ohio and I had to make a choice. Do I eat or do I put gas in the car. I couldn't do both. I put the gas in. Drove home hungry. Got home after midnight. My wife Terrie was already asleep. I sat in the driveway for a minute and thought about quitting. Not because I didn't love wrestling. I loved it more than anything. But love doesn't pay bills. Love doesn't fill your gas tank. Love doesn't put food on the table for your family. A year later I walked away. My body was breaking down. We were broke. We had a family to raise. I chose survival. But here's the thing nobody tells you. It didn't have to be that way. I wasn't broke because I was a bad wrestler. I was broke because nobody taught me the business side. Nobody taught me how to build a brand. Nobody taught me how to create income outside of match payoffs. Nobody taught me that I was a business and not just a performer. I had to learn all of that on my own. Years later. The hard way. Through trial and error and a whole lot of expensive mistakes. When I came back to wrestling in 2015 and started New Ohio Wrestling, I promised myself I would never let another wrestler go through what I went through without at least knowing there was a better way. I spent years figuring this out the hard way. Now I'm putting it all in one place. More soon.

Every powerful brand has tension. You vs the system. You vs fake fans. You vs comfort. You vs the gatekeepers. No tension means no emotion. No emotion means no connection. No connection means no money. Find your conflict.

Let’s talk about something that most wrestlers get backwards. Selling yourself is like dating. The one who needs it more is the one chasing. And the one chasing… loses power. If you’re blowing up a promoter’s inbox… If you’re double texting about bookings… If you’re sending your highlight reel every week… You’re signaling desperation. And desperation repels. Here’s the flip. Attraction beats chasing. When a promoter feels like: “I need this talent on my show” That’s when you win. So how do you stop chasing? You build value. You create buzz. You get reactions. You sell merch. You bring fans. You cut promos people remember. You make the building louder when you walk through the curtain. Now the promoter isn’t doing you a favor. They’re solving a problem. This doesn’t mean sit at home and hope. It means position yourself from strength. Instead of: “Please book me.” It becomes: “Here’s what I bring to your event.” Big difference. The wrestler who brings heat, ticket sales, and attention doesn’t beg. They get invited.

Those three words will change your wrestling career. If you miss a booking… If you don’t get over… If the crowd doesn’t react… If your merch doesn’t sell… The easy move is blame. Blame the promoter. Blame the booker. Blame the politics. Blame the crowd. Blame “the business.” Blame feels good for five minutes. But blame makes you weak. When you say, “It’s my fault,” something powerful happens. Now you’re in control. If it’s your fault, you can fix it. If it’s your fault, you can improve. If it’s your fault, you can train harder, promo better, build smarter, market stronger. That’s leadership. The best wrestlers I’ve seen don’t complain. They adjust. They ask, “What could I have done better?” They review their matches. They study their reactions. They improve their look, their conditioning, their mindset. Taking responsibility doesn’t mean beating yourself up. It means taking your power back. You want freedom in this business? Own your results. Drop one excuse today. What’s one thing in your wrestling career that you’re ready to take full responsibility for?