Undeterred from WWE Dream, Kirsch Says He's 'Tough Enough ...

Mill Valley native and Tam High grad A.J. Kirsch won?t be one of the two contestants vying for a World Wrestling Entertainment contract in tonight?s final episode of the reality series Tough Enough on the USA Network.

But that doesn?t mean he?s any less sure that he?ll eventually realize his dream of becoming a WWE wrestler.

The 27-year-old Tam High grad has wanted to be a pro wrestler for years and got a serendipitous break when he was discovered on a social networking website?and nabbed a spot on the show.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Kirsch, son of Joel and Susan Kirsch, was the fourth from final of the 14 contestants to be eliminated, and says that he showed WWE execs enough for them to give him a shot. He?s waiting by the phone. In the meantme, he spoke with Mill Valley Patch about the experience.

Mill Valley Patch: How did the experience match your expectations?

A.J. Kirsch: It actually went far beyond anything I could have expected. I always thought it would be interesting to be on a reality show. But I had no idea. I don?t know how it could have gotten any bigger for me as a fan of professional wrestling and sports in general. I literally had to remind myself that it was I was not dreaming. I still have trouble putting some of those experiences into words. Ninety-five percent of me was focused on the competition, listening and paying attention, but there was still that lunatic wrestling fan inside of me that kept saying, ?This is so cool!?

MVP: And you got to spend time with some of the greats of the sport.

Coming out of Tough Enough as a fan I could say I was in the ring with Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin. I got to ask questions of John Cena. And then there was the Rock. He?s a worldwide icon at this point. Had a genie come out of a lamp I could not have asked for better experience

MVP:?One of the clips of you online has you chastising another guy in the ring, with the Rock watching, and you seemed determined to prove your naysayers wrong. Tell me about that clip.

That was trainer Bill DeMott. He?s been in the wrestling business for 20-plus years. Yeah that promo was the proudest moment of my tenure on the show. There was so much going on going into that. In the episodes leading up to that, I was not doing well. I had been in the ring with another contestant, Christina Crawford, and she ended up spraining her ankle. I ended up taking a lot of heat for being out of position, which may have contributed to her injury.

MVP:?So you had your back up against the wall.

Coming into that skills competition I had to let it all hang out there. Arguably the greatest talker in the history of sports entertainment was standing at ringside. I believed every word I said. Everything I said in there was real. I wasn?t me trying to pretend something I wasn?t or coming up with some cliche about who I was. I let him know how I really felt, that it was my time to make an impact. Even though I was sent home after that, I know I made a great impression.

MVP:?Where do you go from here?

I?m confident and hopeful that this is not the last the WWE universe has seen of me. I?m training like a mad man so that if I do get that call and opportunity, I want to make sure that I make the absolute most of it. I?m proud of my performance on tough enough but I still feel like I could have made it even further. I know that I still I have a lot to prove.

MVP:?Have you gone back to your old job?

Yeah, I?m bouncing at the Matrix Fillmore in San Francisco. And I?m writing a lot, and picking up singing gigs here and there. But my focus is really getting in the best shape of my life. If I don?t get another look from the WWE and even if I do and it doesn?t work out, I do want to return to independent wrestling circuit. If it doesn?t happen, I?m not going to love wrestling any less.

MVP:?But you?re undeterred from your WWE dream?

The iron is hottest right now for me to be wrestling in the WWE or elsewhere. And yeah, the WWE is where I ultimately where I want to be.

MVP:?Do you have any idea of they?re looking at you as a possible signee even though you didn?t win the show?

At this point, I have no indication that the WWE has any further interest in me but I am keeping my phone close. I am approaching my next several weeks as if they were going to give me a call. My phone is always charged and close by.

MVP:?What?s your strongest attribute as a potential WWE competitor?

Communication was field of study in college and a big part of that was argumentation and public speaking. I have always been comfortable speaking in front of people.

MVP:?What?s your greatest weakness?

More than anything right now, I need to work on my technique and how clean and crisp I execute the moves. In wrestling, much like dancing, you?re only as good as the person you?re in there with. Your job is to make that person look better than they actually are. It?s less about how can I make myself look good and more about how can I make them look good.

It?s our job to make it look easy. I need to make it look like I?ve done it a thousand times. The good thing for me is that in sports entertainment, anybody can learn how to do the moves. Some people just don?t have the skills to talk on the mic.

MVP:?Are you too young to have been a fan of the Macho Man, who died last month?

I was not a hardcore fan of the 80s. I started in 96. But he was one of the most colorful and eccentric and ultimately lovable characters in the history of sports entertainment. He?s a part of wrestling folklore, that?s for sure. To lose a talent like that, event though he wasn?t as active anymore, is a huge loss.

MVP: What do you parents make of your participation in Tough Enough and your dream of getting into the WWE?

It?s funny, you don?t know anything when your 12 years old and you say, ?I?m going to do this.? Wanting to be a pro wrestler is something pretty common for a kid when they?re 10 or 12 years old. They?ve always believed in me but I don?t think even they ever thought I?d make it those close. The odds are very difficult. If I want to play centerfield for the San Francisco Giants, there are 29 other teams if I don?t make the Giants. With the WWE, there?s only one team. Not a lot of people get to have this experience in front of the whole world and still be this close to making it happen. So they couldn?t be prouder.

Article source: http://millvalley.patch.com/articles/undeterred-from-wwe-dream-kirsch-says-hes-tough-enough

Source: http://wrestling911.com/fuw/2011/06/undeterred-from-wwe-dream-kirsch-says-hes-tough-enough/

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