Levi Cooper has been featured in a news piece for his new high school wrestling coaching job, for the first time since his retirement from pro wrestling.
The former Tucker Knight was released by the WWE in 2021, following a short-lived feud with former tag team partner Otis. He continued wrestling for the next few years but announced his retirement from the business in October last year.
Now, for the first time since retirement, Levi Cooper has been featured on TV. A recent report by local news station KPTV in Vancouver, Washington highlighted Cooper’s new profession as the high school wrestling coach.
In the clip, Levi Cooper spoke about his WWE career, including showing a selection of his ring-worn gear and merchandise. The former WWE star then explained why he retired from wrestling to become a high school teacher.
He noted that since the birth of his kids, travelling away regularly has become difficult, emotionally. Levi Cooper added that it was a cool way to spend his 20s, but things changed after he became a father.
Levi Cooper On Retiring From Wrestling
“Traveling before I had kids was 95 percent fun, but after I had my daughter it became really difficult emotionally. I wasn’t prepared for how difficult that was going to be. It was a cool way to spend my 20s, man. It was a really special thing to get to do.” Levi Cooper said. “It really is an art form. It encompasses a ton of stuff. You know, you’re like a live-action stunt performer basically that’s trying to tell a story with your body without words. It’s like, the outcome is pre-determined but go fall over outside on a mat that’s this thick, repeatedly. It takes its toll. It’s a full-on lifestyle.”
WWE’s Otis, Levi Cooper’s former tag team partner, retweeted the clip. He added the caption “TUCKyyyy” and a heart emoji, showing the love he still has for his former tag team partner.
Last year, Otis posted a photo of himself with Cooper in the gym. After his release from WWE, Cooper told WrestleZone that they still had a “very deep friendship”. He noted that anything that happens in WWE cannot affect their relationship.
“We still talk every week,” he noted. “We have a very deep friendship and the things that happened inside of WWE cannot and will not ever have an effect on our relationship or our brotherhood. So, I think it was that kind of foundational level and understanding that we had with each other and we had a bond because of these things.”
