James: Okay, stop. So...
Narrator: If you want to make it
as a professional wrestler...
James: Boom.
Narrator: You've got to learn the basics
of working in the ring.
James: Schoolboy.
Wait for me to take you.
Narrator: Many WWE superstars start out
at schools like this one.
The New York Wrestling Connection
in Deer Park, New York on Long Island.
Some of the school's alumni
are current WWE superstars like Tony Nese,
Zack Ryder, and Curt Hawkins.
James: No choking!
Narrator: At NYWC, students
get one-on-one instruction
from former WWE superstar Bull James.
Announcer: Going to the top
rope, maybe trying to put
away Baron Corbin!
Diving headbutt!
Narrator: James spent three
years in WWE's NXT promotion
where he was known as "Bull Dempsey."
Announcer: Dempsey grabbing
hold of a steel chair!
James: Best three years
of my life, hands down.
Just traveling the world
with a great group of people.
Learning from some of the
best minds in the history
of our industry.
Narrator: After being
released by WWE in 2016,
James became the head coach at NYWC.
The school charges students $200
for their first month of training.
And $150 for each subsequent
month, which comes out to
around $1800 for a full year.
James: Here, you are paying
us to train, so it really
just comes down to how
bad that person wants it.
If they want to put their all
into it and be here every day
and make the sacrifices
and take the bumps and bruises, cool.
And if they don't, then they don't.
This right here is
where the magic happens.
Narrator: The students get to train
in a real 18x18 foot ring.
How would you describe
the surface of the ring?
James: Hard! 
Everybody thinks there's like
a spring underneath. Not true.
It's wood and steel, padding
maybe is that thick, so.
Your body builds up a callus.
If you can handle it, then
you know, you got a shot.
Good.
Narrator: The students learn
the fundamentals of the sport.
James: Give him a receipt.
Narrator: The basic rolls,
holds,
and throws.
James: Everything is based
around having good footwork.
I won't let them get in the ring
unless their feet are right.
Nope, do it again.
It's all repetition.
So, you're gonna do it over
and over again the right way
and then it just becomes muscle memory.
Narrator: To make the
in-ring battles look real
students have to learn
the art of "selling"
or making it look like
they're actually in pain.
James: Reacting with your
face and body in a way
to make people emotionally
invest in what you're doing.
I don't think anybody can
really ever teach selling.
You either develop it or you don't.
Every hold that you see is a
real hold. If you are going
to treat the hold properly
during a match, you need to know
what it feels like. Nobody's
gonna get stretched to
where they're hurt. You'll
just feel a little bit
and go, "Okay, yeah I don't want that on."
Narrator: Advanced students
get the chance to showcase
what they've learned in real matches.
Along with being a school,
NYWC is an independent wrestling promotion
that puts on shows in
the Long Island area.
One of the school's up-and-coming
students is Jaden Valo.
At only 18-years-old,
Valo is already showing huge potential.
Valo: Ever since the
first time I watched it
something drew me into it, you know?
Wanting to entertain people,
wanting to be a part of something like,
something huge like this.
Narrator: Jaden is a senior in high school
and uses the money he earns
from a part-time job as a lifeguard
to pay to train at NYWC.
James: Turn it up, Jaden!
Valo: Being able to work
with someone so often,
especially, you know, three days a week,
being able to spend these hours with him.
He has so much knowledge. He
has so much stuff to share with
everybody else, every
one of the new students.
Having him as, like, a coach
is kind of like one of the main things
that is gonna help me
in the future for sure.
Narrator: NYWC offers the students
the tools they need to get
started in the business, but
after that it's up to them
to see it through.
James: If you're coachable
and you're willing to learn
you're gonna go so much
farther than somebody
that shuts off and thinks
they know everything.
Why do I have this?
[Student]: So you can control.
James: When I have head-control
you're going anywhere I put you.
I don't let people fail.
They can fail themselves
but I won't fail them as a coach.
Before you roll backwards
grab his ankles and pull him over.
You build confidence and
trust from other people in you
by just, simply just not quitting.
