by Clay Cooper
When I was a kid growing up, I always wanted to become a pro wrestler and constantly thought about what my debut would be like. I always wondered what I would make my entrance in, what my theme music would be, how many people would be there, where it would be, what moves I could do, who would it be against and what reaction I would get from the fans. I had no idea that Friday, March 18, would be the night my dream would finally come true in the Forte Center in downtown Des Moines.
I couldn’t have asked for a better debut. I was put on the promotional poster! Only a few wrestlers get that honor, and when I found out I was going to be on the poster, I was in shock. It was just a year ago when I was in the crowd in Des Moines cheering and booing and looking at the card and poster for the next show on Facebook. Now, to actually be on the poster and be that guy the fans look up to is a remarkable feeling.
Backstage, before my match, guys like the tag team “The Riegel Twins” came up to me. They told me to stay calm and have fun. As soon as they said that, the place erupted in a “We want Clay” chant,
and adrenaline rushed all throughout my body. When my music hit, the chanting slowly died and was replaced with anticipation. I was pacing back and forth backstage listening to my theme. It felt like my theme song was playing forever. I just wanted to get out there!
I waited until about 20 seconds into the song to run out there. I was wearing regular wrestling shoes, kickpads, kneepads, elbow pads, red wrist tape and wrestling tights. When I made my entrance, the place erupted and I started yelling. I lost myself in the moment. Everything kind of went black in my eyes. It was so real but so unbelievable at the same time. Before the match officially started, the crowd started chanting “This is awesome!”
I’ve chanted that so many times to so many great things that I have seen in Pro Wrestling. and to get that chant on my debut was, again, unbelievable. I wrestled that night with the crowd behind me all the way and against Ray Feuring.
I unfortunately lost, but that was only because “The Stud Club” cheated. But I was the last one standing and got the honor of counting to three after the ref, Billy J, stone cold stunnered Ray Feuring’s manager, Jason Michaels, for his last show, since Billy J moved to Florida.
Backstage after the match, all the wrestlers I have looked up to since about five years ago hugged me or told me, “Excellent job.” One of the wrestlers said while he was watching my match he felt like a true fan again.
So this was the best night of my life. My debut was perfect for me, my entrance and theme music was perfect for me, the amount of people there was perfect for me, the Forte Center was perfect for me, the moves I did were perfect for me, my debut opponent was perfect for me and the reaction from the crowd was perfect for me.
Friday, March 18, was the perfect night for me. My childhood dream came true. My career got started. I’ll be doing this until I physically can’t do it anymore. I plan on traveling the world and making a living doing what I love the most: Pro Wrestling.
I couldn’t have asked for a better debut. I was put on the promotional poster! Only a few wrestlers get that honor, and when I found out I was going to be on the poster, I was in shock. It was just a year ago when I was in the crowd in Des Moines cheering and booing and looking at the card and poster for the next show on Facebook. Now, to actually be on the poster and be that guy the fans look up to is a remarkable feeling.
Backstage, before my match, guys like the tag team “The Riegel Twins” came up to me. They told me to stay calm and have fun. As soon as they said that, the place erupted in a “We want Clay” chant,
and adrenaline rushed all throughout my body. When my music hit, the chanting slowly died and was replaced with anticipation. I was pacing back and forth backstage listening to my theme. It felt like my theme song was playing forever. I just wanted to get out there!
I waited until about 20 seconds into the song to run out there. I was wearing regular wrestling shoes, kickpads, kneepads, elbow pads, red wrist tape and wrestling tights. When I made my entrance, the place erupted and I started yelling. I lost myself in the moment. Everything kind of went black in my eyes. It was so real but so unbelievable at the same time. Before the match officially started, the crowd started chanting “This is awesome!”
I’ve chanted that so many times to so many great things that I have seen in Pro Wrestling. and to get that chant on my debut was, again, unbelievable. I wrestled that night with the crowd behind me all the way and against Ray Feuring.
I unfortunately lost, but that was only because “The Stud Club” cheated. But I was the last one standing and got the honor of counting to three after the ref, Billy J, stone cold stunnered Ray Feuring’s manager, Jason Michaels, for his last show, since Billy J moved to Florida.
Backstage after the match, all the wrestlers I have looked up to since about five years ago hugged me or told me, “Excellent job.” One of the wrestlers said while he was watching my match he felt like a true fan again.
So this was the best night of my life. My debut was perfect for me, my entrance and theme music was perfect for me, the amount of people there was perfect for me, the Forte Center was perfect for me, the moves I did were perfect for me, my debut opponent was perfect for me and the reaction from the crowd was perfect for me.
Friday, March 18, was the perfect night for me. My childhood dream came true. My career got started. I’ll be doing this until I physically can’t do it anymore. I plan on traveling the world and making a living doing what I love the most: Pro Wrestling.
