Anthony Bowens seemingly has IMPACT Wrestling’s Santino Marella to thank for getting into the world of professional wrestling.
Bowens, one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions, was a recent guest on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about how he got into the world of professional wrestling, Bowens chalked it up to a chance meeting with Santino Marella at his local gym.
“I thought about moving down to Florida. I thought about going to Lance Storms in Canada. I didn’t have the money at the time,” Bowens said. “One day, WWE was in the area and back in Jersey, and usually when they’re there, they lift at the gym that I go to, so I emailed all my professors that I was sick, I won’t be coming in. So then I went to the gym, and I just started meeting people and taking photos. The last person that I was gonna go up to but almost didn’t was Santino Marella because he was doing his sets, and I didn’t want to bother him was like, I won’t bother him. I’ll leave. But my buddy Will was like, ‘You’re never gonna see him again. Just take the photo.’ Which ended up being super crucial because when I took the photo with him as I walked away, he stopped me and said, ‘Hey, you have the size to be a pro wrestler. Have you ever thought about becoming one?’
” I was like, oh my god, yeah. Then he pulled out his phone he gave me the number to Pat Buck, who is the owner of Wrestle Pro, Create A Pro, who is also now a producer with us at AEW, which is really cool producing our matches. Then, the next week, I went down to the training center, which was obliterated because of Hurricane Sandy, and they were just practicing chain wrestling on amateur wrestling mats, and I was like, this is the coolest thing ever, and I started.”
Van Vliet then brought up the fact that things happen in people’s lives at the right time for a reason, and Bowens agreed,
“It’s crazy; I do believe things happen for a reason,” Bowens said. “Because that whole timeline, if one thing goes wrong, I don’t know what happens. Am I sitting here right now talking about all this? I don’t know.”
What do you make of Anthony Bowens’ comments? Do you think he still would have become a professional wrestler had he not taken that photo with Santino Marella? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit INSIGHT with a link back to this article for the transcription.
