Where Are They Now?

When I was a little boy, my father absolutely loved to watch professional wrestling on television. He was the kind of viewer who looked as if he was in the ring with the wrestlers, twisting and moving and throwing imaginary punches.

Family legend has it that once, not long after he and my mother were married, she was sitting near him while he watched a wrestling show, and he unintentionally hit her in the face.  She never sat near him again when wrestling was on television.

I can’t blame her for that.

Maybe the attraction to wrestling was passed along to me genetically, I don’t know, but for a time I too enjoyed watching WWE wrestling – heck, I watched it back when it was still called WWF wrestling.

Recently, I discovered a video on YouTube that detailed where 27 former wrestling superstars had ended up. I always wondered what became of pro wrestlers after that final 1-2-3 count out and final bell.

Here, according to YouTuber “Vima TV”, is what became of 27 names (professional and real) you might remember, if you were a wrestling fan:

Spike Dudley: under his real name of Matthew Hyson, he is now a financial planner and adviser.

Rick Steiner: Robert Rechsteiner is now a real estate broker who has his own firm in Atlanta.

Maven: Maven Huffman is a YouTube content creator who specializes in behind-the-scenes stories on pro wrestling.

Shawn Stasiak: Dr. Shawn Stipich is a chiropractor and motivational speaker.

Paul Burchill: Paul Burchall is a paramedic and firefighter.

Rico Constantino: his real name, he’s now a police officer and accident investigator in Nevada.

Mideon: Mideon D. Knight is a professional chef in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Muhammad Hassan: Marc Copani is now a high school principal (who, I would guess, has very few discipline problems).

Simon Dean: Michael Bucci is a bank manager and mortgage broker in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ted DiBiase, Jr.: his real name, he now a motivational speaker and Christian youth leader.

Tugboat: Fred Ottman (you didn’t think “Tugboat” was his real name, did you?) now creates custom video messages, roasts and birthday wishes on the Cameo online platform.

Gene Snitsky: Eugene Snisky is now the co-owner of a military surplus shop in Pennsylvania.

Bart Gunn: Michael Polchlopek now spends his time as an industrial electrician.

Bob “Hardcore” Holly: Robert Howard is now spending his time working on and driving race cars.

Diamond Dallas Page: Dallas Page is a yoga instructor and fitness CEO.

The Rock:  Dwayne Johnson is a professional actor.

Bautista: Dave Bautista is also a professional actor.

Kane: Glenn Jacobs is now the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. (You voted for him … or else.)

Christopher Nowinski: his real name, he earned a Ph.D. and is now a neuroscientist.

And what of the ladies of the ring?  Well, here are a few:

Layla El: her real name, she’s now a real estate agent enjoying a quiet life away from entertainment.

Ivory: Lisa Moretti now works as a professional dog groomer and as a passionate animal welfare advocate.

Nidia: Nidia Guenard left wrestling behind to become a professional chef.

Vickie Guerrero: under this, her real name, she’s currently the president of Cornerstone Travel in Texas.

Eve Torres: Eve Torres Gracie is now the head instructor at the Gracie Women Empowered self-defense program in California.

Eva Marie: Natalie Nelson spends her time these days at the NEM Recovery Center, which she founded to assist people in addiction recovery and fitness.

Kelly Kelly: Barbara Jean Coba is a digital content creator and social media influencer.

Trish Stratus: Patricia Stratigeas is now a professional actress.

The success these former wrestlers have enjoyed proves that there is indeed life beyond the squared circle, and all those arm bars and hammerlocks and piledrivers don’t result in any kind of permanent damage.

Well, they don’t if they’re performed correctly.

I’d say more, but you’ll have to excuse me.

Wrestling is coming on and I don’t want to miss it.