World Wrestling Entertainment, better known as the WWE, is coming back to Hawai‘i in October. The organization will hold a pair of shows in the Islands for the first time since 2019 and hopes it leaves with its next crop of future stars.
The WWE will hold live shows at the Neal S. Blasidell Center on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. Prior to each event, the organization will hold tryouts for athletes and characters who hope to become a part of the world's most prominent wrestling organization.
Athletes who plan to try out must apply at this link by Tuesday, Sept. 15.
WWE executives, recruiters and coaches will be present at the tryouts, which will involve athletic conditioning testing, character and promo work, training in the ring and more.
Before he became the WWE's senior vice president of talent development, Shawn Michaels established himself as one of the organization's greats. Also known as the Heartbreak Kid, Michaels is a former WWE champion and current Hall of Famer.
Now 61, Michaels is paying it forward as an executive in the organization. Always willing to search far and wide, he knew the organization needed to make a stop in Hawai‘i.
The organization's success with wrestlers from Polynesia spans decades. During the interview, Michaels spoke of his fondness for High Chief Peter Maivia, who joined the World Wrestling Federation in the 1970s, as well as Rodney Anoa'i, also known as Yozozuna, who joined WWF in the early 1990s after winning the Universal Wrestling Association's trios championship with the Hawaiian Beasts.
There is also, of course, Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson, who spent his childhood on O‘ahu before moving to the Mainland and eventually rocketing to global superstardom, a journey that was ignited by his presence in the WWE.
"Everybody's thrilled to be having the opportunity to come back to Hawai‘i," Michaels told Aloha State Daily in a recent interview. "From a recruiting standpoint, nothing would thrill us more than be able to find the next Rock or the next Roman Reigns on this recruiting trip out to Hawai‘i."
While factors such as athletic ability and charisma are natural advantages to possess during the tryouts, Michaels says there truly is no one-size-fits-all candidate.
"You need to be durable. You need to have confidence," Michaels says. "But at the same time, there's also been people that don't come from an athletic background. They might be on the (independent) scene out there and not having that many opportunities. You may have watched it your entire life, but you've never known how to actually make it happen, it's like, 'How do I become those guys that I want to see on TV?' Well, this is your opportunity, and so we're looking forward to everybody coming out and giving their best. You never know unless you try."
The opportunity to present oneself in front of WWE decision-makers is one Michaels certainly wishes he had back when he was eager to make a name for himself.
"It comes in so many different forms and fashions. If you talk to 10 different WWE superstars, they can give you 10 different paths they took at the WWE," Michaels said. "All I can tell you from personal experience is that it's given me a life unlike I ever possibly imagined I could have, for both myself and my family, and so nothing would have thrilled me more than to have a pathway to have been able to make that happen for me. It was much more difficult in my time, and I'm so fortunate for everything and the way that it worked out.
"But now there is a real pathway through our recruiting system, and I just have to tell everybody: if you've just ever thought about it, or you believe that there's something in you, this innate presence that you have that you feel like you want to do this, I say, man, you might as well give it a shot."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
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