10 WWE WrestleMania Stars Who Started At a Warehouse On Dale Mabry in Tampa

Author Geno

March 8th, 2020 12:04 AM

WrestleMania at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa is just a month away. An impressive number of the wrestlers you’ll see April 5 at Ray Jay got their first big break in pro wrestling 6 miles south on Dale Mabry at a little warehouse that’s now occupied by a children’s play area. Florida Championship Wrestling is the subject of a new special on the WWE Network. WWE sent prospects to FCW in Tampa to get trained by wrestling legends like “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. The impact that FCW had is evident when you see how the students became WWE superstars. These 10 WrestleMania competitors all performed for a tiny crowd of about 100 fans at that little warehouse on Dale Mabry for a $5 ticket. Popcorn was $1. And this wasn’t even 10 years ago!

• Seth Rollins

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  He got his wrestling name from Henry Rollins. Seth is one of the biggest success stories of former FCW wrestlers who trained in Tampa. But he says in the special that he was really getting discouraged and was starting to wonder if he'd ever get the call up to the big time in WWE.

• Drew McIntyre

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  He's a WWE champ now. But not even 10 years ago, you could see him at that Dale Mabry warehouse for $5!

• Roman Reigns

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  Part of a big wrestling family, Reigns was just one of "The Shield" members who trained on Dale Mabry.
• Sheamus

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  The wrestlers say they weren''t too crazy about training in the sweltering Tampa heat. They say in the special that the trainers rarely turned the air conditioning on.

• The Bella Twins

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  They said they had it tough breaking in to wrestling as they were initially dismissed as models and not real wrestlers who could compete.

• Daniel Bryan

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  Like Rollins, he expressed frustration on how long it took to get out of Tampa and on to the main WWE roster. His patience paid off as he became a champion just a few short years later.
• Bray Wyatt

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  In the special, they talk a lot about second generation wrestlers who trained in Tampa. Wyatt is the son of '80s wrestling star "IRS" Mike Rotundo. In the FCW special, they show his early interview acting skills. He was a natural from day 1.

• Big E

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  That guy in the middle? He's a Tampa guy! Look for him and other members of New Day at Ray Jay.

• Charlotte Flair

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  Daughter of "Nature Boy" Ric Flair,she had a quite different look back in her Tampa days.
• Natalya

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  Daughter of Tampa's Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart, she tells some great stories in the special about how when they acquired the Dale Mabry gym, they were taking over a food storage warehouse and she'd often sit on boxes of canned food during wrestling practices.

• Naomi

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  More known as a product of the NXT system in Orlando, but apparently she also trained in Tampa.

• Bayley

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  Just one of the many female stars who started in Tampa. She chose the spelling "Bayley" because she's from the Bay. (San Francisco Bay though, not Tampa Bay.)
• Paige

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  Although she's no longer an active wrestler due to injuries, Paige was trained here in Tampa.

• Corey Graves

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  He's now on the WWE announce team since his wrestling career was cut short.

• Dusty Rhodes

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  Many of the wrestlers profiled about their time in Tampa remarked how much the legendary Dusty Rhodes helped them develop their wrestling characters. We lost Dusty a few years ago.

FCW eventually closed up shop when WWE opened their new training center in Orlando.  NXT is clearly a next level version of the learning environment Florida Championship Wrestling created.  The warehouse on Dale Mabry near Gandy is now filled with bounce houses. It’s a children’s play center!

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Author Geno

Category:

• Geno

Tags:

Bella Twins,Dale Mabry,Florida Championship Wrestling,NXT,Orlando,Pro Wrestling,Roman Reigns,Seth Rollins,Tampa,Vince McMahon,World Wrestling Entertainment,WrestleMania,WrestleMania 36,WWE