I’m a passionate wrestling fan who gets asked all the time why I love wrestling. Some people have said that I should be watching the UFC, not this “fake” sport of wrestling. Although I am also a huge Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fan, wrestling has a special place in my heart for what it has given to me. Wrestling has taught me many life lessons.
How I Got Interested in Wrestling
I was about 8 years old in the 1980s when I first started watching wrestling on TV. Back then, wrestling was on every Saturday morning and I would often go to a friend’s house to watch cartoons as my family couldn’t afford a TV. As my friend was flipping through the channels, I told her to stop on a wrestling match of The Hart Foundation vs The British Bulldogs, and it was so exciting! I wanted to watch more but much to my dismay, my friend wanted to watch cartoons instead.
Every Saturday after that, I would go a friend’s house hoping to watch more wrestling – I was hooked! I was especially drawn to the Bret “the Hitman” Hart and Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart of the Hart Foundation as they were my favorite wrestlers. Every week I would watch some matches. However, I found it was difficult to watch the entire show as my friends were not big wrestling fans and so they kept flipping back to cartoons. I soon realized that I needed to get my own TV if I wanted to watch more wrestling.
Wrestling Taught Me I Had to Work Hard to Be Financially Independent
Every Saturday for about a year, I went to a friend’s house to watch wrestling. Then one day my neighbour gave up his paper delivery route, and I took it over. The newspaper company gave me a large bag that I would put over my shoulders to hold the newspapers. I was expected to carry this large bag and walk door to door to deliver the newspapers. I was a small 9-year-old girl, and these newspapers were heavy. In fact, I remember falling to the ground numerous times just from trying to lift the damn heavy bag over my shoulder! It was such a struggle, but I was determined to buy my own TV, and nothing was going to stop me.
Maybe it was my young age but many of my customers would generously tip me. Every day, rain or shine, I had to walk door to door delivering newspapers. When I finally saved enough money, I convinced my family to let me buy a TV with the money I saved. One of my happiest childhood memories was finally being able to watch an entire wrestling show on my own TV! Wrestling had taught me an important lesson: Work hard if you want to be financially independent. If I hadn’t taken the initiative to earn money to buy my own TV, I would still be sitting at a friend’s house watching boring cartoons. I realized at a young age that to get the things I wanted, I would have to work hard so I could buy them myself.
Wrestling Taught Me That It’s OK to Be Different
Many wrestling fans have fond memories of watching wrestling with their family, and I wish I could say the same. I had a different experience because my family criticized me for watching wrestling. Some family members felt it wasn’t “normal” for a girl to like wrestling. I was constantly being told to turn off a wrestling show and watch a cooking show instead. It was the same negativity at school as many classmates would tease me for constantly talking about wrestling. Many girls didn’t want to be my friend as they thought I was “weird,” and I should be interested in playing with girly dolls, not wrestling action figures.
I ignored everyone’s negative comments and things got better as I got older. My family gave up telling me to stop watching wrestling once they realized I wasn’t going to. My classmates matured and became more accepting of a girl loving wrestling. Looking back, I’m glad I stuck to my guns and ignored everyone’s criticisms. I would have been unhappy watching cooking shows if I had gone along with what my family felt was more “normal” for a girl. I would have been unhappy playing with girly dolls if I followed along with what the girls at school felt was more “normal” for a girl. Just because most of society does something one way does not mean that you must follow along and do what others deem to be “normal.” Wrestling taught me that it’s OK to be different and to think outside the box.
Wrestling Taught Me to Never Give Up
As previously mentioned, Bret “the Hitman” Hart and Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart of the Hart Foundation were my favourite wrestlers when I was a young girl. Years later, the Hart Foundation split up and Bret Hart became a singles wrestler.
The Hitman often fought against wrestlers much larger in size than he was in David vs Goliath style matches. He was basically the underdog. Bret would be getting his ass kicked by such giants as Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bam Bam Bigelow etc., and just when I thought the match was over, he’d somehow find a way to claw back against all odds and win! Bret never gave up and always fought back. I now apply that lesson in my life: Never give up. No matter how hard and challenging life gets, never give up!
