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By Les Honig His dreams are
as large as his power-packed rock-hard 6’4” 265 pound body but
for Chris Mordetsky they are suddenly beginning to come true in an
even more massive way. The 20-year old
Santa Monica native entered UPW back in 1999 with a burning desire
to become a superstar pro wrestler someday and with few willing to
give him a second look. Then a bulky 300-pound teenager who had
transformed his former tall and lanky frame into a significantly
larger one by furiously hitting the gym and consuming copious
amounts of calories at the same time, he quickly found himself
part of a training group at Ultimate University peopled with
equally large but much more muscular bodybuilders with similar mat
aspirations. Working
out with the likes of Aaron Baker and John Cena and severely
injuring his ankle in a misplaced leap over action actor Andrew
Brynarski, he soon discovered it was time to reevaluate his
situation and rededicate himself anew to a goal he long wished to
pursue. So began the
odyssey of the guy they now refer to as Big Chris, a story that
only recently culminated with that call many wrestlers only
fantasize about…the news that World Wrestling Entertainment was
summoning him to Ohio Valley Wrestling, their main training
center, as part of a new development deal. Raised in his
earliest days by a single mom who saw performing potential in her
kid, he was quickly featured as a young guy in many prestigious
modeling gigs, and was named one of the new faces of ’87 in his
hometown. A wrestling
fan, however, fascinated by the big guys in the business, Chris
decided that all his concentration needed to be focused on his one
major goal. “We
didn’t have a lot like some other families, so I decided that I
would have to work hard to support my desire to get in shape for
my future career.” To help buy the extra food he would need to
grow to the size he wanted to be, he took on a schedule that would
break most other mortal teens, leaving school and working at a job
till 9; then heading for the gym till midnight and then back home
to study and go to bed. It was his early
Ultimate U. injury however, that made him realize that the dream
must wait till he was in the right place both mentally and
physically. “I saw
many guys who would go to the wrestling school week in and week
out but weren’t ready to put in that physical effort needed to
create a marketable look for themselves.
I realized after seeing some of the more successful guys
there that to really be pushed in the pros, you had to develop a
superior presence; so
I made up my mind to do that. I was already big, but I thought, I
need to become leaner and more shredded like many of them.
That’s when I left and got to work.”
Further, he realized that his former youthful cockiness
must now go by the wayside as he had to develop a maturity and
humility that would set him into good stead with the wrestling
professional world that would be judging him soon. Blessed with
unusually good genetics, Chris threw himself with the greatest of
determination into his newfound obsession to become the kind of
physical specimen that would attract the needed attention to make
it. Such an
unorthodox approach, coupled with a recent full year of UU
training, has now resulted in just what he always wanted; a chance
to prove himself to the nation’s number one sports entertainment
company by the age of 20. Returning to
learn with the elite group of trainees now part of the Ultimate
University class roster, Chris began attracting attention
immediately, and it wasn’t long before that word had spread to
the sources at WWE and he was being given a chance to perform at a
prestigious tryout given several months ago before an L.A.
Smackdown taping. “I got to wrestle with Val Venis for ten minutes and also
with Charlie Haas and the experience was fantastic,” he explains
now. More than
anything, though, Chris realizes it was his teachers, mentors and
one very special individual who helped make the transition to
future stardom possible. “I
have to thank Tom Howard, the Ballards, Keiji Sakoda and Frankie
Kazarian for giving me the best in-ring education and head referee
Marty Rubalcaba for the time and interest he showed in me and the
insight he provided about the pro wrestling business.” Above
all, though, he points to promoter Rick Bassman who he thanks for
sincerely advocating his success, taking him under his wing and
showing him the ins and outs of sports entertainment. “I owe
everything to that man,” he says with obvious emotion. Being the first
to admit that he has a lot to learn still, and wishing his fellow
Ultimate Pro alumni, Sakoda, the best in his own WWE adventure,
Chris is both excited and awed by his new fantastic opportunity;
one that he humbly accepts as a challenge he must now add to his
continuing set of goals. “I know it’s
really all in my hands. I understand they saw something in me and
that I can be molded and developed into a talent that will be an
asset to their company. I
am determined not to let them down.” Acknowledging that his life as a Southern California kid is about to change forever the day he arrives on the doorstep of Kentucky’s Ohio Valley promotion, Chris Mordetsky still displays that charm and charisma that along with his amazing physical package has brought him so far so fast to the verge of real stardom. We can only wish him the very best in becoming another homegrown UPW’er -turned major talent. We know his new path will lead to many, many exciting unfolding adventures he will absolutely meet and definitively conquer. |
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