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Student of the Month, August 2003 Tommy Wilson |
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by
Les Honig He is one of the
survivor students. As others have come and gone over the past few
years, this young San Diego athlete has hung in there and as a result
his achievements at Ultimate U and in UPW are growing daily. For Tommy Wilson,
who just celebrated his 21st birthday, the path to mat
success has involved much sacrifice and tireless effort; reflective of
his lifelong desire to excel in the field he has come to love. Admittedly needing
work still on both his mat moves and his physical appearance, (he
stands 6’5 but seems quite lanky at his current weight of 210
pounds), Wilson has nonetheless already tasted much sports success as
he went from a pudgy youngster to a star amateur wrestler through his
junior and senior high school years, excelling as well on the football
and springboard diving teams. It was the pro ranks
however that early on caught his attention, from the day he saw
Ultimate Warrior beat Hulk Hogan.
“I was distraught when the Hulkster lost the belt and thought
‘Who is this guy?’ but when I checked it out further I became
really intrigued by Warrior’s character and I was really hooked from
that point on.” This passion to
follow the sport progressed exponentially after a brief foray into
backyard wrestling with his friends and continued as he realized he
had to seek out a more reputable path to become part of the field. “I was in my
freshman year in college when I decided to make my move. I heard about
the Power Plant in Georgia and that tuition was free if you passed the
tryouts. But then I
looked at my body in the mirror and thought, ‘There’s no way at
this point that I’m gonna get in.’ I knew, though, that the
Lion’s Den was here near my home and I thought that if I could just
be accepted and then work with Ken Shamrock that he might give me a
recommendation sometime that would help me get into the big feds.” Surprised to
discover that the Den, known for training shootfighters, actually had
their own wrestling school, he quickly enrolled and along with a small
group of 6 or 7 classmates learned not only the basic moves of
wrestling but also important kickboxing and shootfighting techniques.
“Even though it was a very intense routine and we were
exposed to a great deal in that area, their concentration was mostly
on mat technique. What was lacking was that entertainment component
that is so crucial to our business and this was something that I
learned much more about after I found UPW.” When the wrestling
part of the school closed its doors in November, 2001 Tommy was forced
to seek a new way to continue his mat education and it was then that
he joined a local lucha-based fed, but was largely dissatisfied; this
time with the lack of professionalism of the kids who were training
and putting on shows. “They just wanted to outdo each other with
outrageous moves and I knew that there was more to effective matches
than that.” Fortunately for him, he was turned onto Ultimate Pro
Wrestling after several of his Lion’s Dens buddies had attended a
UPW show and clued him into our activities. This led the talented
grappler to attend his first Gold’s Gym training class in early
2002, and he has been a regular fixture at class meetings ever since. “What I really
like is how UPW not only stresses basics but also the need for
storytelling and match psychology,” Tommy says enthusiastically.
Having been taught primarily at the Saturday sessions by Tom
Howard and earlier by Spanky, he admits having seen his eyes opening
wide to a whole new area of performance, an area that has now fit in
beautifully as a complement to the technical area he mastered while
under Shamrock’s tutelage. “I remember Spanky
telling me that I had to make more contact with the crowd. He had seen
how I would bury my head a lot in my arms or into the mat when I was
thrown down and this prevented the audience from seeing me register
what was actually happening to me. He taught me invaluable lessons on how to position my face so
that the fans could be part of what I was going through.” Lately Tommy has
taken the advice of his teachers and head promoter Rick Bassman to
spend considerable time outside of the R1 ring working to fill out
his frame with more weight and muscle. To that end he has landed a job
as a trainer at a local Bally’s gym and this provides him the chance
to work on making himself even more marketable someday. “I think I
am getting the wrestling part down well so far,” he says, “but I
just have to continue making myself look better too. I realize in this
business that it’s how you look that is really crucial so I am
working towards a goal of reaching 240 or 250 pounds in the future.” Having formed a bond
with many of the continuing trainees who frequent his classes, Wilson
particularly has enjoyed working matches lately with elite classmate
Sam Culver, (aka Andrew Hellman); as the two have been concentrating
on the skill of calling match moves spontaneously rather than outside
the squared circle before the action begins; all the while remaining
cognizant of making their action tell a consistent mat story. “I still have a
lot to learn,” admits this dynamic and promise-filled student.
“Every aspect of my performance can look better.
I need to work on my total package; everything from my ring
psychology to my promos to my moves to my body. I do think though I
have the talent to do well in the business. I just need to get that
great look and reach the level of professionalism that is needed.” We agree totally that Tommy Wilson has the right stuff to reach his lofty future goals and personifying the best that Ultimate University has to offer the wrestling world, know that he will settle for nothing less than total future success. |
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Previous Ultimate University Students of the Month: February 2003 - Nate Nickerson |
