The WCW Power Plant was a former professional wrestling school located at 1530 Carrol Drive in Atlanta, Georgia. It was owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling. The Power Plant was in operation throughout the 1990s. It stopped holding tryouts in December 1999 and closed in March 2001 when WCW's assets were sold to the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE).
Video WCW Power Plant
Operations
The Power Plant was in operation as early as 1995. In February 1998, Paul Orndorff began managing the Power Plant. The Power Plant was advertised on WCW Monday Nitro. Once a month, open tryouts were held for applicants between the ages of 18 and 29. If the applicants were suitably impressive, they would earn an invitation to join the school at a cost of $3,000 for six months training. Male applicants had to be at least 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall and 180 lb (82 kg) in weight.
To succeed at the Power Plant, a trainee was required to display an abundance of strength and stamina rather than basic wrestling skills. Bret Hart, who was forced to retire when a stiff kick from Power Plant graduate Bill Goldberg tore a muscle in his neck and gave him post-concussion syndrome, blamed the end of his career on the Power Plant training regime, saying "I don't think it was a priority to protect your opponent."
While researching professional wrestling for a BBC documentary, journalist Louis Theroux visited the Power Plant. He volunteered to take part in some training in an effort to show some respect for the business, but as he had asked DeWayne Bruce some questions about kayfabe, he was forced into very hard exercise. At one stage, Bruce encouraged the other trainees to call him a cockroach while Theroux was struggling to regain his breath. Theroux was later shown vomiting on camera.
Maps WCW Power Plant
Trainers
Male trainers
- Director Jody Hamilton
- Manager Paul Orndorff
- Head Trainer DeWayne Bruce
- Bobby Eaton
- Mike Hayner (Prince Iaukea)
- Lash LeRoux
- Harrison Norris
- Ray Lloyd (Glacier)
- Ron Reis
- Mike Wenner
- Pez Whatley
Female trainers
- Nora Greenwald (Molly Holly)
- Debrah Miceli (Alundra Blayze)
Graduates
Male graduates
Female graduates
See also
- WWE Performance Center
- Hart Dungeon
References
External links
- United Airlines advertisement for the Power Plant
- Interview with Sonny Siaki
- Mad dogs and glory
Source of article : Wikipedia
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