Three Count: Fighting for the Pro Wrestling Dream- Part VI: The Veteran

The drive to move up the card motivates the wrestlers. The name of the game is attracting attention, even in church basements, at block parties and abandoned bingo halls. These are the places where success stories – and failures – begin.

When Santiago first started training, he managed to sneak backstage into an independent company’s show at a Bensonhurst church. After lingering in the back for a few hours, he peaked through the curtain and watched the main event. He watched in awe as the, 5-foot-8, 170 pounder, with a shaved head and a Bruce Lee physique, landed vicious kicks and punishing submission holds on his opponent. Santiago saw the response from the crowd for the wrestler who went by the handle “Low-Ki.” This was the sound he wanted to hear from the audience when he performed. Those cheers, he promised himself, would be his one day – first in church rings, and eventually Madison Square Garden.

“Low-Ki is an amazing athlete,” said Santiago. “Watching him in person, you see how good he is. He’s definitely dedicated. The tapes I used to watch him on back in the day don’t do him justice in person.”

Low-Ki, AKA Brandon Silvestri, is respected by both his peers and cult-like fans. Like Santiago and Kebrada, he watched the sport as a kid and grew to admire the people he saw in the ring. He’s entered a league that Santiago and Kebrada dream of, landing in the WWE in 2010. But even his ample skills didn’t keep him there for long. He’s now on the outside looking in at the success he briefly tasted.

He began training at a Brooklyn church at 17 and within four years, every professional wrestling magazine listed him as one of the top independent wrestlers in the world. Still, he’s been unable to stick with a major promotion for an extended period.

Silvestri tells every aspiring professional wrestler he meets to go to college. He didn’t. His fate is controlled by forces that see him as an instrument – one that either drives viewers to the television, or away from it. Because of his modest build, many larger promoters see him as a risk. They want someone who will immediately draw intrigue. They don’t want a Silvestri, who needs time to show how talented he really is.

“It’s all about how you promote yourself now,” said Santiago. “I wish it was like the way it used to be where a guy could go out and perform for people and get the credit he deserved. It’s all about finding a gimmick now.”

If professional wrestlers were judged merely by their ability in the ring, Silvestri likely would be one of the industry’s kings. But professional wresting is all about the spectacle. Acting skills and charisma are crucial.

Many fans prefer the soap opera-like storylines over the wrestling. Silvestri sees professional wrestling as more than cheap drama. It’s an art form. Each kick, punch, top-rope maneuver or grapple is a way to tell a story.

“I’ve never talked about what I wanted to do in the ring. That’s not what my character does. I just do it,” he said. “I go out there and prove that I can hang with the stars of a company in the ring and even surpass them. I try to gain the audiences’ respect that way.

“You only have one chance to make a first impression. I go out there every night and perform like they’ve never seen me. I try and make sure they know who I am by the end of the match. I like to take people on a journey. It’s a challenge and an opportunity to develop a relationship with people.”

His dedication wasn’t enough to launch him to superstar status. He said he asked to be released from his once-dream WWE deal in late 2010 because he believed he wasn’t being given enough of a chance to connect with audiences. A few months later he was back in his old stomping grounds, TNA, the second largest promotion in the U.S. There, he wrestled two stellar matches, one on television and the other on pay per view, before going back to where his career started – the independent circuit.

He still loves the sport. Too bad it’s incapable of loving him back.

Behind the pyrotechnics, loud music, beautiful women and fantastical storylines, Silvestri sees pro wrestling as a career that demands constant sacrifice – a lifestyle most wannabes can’t handle.

“When I went full time in 2003, I started spending much less time with my family and the core of people I keep close to me,” said Silvestri. “That does take its toll on you, especially when you enjoy having them around. It messes with you. I’ve spent long periods of time overseas and that hurts your relationships with your family, friends and significant other. It’s the nature of what we do, though. It’s something you have to accept and work with if you want to make it.”

The career has afforded him a journey around the world as various characters – Low-Ki, Senshi and Kaval – with companies like Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Total Non-Stop Action and World Wrestling Entertainment. That adventure is what Santiago and Kebrada train for every day.

“It’s always on my mind,” said Santiago. “When I’m at school, I’m thinking about what I could do in a match. When I’m at work, I thinking how I could get the crowd going. My co-workers will catch me in a daze and ask me what I was thinking about and I’ll make something up. But it’s always wrestling.”

You can read the other parts of the story by clicking here.