AEW’s Ortiz & Eddie Kingston planning to open wrestling school
AEW tag team Ortiz and Eddie Kingston are planning to open up their own wrestling school.
Ortiz revealed the news during an interview on AEW Unrestricted, noting that he was able to do some coaching for AEW while he was sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle. Ortiz loves that side of the business and wants to help pass on the knowledge that he’s learned from his mentors.
“Me and Eddie are in the process of opening up our own school,” he said. “Coaching and teaching is very, very — an immense passion of mine. Because I’ve had so many great mentors in wrestling and I just want to pass on that knowledge. I don’t want it to be wasted. And I want to help cultivate a change in wrestling culture. And I’m just thirsty to learn more, and then I’m learning through teaching.”
As they prepare to open this school, Kingston and Ortiz are holding seminars on the indies so they can learn more about the process of teaching. They have a seminar coming up on March 1 for Pro Wrestling Junkie in New Jersey.
“That is the method behind why we’re doing seminars. We need to start doing them so we can learn when we do something wrong or something right and be like, ‘Okay, we’ll keep this. Hey, this kind of dragged out at this part. That’s not that important.’ And just how to really utilize the time given to us, the three, four hours or however long it’s going to be. And what we can give the people attending the best bang for their buck,” Ortiz said.
“In wrestling, as you know, there’s a bunch of carny places where they’re just there to take your money and collect it and good luck. You may or may not make it. Who knows? It all depends who you meet along the way. But, you know, there’s people that have made it out of those circumstances.
“But our whole goal is to help change wrestling culture internally by producing and trying to have solid workers just go out there and they become who they become based on their experience. But just giving them a solid foundation and just passing on all the knowledge that we still have and then just bringing in a Jerry Lynn, bringing in a Homicide, bringing in a Billy Gunn to come and do weekend seminars so you learn from all different types of people.”
Ortiz did not give a timeframe for when the school would open or say where it would be located.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.