While speaking with WWE.com, Chad Lail (the former Gunner) talked about his time at the WWE Performance Center and more. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Time at the Performance Center so far: “Honestly, WWE is where I wanted to be since day one. I had my tryout two years ago and finally got a chance to get down here and learn from all the coaches. We’ve got so much knowledge right here in this building, between Head Coach [Matt] Bloom, Coach Norman [Smiley], Coach [Robbie] Brookside, and all the people here. With me being a little bit older than some of the people here and having been in sports-entertainment for 15 years now, it’s a great opportunity to really learn the WWE way and be where I want to be. I’ve been a part of a lot of teams, playing sports in high school and obviously being in the Marine Corps, but there’s nothing I’ve ever been a part of like at the Performance Center.”

Military background: “I was in the United States Marine Corps from 2002 to 2006. It was probably the best decision I ever made in my life. I was a motor transport operator by job title, but a lot of the times what I would do overseas was called the “ring mount.” That’s the guy on the top of the truck operating any type of weapon that may be on top of the truck. I have a family history of being in the military. My dad was in the Army, uncles are Army and Navy, and there were only two other Marines in my family. I told myself that if I was going to go into the military, in my eyes, the Marines had the toughest training. It was definitely the toughest thing I ever went through in my life.”

Independent scene: “Once I got out of the Marine Corps in 2006, I started with a promotion called NWA: Anarchy. It used to be called NWA: Wildside, and that’s where guys like AJ Styles performed. That was definitely a big point in my career, as I started learning from and competing against better talent. I started traveling with the NWA. I held their national title for two years, and began traveling out of the country as well. From about 2006 through 2009, I was really busy with the NWA, and that’s around the time I met Terry Taylor. He helped me get my foot in the door with other promotions that helped me build a name. In 2015, I left another company and had kept in good contact with guys like Dash Wilder and Edge, and they put me in touch with William Regal. Mr. Regal got me a tryout in 2015, and I think he just wanted to get a look at me because he heard from Edge that, “Hey, you might want to take a look at this guy.” Edge helped me out.”

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Long-term WWE goals: “I guess the child in me says WrestleMania. That’s my ultimate goal. During that two-year wait when I wasn’t with WWE, I had opportunities where people would come up and ask me, “WrestleMania’s in Orlando, do you wanna go?” I’m stubborn. I’d say, “Nah, man.” I always said I’d never go to WrestleMania unless I was part of WrestleMania, and I’ve stuck to that.”

Steve Carrier

Steve is the Founder of RingsideNews. He has been writing about professional wrestling since 1996. He first got into website development at the time and has been focusing on bringing his readers the best professional wrestling news at it's highest quality.

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