Jake Manning reflects on how taking a job with AEW behind the scenes changed his life.
Jake Manning has spent the better part of two decades in the wrestling industry and currently works behind the scenes in AEW's merchandise department. Manning says that this job came to him when he desperately needed it and is now recounting how he got it in a new interview.
"Desperation. It was one out of desperation," Manning responded when asked on the Under The Ring podcast about how he came to work for AEW. "I worked for Highspots.com, and we worked very hard on the virtual sales that we would do. I was very much at the forefront of that, got very disillusioned about my time there, and exited. With no plan. None whatsoever. I had no idea. I just knew I couldn't be there anymore. I knew it was time to go. It was long, long overdue for me to leave. I left and had no idea what I was going to do. Wasn't sure if my place in wrestling would be a thing anymore because I do feel like I was given a lot of opportunities, because I worked at Highspots, because everybody wanted a deal on ring canvas, they wanted us to show up and film the show. There's a lot of good brother network stuff I was going to miss out on, and I knew my wrestling would take a hit."
Manning would get a job with Fanatics, working at the Carolina Panthers team store and being paid $12 an hour. Eventually, AEW was making its way to Charlotte, North Carolina. Manning recalled emailing Captain Shawn Dean four times to try to get a spot on the show and was at a low point before he was eventually invited.
"I was emailing people left and right to book me wherever, however. AEW was coming to Charlotte, and I knew a bunch of people in AEW. I had been begging them for a job, whether it was the ring crew, social media, video editing, or every one of those things that I could do, I was pitching it to people and every department, except for the merch department," he said. "I'll never forget sitting in a Planet Fitness in Greenville, South Carolina, and knowing that AEW was going to be in Charlotte and I had not received an email about being an extra, and I go, 'Man, how low am I? My house is five minutes away from this building where AEW is going to run at, and I can't even get booked to be an extra, and I really needed this money right now.
"I had emailed Captain Shawn Dean three times, no reply," he continued. "Here we are, the Sunday before. I'm going to email him one more time, and then it's not on me. So, when people ask, 'Why weren't you on the AEW show in Charlotte?' I can say, 'Well, I tried four times.' I sent the email and immediately got a reply back within an hour, 'Yeah, sure. You can come. I showed up, just being an extra. I ended up being a Team Taz member with a trombone, getting clotheslined by Brian Cage. That was cool, but the coolest thing was I got to see Shane Hagadorn from my Ring of Honor days, he works in the merch department, and we started talking."
Only while explaining to Hagadorn that he had exited Highspots and was at a crossroads in his life would he be offered the opportunity that would change his life.
"I was just talking to Shane Hagdaorn about Highspots, and I'm really kind of between stuff. That's when Christine Myers just came in and saved my life. She overheard that I had left high spots. She was aware of my work in Highspots and was like, 'Hey, we need more people to help for this upcoming Fan Fest we have. You've run conventions before. How would you like us to put some money in your pocket?' I said 'absolutely,' even though knowing the dates she was giving me, there were two college football games at the Bank of America Stadium. So I knew that was going to be an issue with my $12/hour job, which is the only guaranteed income I was gonna have, but any opportunity to get my foot in the door, just for a chance, for an opportunity. She just saved my life. I worked as hard as I possibly could for that opportunity, and here I am."
With nearly twenty years in the industry, Jake has accumulated several injuries. Toward the backend of 2022, Manning opened up about having issues with his ACL and minimal CTE.
Fans can read his comments here.
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