Wrestling Taught Me the Importance of Being Confident
Bret “the Hitman” Hart was confident and was known for saying, “I’m the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.” As a teenager, I would stand in front of the mirror and say that same line, over and over again. It was like a daily affirmation, and it got me through some tough times growing up. Scientific evidence has shown that a simple set of positive words can dramatically improve your mind, and I truly believe the Hitman’s saying helped transform me from a young girl with low self-esteem to a strong, independent woman.
Wrestling Taught Me Not to Rely on My Full-Time Job
Most wrestling fans know about the “Survivor Series 97 (SS97) Screwjob” pay-per-view (PPV) incident. Bret Hart had negotiated to leave his current employer the WWF and go work with their competitor the WCW. Bret was the current World Champion and he had to drop the belt before jumping to WCW. The SS97 PPV was to take place in Montreal, and Bret felt strongly about not losing in Canada as he was a Canadian hero to many fans. Bret had negotiated with the WWF to drop the belt after SS97. In a move that shocked everyone, the WWF backed out of their agreement and had the referee do a fast count to make it look like Bret lost the match at SS97.
Bret had worked over 300 days a year for 17 years with the WWF, giving years of hard work and service. Bret also said that wrestlers are often treated like circus animals—that once the animals are no longer performing in their prime, they are kicked out of the circus tent and not shown any gratitude. Many fans sided with the WWF that they had do what was “right for their business.” From a business point of view, I realized that the wrestling Promoter is the money-making employer, and the Wrestlers are their employees who are just trying to make some money.
I was a university student when SS97 happened. After I graduated with an engineering degree, I worked in the corporate world. My family told me to go to university and work hard in order to be successful. As a young engineer, I would stay late at work past my required shifts and gave more to my job than what was required. After years at this job, I noticed many of my co-workers getting squeezed to work harder, or even being let go. I started thinking back to SS97 and what happened to Bret. I could work 17 years at this place and get pushed out of the circus tent too. A full-time job is not stable, and the employer is a business who can let you go at any time, no matter how hard you have worked. Wrestling taught me not to rely on my full-time job. I realized for stability, I had to find another means of generating income outside of my full-time job.
How Wrestling Has Influenced Me as an Adult
Using the lessons I learned from watching Wrestling I became a Life Coach, specializing in Wellness and Business Coaching.
𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈: As a young adult, I saw many of my friends developed serious side-effects from taking certain medications. I started researching Health & Wellness topics for my own well-being and discovered that most medications can cause side effects, and can even be addictive. Most people get a prescription from their doctor to treat their health issues. However, wrestling taught me that it’s ok to be different and to think outside the box. Now, I am in the Wellness space of trying natural solutions first before resorting to medication. While learning about holistic and natural solutions for my own health, I discovered that I had a passion for helping people with their Health & Wellness issues.
𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈: As I explained, wrestling taught me not to rely on my full-time job as the only source of income. I began studying how to generate passive income and took investment classes. Most people think it’s “normal” to work a 9 to 5 job as their only source of income. But many are not financially prepared if they unexpectantly lose their job. I coach people about financial education and how to find other means of generating income. I encourage people to invest in themselves, and to not rely on their day job!
Wrestling and Rose Excellence
Wrestling has influenced me in so many ways and is not just an entertaining TV show to me. Wrestling is my life. People have asked the meaning behind my brand, Rose Excellence. Well, my name is Rose, and “Excellence” is to honor my childhood hero Bret “the Hitman” Hart who was the “Excellence of Execution.” There would be no Rose Excellence without wrestling.
If you would like to find out ways to be healthy, or want to talk about wrestling/MMA, etc, feel free to send me an email to RoseExcellenceCoach@gmail.com, and we will chat soon!
Thank you,
Rose 🌹