During his recent interview on Chris Van Vliet's "INSIGHT" podcast, UFC Hall Of Famer Tito Ortiz talked about his brief stint at The Performance Center. Ortiz said that it was Shane McMahon's idea but nothing came out of it.
Ortiz reportedly trained at the PC in February of 2020 and at the time he praised everyone's work ethic and attitude. Ortiz previously did some work for TNA a few years earlier and he grew up as a wrestling fan.
Ortiz said, “In 2019, Shane McMahon reached out and said, ‘What do you think about coming in?’ So I went for a try-out. I went and did it. I didn’t think about it, but they wanted someone that is over the top, not crazy, but an eye catcher. I went to the PC and trained with Norman Smiley, an amazing teacher, and learned things that normally take six months to learn. But then nothing came of it.”
The door for a full-time role in wrestling seems to have closed for Ortiz because of his age (47) and injuries that would likely be flagged by WWE's staff.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. Also, be sure to subscribe to "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" on your mobile device by clicking here if you have an iOS device or here on your Android device.
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