THREE-and-a-half years ago Bendigo’s Cadman Turner was often mocked for his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
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“Wrestling…. that’s fake isn’t it”, people would say.
But no-one is laughing now at The Mighty Cadman – his in-ring name – as he has burst onto the radar of the biggest force in sports entertainment, Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment juggernaut.
On Thursday 24-year-old Turner will get his chance to showcase his talent in front of WWE coaches and scouts at a try-out in Melbourne.
There Turner will have the opportunity to prove he has what it takes to be a WWE superstar, with there much more to Thursday’s try-out than just what he can do in the ring in a series of matches.
He will be put through a medical, drills, photographic shoots and just as important as his in-ring ability, his skills on the microphone in cutting promos will also be under scrutiny.
“It’s going to be a full-on day, but it will give me a bit of a grasp of all the different aspects of the WWE,” Turner said on Wednesday.
“It’s a great opportunity and a chance to at least start to build a bit of a relationship with WWE.
“Attitude is a really big thing and I think I’ve got a good attitude.”
Turner, whose finishing move is the devastating Chokeslam, has clocked up thousands of kilometres of travel for training in Melbourne – his first trainer was former WWE United States champion Orlando Jordan – and for shows around the state.
The bulk of his bouts have been with Outback Championship Wrestling, while he has also wrestled for promotions including Battle Championship Wrestling, Platinum Wrestling and Warzone Championship Wrestling.
Turner, who is currently competing as a heel (bad guy), wrestles on average three times a month.
“When I first took up wrestling a few years ago I was mocked for it,” Turner said.
“But I’m training harder than footballers do and just something simple like taking a back bump is the equivalent of having a head-on-car crash at 60kmh with a brick wall in terms of impact on your body… there’s nothing fake about that.
“My family has always supported me with it because they knew that’s what I wanted to do, but a lot of my mates have never understood why I want to do it.
“All the work that goes into it; the training, travel, it’s all worth it for eight or 10 minutes in the ring.”
Should Turner impress at Thursday’s try-out, the next step on his wrestling journey would be an invitation to the WWE Performance Centre in Orlando.