Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald is Living an Unexpected Dream at WWE Tryout

Fifteen years ago Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald was watching Triple H in the wrestling ring with his brothers in Nigeria. This week Triple H is the one watching Abule’s moves in the wrestling ring. The former Kentucky defensive lineman still can’t believe it.

“This is unexpected,” Abule laughed in a lengthy conversation with KSR Wednesday night. Even after sending the Instagram message from the WWE to his family, it still has not completely sunk in that he’s competing to become a professional wrestler.

Abadi-Fitzgerald is one of 45 current and former college athletes trying out for the WWE in Frisco, Tx. ahead of Sunday’s Wrestlemania. He shared his unbelievable story and peeled back the curtain to reveal what takes place at the potentially life-changing three-day tryout.

Football and Wrestling Conditioning Aren’t so Different

In order to be successful in the WWE, one must be an exceptional athlete and able to operate in front of a camera. Few places will better prepare you for that than SEC football. He’s only been off the field for a couple of months, but he could feel it on his first day in the ring.

“I went into the ring and it felt great. It was awesome. The ropes are bouncy,” he said. “We did a lot of conditioning, you know test our athletic ability, a couple of conditioning things just to see if you’re in shape and a couple of ring drills. I kid you not, those ring drills were some pretty good cardio. I’m exhausted right now just from doing ring drills. It wears you out.”

In addition to conditioning and ring drills, the group also took an “intro to promos” class. One might be comfortable in front of a camera, but WWE superstars must look directly into the lens to speak to the fans while calling out their opponent. It’s an exciting challenge for Abule.

“I’m a quiet kid. I don’t talk much. I really only speak when I’m spoken too, when I’m talking and trying to introduce myself to someone. I’m trying to get out of that behavior habit and personality of not being talkative, because one thing I want to do is be a salesman… If I want to be a salesperson and if I want to tryout for the WWE, I have to let my personality come out a little bit.”

Abule Idolized WWE Superstars in Nigeria

Long before he earned a scholarship to play football at the University of Kentucky, he was just another kid that loved wrestling. One of 40+ brothers and sisters, in his crowded family they watched three things on television in Nigeria: cartoons, soccer and wrestling. Everything his brothers watched on TV, they tried to imitate.

“They say ‘Don’t try this at home.’ Yeah, right. We tried everything at home that we possibly could. We loved it,” said Abule. “It was fun. It was the realest thing to me and that was fun for us, watching stuff on TV and trying to imitate it.”

Abule moved to America when he was 12 and shifted his focus to school and basketball. Eager to make something of his life, television fell by the wayside. Ever since then he’s put in the work to become a success story, but it’s still difficult to fathom where his life has taken him since those days where he was DDTing his brothers in Nigeria.

“A lot of people won’t understand this, but Triple H, John Cena, The Rock, Bautista, Kane, Booker T, Rey Mysterio — all of those guys in Nigeria were superstars in our world, role models. I never knew, I — a Nigerian kid — would come to America, play basketball, meet some NBA players, get to see Kevin Hart, play college football, tryout for the WWE and end up seeing the guy I used to watch flip dudes and wrestle.

“When I was a kid in Nigeria I never thought in my life I would come to America, then here I am. The whole thing is crazy. It’s insane.”

Even if he does not leave with a job, he’s leaving with a souvenir his siblings will not soon forget.

“Before I leave here I gotta make sure I get a picture with him because my brothers in Nigeria will freak out. They will lose their minds if they see me with Triple H in a picture,” he said. “That’s a gift they will cherish forever.”

Grateful for WWE Opportunity

Like many former college athletes, Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald was at a crossroads once his football career concluded. He was not ready to abandon athletics and not completely sure what to do next. The WWE tryout came at the perfect time.

“God’s given me a chance to be successful,” said Abule. “I want good things to happen and it’s happened. When you trust in God he does crazy things for you unexpectedly. It’s almost always in the midst when you feel like things aren’t going your way or you’re very confused on what you’re going to do or where you’re going to end up. That’s where I am right now. I was like where am I going to be? What am I going to do? You have a little anxiety, worrying, worrying, worrying, then the other day, I chose God and he leads the way. He always surprises me and brings out something good in the worst situations. Thank God for that.”

He added: “It’s a great opportunity. I will cherish all of these moments, from playing football at UK to this. Regardless if I make it or not, this will be one for the books for me, definitely.”

Hear the entire conversation with Abule on the KSR Football Podcast feed where we discuss his potential character development and much more from behind the scenes at the WWE tryout.

Tryout Update

Abule advanced to the next round of tryouts. The WWE asked him to return this summer for a two-week training camp. He’s one step closer to wrestling on Monday Night RAW.