SPW New Zealand Champion 'Hooligan' Marcus Kool took part in a WWE Tryout in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday 8th December 2016. 'Hooligan' was only one of two New Zealand wrestlers that were invited to the Tryouts along with Jade Diamond who now resides in the Gold Coast. Kool also happens to be one of the Head Trainers at SPW's training school in Invercargill alongside 'Powerhouse' T-Rex who was trained by WWE Legend Lance Storm. For more information on our training school click here. SPW Insider caught up with the 'Hooligan' shortly after the tryout... SPW Insider: Congratulations on the WWE Tryout, first of all, how did this come about? Hooligan: Cheers. I was invited to the tryout by the Senior Director of Talent Relations Canyon Ceman. I attended a tryout for the WWE a couple of years ago and we have been in contact since. SPW Insider: Who led the tryouts? Hooligan: The tryouts were led by the Head Coach at the WWE Performance Centre Matt Bloom and NXT General Manager William Regal, a fellow Englishmen, which was great! SPW Insider: Overall how would you describe the experience? Hooligan: Amazing. I could listen to William Regal and Matt Bloom talk all day. Their knowledge and passion for the industry is contagious. Being a fellow Englishmen, Regal has always been one of the wrestlers I look up to, so to pick his brain for a day was brilliant. SPW Insider: Talk us through the process, what does the tryout entail? Hooligan: Well, you better be in shape. We are taken through a warm up routine, then hit some in ring drills to test our agility, foot work and ring positioning. Bumps, running the ropes, the basic fundamentals that every Wrestler should have down, but sadly, most don't. After that we were then paired up and put in matches to perform in front of the trainers and NXT Roster. I was paired up with Jade Diamond. SPW Insider: And how did that go? Hooligan: Well, he won... so I probably didn't make the cut... SPW Insider: What's next from here? Hooligan: It's an interesting time for the WWE and Pro Wrestling in general. The WWE Network has opened up a lot of opportunities and more jobs for Pro Wrestlers around the world. They are always creating and developing new shows and will always need a database of talent. If an opportunity presents itself, we go from there. SPW Insider: You are currently the co Head Trainer of the SPW Training School. Will the knowledge gained from this experience be passed on? Hooligan: 100%! Right now my main priority is making sure people are taking notice of SPW. Whether that be representing the company as the current Champion and setting the standard, or passing on everything I have to the locker room and our up and comers at the training school. Everything I learned, advice I took on board, will be passed on. New Zealand is my home. The growth and quality of the New Zealand scene is extremely important to me and I only want to see it get better and better. The SPW Training school is the place to be right now in New Zealand. I'm not being biased. It speaks for itself. If you want to learn from the best in this country from trainers with the most experience and right connections. SPW is it. SPW Insider: Awesome. In closing, do you have any advice for current or aspiring Wrestlers wanting to make it to the WWE? Hooligan: First of all, GET IN SHAPE! GO TO THE GYM! If you want to be a professional athlete for the biggest comapny in the world, then you better start acting like one. They will not tolerate you being out of shape. There is no excuse. Perfect the basics, over and over. If you can't do the basics right, then why bother learning anything else? Passion, respect, willingness to learn and a hard working attitude. Probably the most important. The WWE is a global entertainment brand that travels the world and are non stop, all the time. They have no room for negativity or slackers. The in ring aspect is only a small portion. They need you to represent their company for sponsors, charitys, media, interviews etc etc. Improve yourself in every way. SPW Insider: Thanks for your time, and we look forward to seeing what happens with SPW going into 2017! All photos credited to WWE.COM.
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