WWE‘s Omos Details Grueling Transition From Basketball to Pro Wrestling
WWE star omos recently shared insights into the demanding process of transitioning from a collegiate basketball career to professional wrestling, revealing the initial physical challenges and adjustments he faced during his training. Speaking on the “MuscleManMalcolm” YouTube channel, Omos emphasized his gratitude for his basketball background, believing it provided a foundation for the rigors of WWE.
Omos explained that while his athletic background eased some aspects of the transition, learning the fundamentals of wrestling – specifically how to safely perform bumps, utilize the ropes, and execute rolls - proved tough. He recounted injuring himself within the first few months at the WWE Performance Center, leading to a decision to streamline his moveset to mitigate further risk.
“So, me coming into WWE wasn’t really a challenge.I’m actually grateful that I played basketball because I feel like basketball kind of prepared me for wrestling and what I’m doing in the wrestling ring,” Omos stated. “And although I would say, you know, going from running and jumping to, you know, learn how to take bumps and know how to hit the ropes and, you know, learning how to do forward rolls and back rolls, learning how to take a bump properly so you know you don’t break your hands, that was something that I wasn’t really privy to. So it took a while to get used to it, but you know once I got used to it [it was good]. I knew from my very first tryout that this is what I was meant to do. I have never felt passionately about something that fast until once I got into the ring.”
trained initially by Chris Hero at the Performance Center, Omos signed with WWE in 2018 after a career in NCAA basketball. He debuted in 2020 and later became a WWE Raw Tag Team Champion. His experience highlights the diverse athletic backgrounds increasingly common in modern professional wrestling and the unique challenges athletes face when switching sports.
