I was fortunate enough to tour the facility recently, and I was blown away at how much this area of the wrestling business has changed over time. If you’ve been a fan of wrestling for a long time, or visited a website like Wrestlezone.com, you’ve heard stories of wrestling legends talking about hard times and grueling training sessions in less than favorable conditions. One of my ‘favorite’ stories is “Stone Cold” Steve Cold Austin recalling how he survived on cans of tuna fish and potatoes while he was attempting to make a name for himself, and there are countless others. Head trainer Bill DeMott said that this [the WWE PC] is nothing like what he had coming up in the ranks, training at the “World’s Famous” Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. He says “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan told him he never thought he’d be around to see such an amazing facility, where the world’s best talent have the world’s best tools to succeed.
The WWE Performance Center is a 26,000 square-foot building located close to Full Sail University in Winter Park, where NXT television and live specials are filmed. The building includes seven full sized training rings, a world-class strength and conditioning program, in-house editing and production facilities, as well as a voice-over room that performers and on-air announcers can use to practice. To sum it up: it has everything they need, and everything you want, whether you are an aspiring wrestler or a current star.
The trophy case in the lobby features some wrestling memorabilia such as boots, a luchador mask and a championship belt. Upon meeting DeMott, he showed us the central meeting area and the offices that branch off of it. Wrestling legend “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes’ office is in one corner, the “war room” directly connected to WWE Headquarters in Stamford in another. Every inch of the building is used to its maximum potential, and they still take advantages of all of the technology available too. DeMott mentioned everything is done in house in Orlando, from voice captures to PSA’s to Superstar introductions. Several years ago, talent would work on promos in backstage areas in the arenas, or not at all, and they’d be good ring workers without any mic skills. Now, talent works with WWE staff and Full Sail students to work on their craft, practicing their lines and having access to their first promos, comparing them to where they are now. One of the best things I learned was how closely the talent works with the Full Sail interns.
I attended the NXT Takeover special and saw first-hand how much these students are working during the show, getting hands-on experience in their degree program, as well as a real wrestling show. DeMott said the interns dive in to working with WWE, and they work along side the talent, being called up through the ranks together, where they could hopefully work together in WWE and already have a relationship with each other.
