Does having an amateur wrestling background lead to professional wrestling success?

[Scotty]

Think about it. Most of the wrestlers who have had amateur wrestling backgrounds have gone onto immense success in the squared circle. Just stop and listen as I argue my point.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart was an amateur wrestler. He is regarded as one of the best technical wrestlers ever. He was successful in both aspects of wrestling, amateur and professional. Can all of his success be attributed to his amateur wrestling background? No. A lot of his success came from training at the Dungeon with his father, but it would be unfair to say that none of it came from amateur wrestling.

Kurt Angle was an Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler. I'd say that it is safe to assume that the majority of his success was from having a vast amount of amateur wrestling experience.

Brock Lesnar. The man was a freak both in amateur and professional wrestling. He was 33-0 in his senior year in high school and finished college with a record of 106-5. Not to mention that he was a powerhouse who was WWE Champion within 6 months of his WWE debut. Can some of that success be attributed to having an amateur background? You decide.

The All American American Jack Swagger. The man had nothing going for him except bragging about being a two time All-American amateur wrestler at Oklahoma University. It can be argued that the success Jack Swagger experienced at the collegiate level is the reason that he even has a job in the WWE. He was contacted by Jim Ross for those who do not know.

Then you have people such as Shelton Benjamin and Dolph Ziggler. they may not be main event level yet, but some seem to believe that they are on their way. They very well could be, if they could just find that key component to go with their athletic ability.

I am not saying that it is the only reason they are where they are, but I think we all agree that it helps.

 

[Mr. Dejan]

I think your perfectly right Scotty. I think Having A amateur background makes you more Reliable and Experienced. All Swagger did was brag about being Two time All American. Well Now hes's World Heavyweight Champion. I think his amateur Background is one of the Main reasons he was pushed.

 

[Theo Mays]

It certainly helps that is for sure. Having an amateur background gives you a sense of where you are in the ring. Like you said some of the greats such as Hart, Angle, Lesnar, etc... have amateur backgrounds. If I'm not mistaken Owen Hart was also a successful amateur in high school. I'm also sure there were other amateur wrestlers that failed when it came to becoming professional wrestling.

 

[Ferbian]

I think there's cases where it comes off for you to be successful in the professional wrestling business when you have an amateur background, such as Jack Swagger and Kurt Angle, obviously being pushed and being able to build great careers on their amateur backgrounds (potentially Kurt Angle more because of the gold medal, that really did wonders for him I believe)

But on other cases,Dolph Ziggler, while I feel that deserves more because I must admit I like him, and I think he has great potential, a great look and he does have that technical wrestling ability of a amateur wrestler, and I do think he will eventually get there, but he seems to be shuffling around with minor matches here and there in the middle of the mid-card, which is sad, cause I feel he could be utilized very nicely.

But yes, definitely does an amateur background help you, that is no question, because it puts you on the map as someone you would be able to promote the hell out of, in ways like they constantly showed Kurt Angle and now Jack Swaggers amateur background.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

It helps more times than it hurts. Kurt Angle used that mat based stlye more and more during his WWE career and it didn't diminish his matches any. Jack Swagger probably wouldn't be where he is if it wasn't for his pure wrestling ability. Even someone like Dolph Ziggler stands out because of the mat based, amateur wrestling style he has. Look at the last two decades, people would argue that Bret Hart was the best wrestler of the 90's while Kurt Angle was the best of 00's and what do both have in common? Amateur wrestling! Someone like Brock lesnar or even lashley made the change from Amateur wrestling to WWE and then into MMA. It helps a lot but it certainly isn't enough.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

It doesn't mean you have to have an amateur background will make you the best, it will benefit you in many ways though, just like the wrestlers you have named before. It means you are betterin the ring, but professional wrestling look at other qualities aswell as good amateur background.

You can think otherwise, there are many wrestlers without an amateur background that have gone and had a succesful career.

 

[Via Armbar]

It can help but by no means is it a sure thing. You have guys like Lesnar and Angle who have obviously done very well for themselves in this business and have a well storied history in amatuer wrestling. However there is also countless amounts of wrestlers who had amatuer wrestling backgrounds and didn't do anything noteable in the professional careers.

There are areas it can help in though, absolutely. You have a built in gimmick when you have an amatuer wrestling background. Look at the example I gave in Lesnar and Angle. They both used their former accolades to give them some credibility when they entered the rings. Of course they both added their own twists in addition to the wrestling gimmicks, but the inspiration was there.

When you're a great athelete in something like amatuer wrestling, it can translate incredibly well to other sports. Competitors that are great at wrestling often are also good in other areas of mix martial arts. It's one of those sports that take an incredible amount of dedication and natural talent, so somebody that possesses these skills can apply their abilities to other areas. Such is the case with wrestlers that have had success in the professional world. The technicality and awareness needed in the professional wrestling business comes naturally to these types of atheletes.

It's not a straight ahead road to success, but I certainly do believe that a background in amatuer wrestling has laid the foundations for what could potentially be succussful career in professional wrestling. In the end though, there are just as many other contributing factors that go into creating a star and a great career.

 

[PsychoBlack]

Bret Hart check

Kurt Angle check

Brock Lesnar check

Curt Hennig check

Dr. Death check

Brisco Brothers check

all of these guys were insane wrestlers because ameatur wrestling is probably the hardest sport ever and it works so many different muscles it can help way more than itll hurt these were GOOD ameaturs though just because you wrestled in high school because you were cut from basketball doesnt put you in this category of amateur wrestler

 

[Scotty]

It doesn't mean you have to have an amateur background will make you the best, it will benefit you in many ways though, just like the wrestlers you have named before.

I do not believe I even once mentioned any of these men as "the best." All I stated was that these men was great amateur wrestlers and went on to illustrious careers (albeit not the longest in some cases).

It means you are betterin the ring, but professional wrestling look at other qualities aswell as good amateur background.

Again, I understand fully that having an elite amateur background does not insure success, but it is a great steeping stone. You also have the wrestlers who got over on their acting skills. (I.E. Stone Cold, The Rock, Triple H, among others) Although, these wrestlers are some of the most revered for their in ring prowess. Only one of these men has stand out acting skills, with that being Kurt Angle. The other men I mentioned have gotten over with their in ring skills.

You can think otherwise, there are many wrestlers without an amateur background that have gone and had a succesful career.

I have never claimed that the best wrestlers were those with an amateur background. There are dozens of other good wrestlers who have no amateur backgrounds. With arguably one of the most talented wrestlers of all time in Shawn Michaels having absolutely no previous experience in collegiate nor high school wrestling.

 

[thepalaceprince]

Absolutely having an amateur wrestling backround can help you have a succesful career. The biggest reason to me is because they know so many different holds suplexes and pins as well as reversals. It seems like it would be a much easier transition into pro wrestling for someone who has that amateur backround then someone who doesnt because they already have alot of the knowledge needed to be great in the ring