Erick Rowan Names WWE Talent Who Has Improved Through Dedication
Former WWE star Erick Rowan has stated that a current WWE Superstar has improved in pro wrestling through dedication.
In his recent appearance on the "Ten Count" podcast, Rowan, who goes by the ring name Erick Redbeard now, spoke about athletes who are recruited into pro wrestling, something that's become increasingly common with the advent of the WWE's Performance Center and their NIL program for collegiate athletes. Rowan named one such recruit who's particularly impressed him with his continued improvement: Baron Corbin.
"There's some naturally gifted athletes that don't have that dedication," he explained. "That they made it so far in their sport that they played before, and now they get a chance and an opportunity with WWE. And there's some people that have dedication that'll prove [it] every day and get better and better. Baron Corbin was one of those guys that had dedication in him. There's other guys that didn't have that dedication in them, to improve and get better," said Rowan.
Corbin was an NCAA Division II football player in college, which he parlayed into some time on the rosters of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals.
Rowan recalled his journey in pro wrestling and how he too had to work hard on his craft to improve. "The same with independent wrestling, I include myself in that, in that I'm a guy [where] I had to be on top of a lot of things, but I kept going and I kept improving because I'm a dedicated guy. And when I put my mind to stuff, I follow through, I do it, and those are the kind of people you need in the business."
Rowan: 'Check your ego at the door'
Speaking on the broader topic, Erick Rowan also made clear what he thought separated the successful recruited athletes from the ones who wash out of pro wrestling.
"You need people with 'check your ego at the door' [attitudes]," he continued, speaking more generally. "It's weird to me because wrestling is — people call it art, people call it dancing, but it's two to four to six people in a ring at a time having to work together to make each other look like they're beating the crap out of each other, stretching each other to the limit, without hurting each other. There's no room for egos, to say 'I'm the best,' because no, you're doing the best to make the fans happy."
Rowan has mainly been working independent dates of late, with occasional appearances in AEW mixed in. He last appeared in AEW in the summer, teaming with Danhausen in a loss to the Gunn Club on the August 12 episode of "AEW Rampage." His in-ring debut with the promotion came at March's Revolution pay-per-view event, where he replaced Rey Fenix in a match where Death Triangle lost to the House of Black. He impressed fans that night with how he kept pace with a much different style than he is used to.