Dream it, then do it! How one bold local athlete went from WWE superfan to pro wrestler
Picture this: it’s a random Saturday night in the early ‘00s in Malta. Many youths are sitting in front of the TV eagerly awaiting a WWE screening, several of whom are fantasising about joining in the fun in the ring.
Eight-year old Wayne Pace was one of them, who spent many a weekend enthusiastically cheering on WWE superstar The Undertaker, but for that determined and ambitious boy, that childhood dream would (with a lot of hard work, sores and bruises) morph into reality.
Now a professional wrestler, Wayne’s life is a whirlwind of international tours, and although his career requires him to be on the road on a frequent basis, he still considers Malta one of his bases, alongside Japan and the UK, where he received his first formal training in the sport.
The Zurrieq-born athlete, who wrestles under the alias Gianni Valletta, made the big leap when he was 20 years old: “I moved to Portsmouth in England, and started training at a school there,” he says. Intense doesn’t begin to cover his training; a two to three-hour session four times a week which would involve a minimum of 500 body squats as well as an insane number of push-ups and sit-ups.
Training was not just about bulking up one’s physique, but also covered vital tricks to ensure a wrestler’s safety while battling it out in the ring: “We learn different types of rolls which help us with body control and a big number of bumps where we learn how to fall, protect ourselves and learn how to take the least amount of damage possible from the falls,” he explains.
Injuries can be a serious threat to a wrestler’s career. Last September, Wayne broke his left hand during a match, which put him out for eight weeks. For someone whose typical training day kicks off with a quick 6am jog, followed by three hours of ring training and another two hours at the gym later in the evening doing cardio, weights and stretching, this wasn’t an ideal situation, but the wrestler reveals how he kept fit despite his injury: “As pro wrestlers and athletes, we are taught to continue training and working around injuries,” he explains, adding that despite suffering a broken hand, he still managed to finish the match.
Even when bruised and battered, Wayne doesn’t just throw in the towel. During very intense tours where wrestlers can have as many as 20 matches in as little as 24 days, an athlete’s body is worn out, but one motivation pushes most to train through their pain: “if we don’t wrestle, we don’t get paid,” Wayne reveals.
Like most other things, prevention is better than cure: “The best way to prevent injuries is to eat as healthy as possible,” he asserts. The wrestler consumes a minimum of six litres of water and 6,000 calories every day, which he splits between six to eight meals.
Wayne Pace
For Wayne, wrestling is not just a career but a lifestyle: “I’m living my dream… I don’t feel like working a day in my life,” he says. Travelling is also a big perk, which can give rise to several pranks and unfortunate events when all men are on the road. “Sometimes we have to share hotel rooms with other wrestlers,” Wayne narrates: “Sharing is not a problem, it’s the snoring that’s the problem – all you want to do at the end of the day is eat and sleep!”
Wrestlers have a secret code between them when such situations arise: “it’s not the first time we have locked loud snorers in the bathroom, or worse, kicked them out of the bedroom to sleep in the hotel corridor,” he laughs.
Being on the road and away from loved ones is hard, but the wrestler does not let this get to him and is enthusiastic about continuing his professional journey whilst sharing his passion for the sport with others: “Anyone can give wrestling a try,” he explains, adding that Malta now has its own wrestling school, Pro Wrestling Malta, which also hosts wrestling events on the island. “It’s better to try and stop, then not try at all and regret it in the future,” Wayne says.
Anyone else remember the good ol' days on Italia 1?