"What an arrogant mindset" - AEW star QT Marshall recalls a miserable WWE tryout [Exclusive]
AEW star QT Marshall recently recalled a failed tryout with WWE that left him dumbfounded and surprised. Ahead of All Out 2021, where he squares off against Paul Wight (FKA Big Show), Marshall sat down for an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta.
During the chat, QT Marshall revealed that he attended several WWE tryouts in the past. Back then, athletes were mostly quizzed about their physical attributes and rarely asked to showcase their wrestling abilities.
During one such tryout, Marshall disclosed that one of the WWE coaches bluntly stated they could not teach anyone to wrestle. He believes it was an arrogant mindset to have, as the company didn't want to focus on the in-ring skills of an athlete.
"So, you know, unfortunately, I have been through so many of those tryouts, so many of those extra gigs, where it's like "how tall are you?" and all of those things, and I'm like "you're not giving me a chance to wrestle before you're asking me these questions." And then, I remember, at one of the tryouts I went to, they literally told us "We can't teach anyone how to wrestle." What an arrogant mindset at the time," said QT Marshall
QT Marshall says that the WWE tryout stayed with him for over a decade
QT Marshall further said he understands why WWE would have such a mindset. It is easier to train people who are wrestling fans or have an athletic background.
However, Marshall added that when dealing with 50 odd people keen to learn the craft, it's wrong to have such an approach. The AEW star stated that the WWE tryout left a lasting impression on him. The interaction is still fresh in his mind more than a decade later.
"I do understand what they are talking about because I have actual professional athletes that come to me who want to train. Of course, it's easier to train them if they are wrestling fans because they are athletic, and you don't have to teach them to go to the gym and do all these other things. But at the same time, when you have 50 people in there who want to be professional wrestlers, and you basically tell them their wrestling powers don't matter, that stuck with me. That was in 2009. And the fact that I still remember it to this day, obviously it left an impression on me," said QT Marshall
QT Marshall is himself a coach. He's the head trainer at Cody Rhodes' wrestling school, "Nightmare Factory," and trains the new generation of stars in AEW.
Would you have liked to see QT Marshall join WWE? Do you think The Factory would have been a good fit for Vince McMahon's promotion? Sound off in the comments section below.