Check Out What It's Like To Be A College Athlete Trying Out For The WWE

Check Out What It's Like To Be A College Athlete Trying Out For The WWE

This weekend is SummerSlam, one of the marquee events on the WWE calendar, and for the first time, it will take place over two nights, both at MetLife Stadium.

Some of the biggest names in sports entertainment are on the card (so is Jelly Roll, for some reason), but before the focus shifts to the current crop of WWE superstars, it was first on the next crop of WWE superstars who could be headlining SummerSlams in the years to come.

WWE hopefuls journeyed to — where else? — The New Jersey Institute of Technology, to show whether or not they have what it takes to become the next Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley, or CM Punk, or if they will become a punchline like the Shockmaster.

Let's hope for everyone's sake, it's the former.

OutKick producer Sean Anderson was there, not to hop in the ring, but to gain some insights into those vying to enter the squared circle.

The first thing that became pretty clear was that a lot of former college athletes, including former Utah Utes defensive end Van Fillinger, who told Sean that he was there to try out after falling in love with pro wrestling thanks to an old Nintendo DS game that he used to play.

Speaking of Fillinger, he trained for the NFL Draft alongside former Michigan State Spartans football and basketball player Maliq Carr, who said that if he had to pick out a tag team partner right now, he would go with his old training buddy.

But even for the most seasoned athletes, learning how to wrestle can come with a pretty steep learning curve, as former college hoops player CJ Felder could attest to.

But remember, while the athletics are a big part of being a professional wrestler. They need to demonstrate that they've got some serious skills on the mic, and sometimes the ability to cut a good promo is what separates the so-so wrestlers from the megastars.

Former Long Island University wrestler Aeden Begue demonstrated the art of cutting a promo by dissing one of LIU's big rivals, fellow Long Island university, Hofstra (which I got accepted into, but did not attend *sniff*).

Alright, I'm not the one making the calls, but I see some serious promo-cutting potential from Mr. Begue. If you have ever watched any of the WWE's developmental shows like Evolve or WWE NXT, that could probably hang with a lot of what you'll see.

Although a lot of people would be like, "Why the hell is this guy so mad at Hofstra?"

Of course, that's what writers are for.

The goal is to make it to WWE and work your way up to the main roster on Raw or SmackDown.

The dream, however, is to walk out and receive a massive ovation from the crowd, or, as it's known in the world of professional wrestling, a "pop."

And Begue is owed a pop after he and the LIU esports team took a stunning Overwatch victory.

Best of luck to these fellas and everyone else who made the pilgrimage to NJIT, and be sure to keep an eye on OutKick socials to see more of Sean's visit to WWE tryouts.