Lio Rush is only 22, but he's already making his mark on the professional wrestling world. The ROH up-and-comer was recently interviewed by ESPN.com, where he spoke about how he got his start as a wrestler, including a story that's just too perfect to not be true.
Rush actually called the WWE office to ask how to become a professional wrestler. I guess it never hurts to ask, huh?
"It all fell into place when I was 16," said Rush. "I called the WWE office and, believe it or not, they picked up. I asked them how old do you have to be to become a professional wrestler, and they said I had to be 18. So when I was around 18, and as soon as I graduated, I'm like, 'Man, I'm old enough to be a professional wrestler.' And I already have this All-American amateur status under my belt, so let me try to see if I can find some kind of training to be a professional wrestler."
And what better place to find that much needed training than the Performance Center? Except, Rush didn't realize at first that they don't just accept anyone who applies.
"I saw that WWE Performance Center was opening up. It was around Full Sail University and I was like, 'Perfect. I can train at the WWE Performance Center, and I can go to school regularly, working on videography at Full Sail.' I was already good at doing videos -- I was a videographer, and my dad and my mom were into video production and just media in general, so I grew up around that stuff. I got almost a year in, and I found out that the WWE Performance Center was not a training school for just anybody that wanted to sign up. It discouraged me (from) being in Florida and at Full Sail University, so I went back home to Maryland."
So WWE would have to wait, for now. But it wasn't long before he got that training and started going on the road, working for 6 months before he started getting noticed by some of the bigger inependent promotions, and finally, Ring of Honor.
"That first tryout with Ring of Honor is something I will never forget, because that is what lit the fire underneath me to excel as much as I did so quickly. I was six months into doing shows and traveling and trying to somewhat make a name for myself -- (and then) I tried out for Ring of Honor and I absolutely blew everyone away. I remember a lot of the active roster guys were there, and they were just like, 'Who is this kid that we never heard of before?'"
That kid you've never heard of before is one of the fastest rising young talents in professional wrestling, and surely one to keep an eye on in 2017.
Rush also talks about Ring of Honor Final Battle, amateur wrestling and more. You can read the full interview here.
