𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. In 2019, Arnold Schwarzenegger stood ringside and watched one of our shows. Let me back up. I was gone from wrestling for thirteen years. Not retired — gone. Injuries, family, the math stopped working. I walked away from the only thing I'd ever truly loved. In 2015, I came back. Not as a talent waiting to get booked. As a promoter. I launched New Ohio Wrestling and decided we were going to take a wrestling show to the Arnold Sports Festival. One of the biggest fitness expos in the world. We did it once. Then twice. Then three times. And in 2019, Arnold Schwarzenegger showed up at ringside. A guy who spent thirteen years away from wrestling, who had to rebuild from nothing, looking out at Arnold standing ringside. Here's the point I want you to catch: That didn't happen because I got better at taking bumps. It happened because I started thinking like a business — not just a wrestler. That's what I mean when I talk about Reach, Reputation, and Revenue. It's the foundation of everything I teach inside Pro Wrestling Skool, and it starts in the book. If you want to build something that lasts, you need the framework first. Get the book on Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/dp/0983067732 — Donnie P.S. The Pro Wrestling Skool paid membership is coming soon. When it opens, Founders get a special rate. The book is your first step into that world.

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 You can work on the skills that help a crowd notice you and feel something: your face, body language, timing, focus, and belief in your character. People start with different strengths. Practice and feedback can help you find a stronger way to perform, but no drill can promise that every crowd will connect with you. Start by breaking the work into small parts. Film a practice take, choose one thing to improve, and try it again. You do not have to become the loudest person in the room to have presence. 𝟮. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 Fans need time and clear signals to follow what you feel. If your character is angry, proud, scared, or ready to fight, can the crowd see it? Your moves are part of the story. So are your entrance, your reaction to an opponent, and the look on your face after a close call. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: giving people a clear sense of who you are. Strong presence can help fans remember your work. It can also help a promoter see how your character fits a show. It does not replace safe work, good training, or being reliable. 𝟯. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 Some wrestlers decide too soon that they are "just not a charisma person." That label can stop them from practicing skills they could improve. Others think charisma means shouting, moving faster, or copying a famous wrestler's walk. Those choices may not fit their character or help the crowd understand the moment. Look for a clear problem you can work on. Are you looking past the camera? Are you rushing an important line? Does your face show the feeling you meant to show? A quiet person may use calm focus well. A high-energy person may need better pauses. Your job is to find choices that fit you and test how they come across. 𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: How you stand, move, and hold a moment. Your posture should fit the character and situation. Notice movements that happen from habit rather than choice. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: How you include the crowd or camera. Give your focus a clear target. Notice the audience response instead of acting as if nobody is there.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 Choose a wrestling name that fits your character, is easy to say, and is easy to spell after someone hears it. Test it in a chant, on a poster, and in a search bar before you announce it. Check wrestling history, similar names, social handles, and domain names too. A free username or web address does not mean the name is legally clear to use. Take time with the choice. Your name will help fans find your matches, remember you after a show, and tell a friend who they should watch. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 Your name goes on posters, match graphics, merch, and booking messages. It becomes part of your reputation. A useful name gives the crowd a clue about your character. It also helps people pass your name along without a long spelling lesson. Changing it later can mean new graphics, new handles, and helping old fans find you again. You do not need to find a perfect name in one night. You need a name that can do its job as you build the character behind it. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 A name can sound great in your head and still be hard for an announcer to say. It can look good in a logo and still be hard for a fan to type. Test it with people who have not heard your whole character story. Say it once, then ask them to repeat it and write it down. If they struggle, find out why. Is the spelling unusual? Are the words too close to another wrestler's name? Is the full name too long for the chant you want? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗪𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 1. 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 The name should hint at your WHO. A cold technician, a proud show-off, and a hard-working brawler may call for different sounds and word choices. 2. 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 Try a short name first. One to four syllables is a useful starting point for practice, not a hard rule. Say it in a “Let's go” chant. Hear where people naturally put the beat. 3. 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 Try it in a simple match graphic. Can someone read it quickly? Can it stay large enough to see without taking over the whole design?

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥. I still have a day job. Go ahead. Let that sink in. The guy running a wrestling promotion, a training academy, a fitness center, and a digital community for wrestlers... Still. Has. A. Day. Job. And before you close this post — hear me out. Because this is the most important thing I'll ever tell you about building a wrestling career. Back in 2002, I sat down in my boss's office at the auto parts department and told him I was staying. Not quitting. Staying. I'd been wrestling since 1997. Five years of driving hours for $20 paydays. Five years of bumps, bruises, and broken promises from promoters who couldn't fill a bingo hall. I loved this business with everything I had. But the math didn't lie. Wrestling wasn't paying the bills. And I had a family depending on me. Most guys in that situation quit wrestling. I refused to quit wrestling. So I kept the job — and I kept building. Here's what nobody tells you about having a day job AND a wrestling career: The stability isn't a weakness. It's a weapon. When I launched New Ohio Wrestling in 2015, I didn't have to take bad sponsor deals because I was desperate. When I started Pro Wrestling Skool, I didn't have to rush a half-baked product to market because I needed the cash. When I started building the Academy, I could afford to do it RIGHT instead of doing it fast. The day job bought me OPTIONS. And options are everything in this business. Now here's why I'm telling you this today. I've been quietly building something for this community. A full membership experience inside Pro Wrestling Skool — courses, tools, resources, and a community of wrestlers who are serious about building real careers. It's coming soon. And when it drops, Founders will get special pricing. If you're already here in this community, you're already ahead. You'll be the first to know. You'll get the best deal. That's the reward for showing up early. But before that drops — I want you to start where I had to figure everything out the hard way.

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 Contact promoters the way they prefer to be contacted, with a short professional pitch and one link to your promo kit. Find them through their promotion's social pages, their website, and locker rooms you are already in. The best contact is a warm one: meet them at their shows, help before you ask, and let wrestlers they trust vouch for you. Cold messages work. Relationships work faster. 𝟮. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 Every booking starts with a contact. If you cannot get in front of promoters the right way, your training and talent stay invisible. Get this right and you build a network that feeds you bookings for years. Get it wrong and you get ignored, or worse, you get remembered as the wrestler who would not stop blowing up someone's phone. This is pure Reach: getting seen by the right people, the right way. 𝟯. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 Here is what I know from running New Ohio Wrestling: most wrestlers treat contacting a promoter like buying a lottery ticket. They fire off the same lazy message to fifty promotions and hope. That is backwards. Promoters are people. We remember who came to our shows, who helped stack chairs, who was respectful in the locker room, and who a trusted veteran vouched for. One warm contact beats fifty cold ones. The message matters, but the relationship behind it matters more. 𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗜𝘁 Think of contacting promoters as three levels, from coldest to warmest. 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 1: 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩. A message to a promoter who has never heard of you. It works if the pitch is clean, but it is the hardest road. 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 2: 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩. You have been to their shows. You have commented on their posts. Your name is vaguely familiar before your message lands. 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 3: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. A wrestler, trainer, or referee they trust says "book this kid." This is how most bookings actually happen. Your job is to move every target promotion up one level before you pitch. That is Reach work. 𝟱. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽-𝗯𝘆-𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱 1: Build your target list. Every promotion within your travel range. Find the booker's name, their pages, and how they take pitches. Why it matters: pitching the wrong person or the wrong inbox gets you deleted. Example: some promoters want email only, some run everything through Facebook. Match their preference.