James: Okay, stop. So...
Narrator: If you want to make it
as a professional wrestler...
James: Boom.
Narrator: You've got to learn the basics
of working in the ring.
James: Schoolboy.
Wait for me to take you.
Narrator: Many WWE superstars start out
at schools like this one.
The New York Wrestling Connection
in Deer Park, New York on Long Island.
Some of the school's alumni
are current WWE superstars like Tony Nese,
Zack Ryder, and Curt Hawkins.
James: No choking!
Narrator: At NYWC, students get one-on-one instruction
from former WWE superstar Bull James.
Announcer: Going to the top rope, maybe trying to put
away Baron Corbin!
Diving headbutt!
Narrator: James spent three years in WWE's NXT promotion
where he was known as "Bull Dempsey."
Announcer: Dempsey grabbing hold of a steel chair!
James: Best three years of my life, hands down.
Just traveling the world with a great group of people.
Learning from some of the best minds in the history
of our industry.
Narrator: After being released by WWE in 2016,
James became the head coach at NYWC.
The school charges students $200
for their first month of training.
And $150 for each subsequent month, which comes out to
around $1800 for a full year.
James: Here, you are paying us to train, so it really
just comes down to how bad that person wants it.
If they want to put their all into it and be here every day
and make the sacrifices
and take the bumps and bruises, cool.
And if they don't, then they don't.
This right here is where the magic happens.
Narrator: The students get to train
in a real 18x18 foot ring.
How would you describe the surface of the ring?
James: Hard!
Everybody thinks there's like a spring underneath. Not true.
It's wood and steel, padding maybe is that thick, so.
Your body builds up a callus. If you can handle it, then
you know, you got a shot.
Good.
Narrator: The students learn the fundamentals of the sport.
James: Give him a receipt.
Narrator: The basic rolls,
holds,
and throws.
James: Everything is based around having good footwork.
I won't let them get in the ring
unless their feet are right.
Nope, do it again.
It's all repetition.
So, you're gonna do it over and over again the right way
and then it just becomes muscle memory.
Narrator: To make the in-ring battles look real
students have to learn the art of "selling"
or making it look like they're actually in pain.
James: Reacting with your face and body in a way
to make people emotionally invest in what you're doing.
I don't think anybody can really ever teach selling.
You either develop it or you don't.
Every hold that you see is a real hold. If you are going
to treat the hold properly during a match, you need to know
what it feels like. Nobody's gonna get stretched to
where they're hurt. You'll just feel a little bit
and go, "Okay, yeah I don't want that on."
Narrator: Advanced students get the chance to showcase
what they've learned in real matches.
Along with being a school,
NYWC is an independent wrestling promotion
that puts on shows in the Long Island area.
One of the school's up-and-coming students is Jaden Valo.
At only 18-years-old,
Valo is already showing huge potential.
Valo: Ever since the first time I watched it
something drew me into it, you know?
Wanting to entertain people,
wanting to be a part of something like,
something huge like this.
Narrator: Jaden is a senior in high school
and uses the money he earns
from a part-time job as a lifeguard
to pay to train at NYWC.
James: Turn it up, Jaden!
Valo: Being able to work with someone so often,
especially, you know, three days a week,
being able to spend these hours with him.
He has so much knowledge. He has so much stuff to share with
everybody else, every one of the new students.
Having him as, like, a coach
is kind of like one of the main things
that is gonna help me in the future for sure.
Narrator: NYWC offers the students
the tools they need to get
started in the business, but after that it's up to them
to see it through.
James: If you're coachable and you're willing to learn
you're gonna go so much farther than somebody
that shuts off and thinks they know everything.
Why do I have this?
[Student]: So you can control.
James: When I have head-control
you're going anywhere I put you.
I don't let people fail. They can fail themselves
but I won't fail them as a coach.
Before you roll backwards
grab his ankles and pull him over.
You build confidence and trust from other people in you
by just, simply just not quitting.