Derek Foore Will Get a Shot at WWE Glory

Derek Foore thought it was a joke. He listened to the voicemail, shook his head and then laughed at the shenanigans.

Surely one of his college buddies was putting him on and it really wasn’t Jerry Brisco of World Wrestling Entertainment calling him to inquire about possibly joining the organization. Then a text message and e-mail from Brisco came. Yes, that Jerry Brisco.

“After I came back down to earth, I was trying to figure out what I could say. I was nervous. I was writing notes down, trying to think of what I was going to do when I called him. Then I was like, ‘I’m just going to wing it.’ When I called him, all the butterflies went away.”

As it turns out, Brisco was in attendance in early March to see Foore — Medina County’s winningest prep wrestler — finish second at nationals.

While Foore didn’t come home from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the medal he was looking for — he won a national title as a junior — he gained the interest of the biggest recruiter from the largest professional wrestling organization in the world.

Pleased with how Foore carried himself after a tough 2-1 loss in the finals at 197 pounds, Brisco did the legwork and went through the proper channels to obtain the phone number of the Notre Dame Falcon.

“He told me what he liked about me and my character,” Foore said of Brisco, who stays in contact with him at least two times a week. “He liked the way I handled myself, win or lose. He said character will carry me a long way.

“Honestly, I was just excited to talk to him. It doesn’t happen to a lot of people, and to be noticed in Iowa, it was like, ‘Wow, is this real?’”

What came next was even more unreal. While most would-be WWE stars pay their dues — as well as exorbitant amounts of money on acting classes and wrestling camps — Foore is different.

He’ll travel to Tampa Bay, Fla., the site of the WWE’s training facility, on the company’s dime. Foore will be there for two weeks, all expenses paid. He’ll learn the ins and outs, get a physical and go through some skits. He’ll stand up to vigorous workouts to see if he has what it takes, all while being recorded...More?

source: medinagazette.northcoastnow.com