In the world of professional wrestling there are many things that factor into being great. “Big Shoot” Cody Lee is an independent scene wrestler who is currently under the Impact Pro Wrestling banner. He has been a part of Impacts’ promotion for the better part of just over two years. He attended their wrestling school with some of the promotion’s toughest stars. Lee began his professional career while still in college. At the IPW wrestling school he managed to push through and realize his true potential not just as a wrestler, but as a human being.
“Big Shoot” Cody Lee sat down with the SportsCave: Ring Generals, and revealed everything from becoming a wrestler to graduating college, and how COVID affected his performance. He explained the path of his journey, and how he reacted to the changes in wrestling:
“I recently took a hiatus and I am focusing on a total repackaging when I return through the doors of Impact Pro Wrestling. I started during June 2020, during the time of where wrestling was not happening with fans and we were not sure if we would be returning. The attendance for even WWE’s WrestleMania was at zero when I started and it kind of gives me a unique background.”
Student v. Superstar
Big Shoot actually started his journey during his days at his alma mater, Iowa Wesleyan University. “Wesleyan really understood the fact of having classes, working, and being at the training facility. I am in love with wrestling and there were issues that I had that affected my mental [health] during this time frame,” said Lee.
His time at Iowa Wesleyan was a crucial part of his development, and that time encouraged him to become more focused on his craft. In doing so, it helped him build time management skills and the habits necessary for reaching his dreams.
Lee battled a lot between his mental and physical well-being. Living the life of a pro wrestler is something of a rare opportunity to learn a great deal; not just about life, but also about yourself. The amount of charisma and confidence that you need in that profession is something only very few people have. They are known as “Generational Talents” and can shape the future of any wrestling promotion.
Dreaming in Reality
Lee spoke to the SportsCave about wrestlers that have mentored him and tried to guide him in certain ways to go down this path, “There are a lot of people, I can name just a few. Especially the ones in my wrestling class. We gave everything we had. Sometimes you mess up, but I ended up bouncing back. James Jefferies is one of those wrestlers that have been trying to help guide me, because he’s a veteran of this business. I want the championships, the records, and etcetera, but in due time.”
Lee began working more and more, until June 2020, when he graduated from the IPW wrestling school. Once he finished, he realized that there was more to the story of his journey than what meets the eye. Following this, Lee began able to focus on other things like being a resident assistant while in college and still supporting his biology class. “It’s good to know yourself you have to be willing to put in the work like I did. No, it was not easy at all balancing shows, work, life, and school was a lot for one person.”
Lee even gave SportsCave some insight into what type of wrestler he is, and how it feels to be living his dream. It’s safe to say that Lee is up next and will be chasing the championship gold sooner rather than later.
Written by Semetrius Holmes.
Sources:
Interview: SportsCave Ring Generals
Inset Image Courtesy of Big Shoot Cody Lee
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Sportscave: Ring Generals
Discover more from Guardian Liberty Voice
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.