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Student of the Month, January 2005 Cherie Anderson |
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by Les Honig To meet the rather
demure Cherie Anderson you probably would never guess that the passion
of her life exists nowhere else than in the very center of a squared
circle. And for the lady
herself; who spent much of her childhood a died-in-the-wool pro
wrestling fan, but never really giving a bruising and bumping athletic
career a second glance; the surprise may now be the greatest. Surprise
maybe, but a natural evolution certainly. Cherie grew up in
suburban Manhattan Beach, California as a self-described quiet,
friendly kid, dabbling in a variety of kid sports but concentrating
when she hit high school in track. She dates her first encounter with the WWE when she and her
younger sister happened upon a Saturday show at the tender age of 9.
“It seemed cool so we started watching it. My sister liked
Hulk Hogan and I really was getting into Ultimate Warrior but before
too long I also was a big fan of people like Shawn Michaels, the
Legion of Doom and Brett Hart.” Going through long
periods of painful poverty, however, where “we lived on potatoes and
pancakes,” Cherie lost touch with the sport she had grown to love
when most of the shows went to cable, rather than being shown on
network and local TV and the family couldn’t afford what would be
for them a real luxury. This
separation, however, didn’t stop her from longing to see WWF again
and when her dad landed a job with Direct TV in 2000 and was able to
install a satellite hookup in their home, she once again was back in
business and began following her earlier passion with total and
sustained interest. “I was flipping
through the channels and suddenly I saw The Undertaker.
I said,‘Wow!’ I had loved him all the way back then but now
he was totally different.” Admitting
to having missed the bulk of the Wrestling Wars of the 90s; Cherie was
nonetheless smitten again till a personal epiphany occurred as she
realized that being a passive fan just wasn’t really enough. “I had been in
college studying exotic animal training and management and one day I
was in our kitchen at school doing some food prep when it hit me. I
don’t want to do this for the rest of my life!”
She thought about the changes she had noticed in
the modern-day world of WWE; with
people like Trish Stratus, Victoria and Ivory true mat competitors,
not just “valets like Miss Elizabeth.”
Deciding to finish college, Anderson kept the new dream a
closely locked away secret but when her parents bought her a seat at
the Judgment Day pay per view last May, the decision to go for broke
in a completely new field overtook her. “I was in the 5th
row and got to see everyone live but what really convinced me was when
I saw Eddie Guerrero and JBL come out for their match.
Eddie took a really bad chairshot to the head. Blood was
pouring all over his face. He seemed stunned for a few seconds but
then got up and finished the grueling match for the next half hour
despite his injury. It felt like an earthquake in the building because people
were screaming so loud. I
thought, ‘This is it. I’ve got to do this!’
I wanted to jump into the ring at that very moment and be part
of that excitement.” Having been
considering this complete life swerve for several months, Cherie had
already checked out the UPW site but had misunderstood; thinking the
training facility was in San Clemente; some distance from where she
then lived, up in the LA area. “I
didn’t realize that it was literally a few blocks from me, since I
was right near the Raw Center.” In the meantime, life grew quite
depressing for Anderson when upon graduation she applied for over 30
jobs and was rejected. With the realization
now clear in mind, however, that pro wrestling training was indeed
feasible as a career alternative and the desire to rumble now at a
fever pitch, the young aspirant contacted Rick Bassman and it wasn’t
long before she was visiting a class taught by the Ballards; teachers
she now admires and respects greatly for their oft-mentioned caring
and patience. “I really
think that God wanted me to be here at UPW because every door had
slammed shut until this one opened .
I just kept praying for a job and nothing was happening until
that contact with Rick. I had become so frustrated.” Honestly though,
despite a growing love of weekly training sessions, Anderson admits
that it wasn’t all a bed of roses those first weeks.
She had to endure the experience of taking bumps; falls from
high places; and accomplish new feats of flexibility; like back rolls
and flips. Still, and
despite suffering a torn abdominal muscle at her very first session,
the young devotee has persisted and now in her eighth month, sees
herself gaining ever more ring skill and the respect of her male
peers. “Even though I’m
not a petite girl; being 160 pounds, I felt the guys at first kind of
hesitated to really mix it up with me since I was a girl.
Even though I sometimes am reluctant to try a move if I
haven’t mastered it yet and might hurt myself or them, I think they
are beginning to see my seriousness in wanting to hang in there and
grow as an athlete. I
think that makes it easier for them to not be fearful of hurting me
and to treat me not just as a fragile girl.” Working outside of
class to build her body and increase her cardio endurance, Cherie
Anderson credits super talented classmates like Nate Nickerson and
Pete Zwissler as being
the most helpful and supportive.
“I become conflicted because I love training with them but I
know it’s only a matter of time before they get signed and I want
that very much for them.” While Cherie Anderson would like to become a full-fledged WWE employee some day; whether it be in the ring or in the back office, she now is concentrating on building her ring repertoire which can someday make her ready for such a giant leap of fame. She has found a home she loves here at the UPW training center and from what we can tell, the feeling is definitely mutual. |
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Previous Ultimate University Students of the Month: November 2004 - Hector Canales June 2004 - Thomas Scholdtfeldt February 2004 - Kevin Martenson January 2004 - Jason Sanfilippo December 2003 - Dmitry Masarky September 2003 - Tony Stradlin February 2003 - Nate Nickerson |
