CHIKARA founder Mike Quackenbush was recently a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center and spoke with WWE.com about the experience. Here are the highlights.
How did the opportunity for you to visit the WWE Performance Center as a guest trainer come about?
Two WWE talents who spent some time at The Wrestle Factory had gone to bat for me and sung my praises to Head Coach Matt Bloom, those people being [Assistant Head Coach] Sara Amato and Cesaro. They were kind enough to stick their necks out a little bit for me. It came together very quickly through Coach Bloom and I was able to come down to the Performance Center and do my thing.
Were you surprised by the invitation? Some might think you and WWE are at complete opposite ends of the wrestling spectrum.
I might have said that as well two weeks ago. I was really pleasantly surprised that they brought me down and gave me the measure of trust that they did in instructing this type of class and that type of class. I feel like I really got to put all of my skills to work in a variety of different ways and settings. They showed me such respect and trust in giving me the reigns. That was surprising and very flattering.
What were your first impressions of the PC?
I remarked upon walking in that it was like a scene out of a futuristic movie about wrestling. What a gorgeous facility they have. What a great place to go to work. It’s like a slice of wrestling heaven.
You can read the entire interview here.
