Today we’d like to introduce you to Elias Lopez.
Elias, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
As a kid growing up there are a variety of things that you want to grow up to be, whether it be a doctor or a police officer but for me growing up the only profession I’ve ever been sure that I was going to pursue was professional wrestling. My first exposure to wrestling was when I was around six years old, it was a very late Monday night, and I woke and was hearing my parents cheering in the living room, to me I had absolutely zero clue what was going on so out of curiosity I got up from my bed to go see what they were doing only to find both parents and my sister watching WWE. my dad noticed they had all woken me up and rather than send me back to bed he just told me “son come over here I want you to check this out” so I went over and sat next to everyone, and for three hours my eyes were just glued to the screen, I was immediately hooked and obsessed with all the characters like Rey Mysterio, cm punk, and the undertaker. Since that day there was no stopping me from trying to watch as much wrestling as I could possibly could and eventually I had my answer to teachers or family members asking what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d tell them I was going to be a professional wrestler.
As I grew through the years of my life a lot of things would change, I’d move schools, meet new friends, lose old ones but wrestling was always the one consistent thing in my life and the only dream I’d had. Over the years that dream did slowly faded away from me, I had considered joining the military once I finished high school because going to a military academy was seeing it as a good career option, and I had family members who had served. Wrestling was always in the back of my mind, and I still did love it, but the dream seemed so far-fetched to me at the age of twelve and I believed there was no shot of me being able to accomplish this dream of mine so I wanted to be realistic about my future and was focusing on studying so I could be able to graduate and move onto the military. In 2019, I was still of the belief that I had no shot of being a wrestler, around this time my love for wrestling was fading away, but once the promotion AEW started I once again felt this spark for it again and started looking into wrestling schools around me, to which I found Knokx pro and Santino bros, Looking at these schools now knowing that i had a chance I told myself id study and while I was in college apply to either school to start training.
Moving forward two years after that its 2022, there was this local festival that just so happened to be hosting a wrestling show which is where I met Josef Samael, owner of the local Independent promotion PCW. It was a great experience to get to speak to him about the wrestling business and a lot of his words stuck with me but I think what stuck the most was him telling me “Always have a plan B ready” so while my main goal was wrestling Id begun to take college courses for my AA degree while still being in highschool to pursue a degree in forensics and criminal justice. A few months after this talk there was an alert I had received from a family friend that one of the schools I had been looking into, Knokx Pro, was hosting an open ring seminar. I thought it was a great opportunity but was under the impression I wouldn’t be able to do it since I was barely fifteen at the time, but my amazing mother insisted I go just to see. Once we arrived the first question we asked was if I would be able to go in and participate despite my age which surprisingly to me we were told I would be, and right at that moment I made the best decision of my life. As of now I am still in training to wrestle and I’ve learned so much from my coaches Reno Anoa’i and Rikishi, I have connected with so many people here and I feel so grateful to everyone at Knokx Pro.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have definitely been a few bumps on this road im on. Whether it be in academics, or sports, or any dreams I’ve had there have always been obstacles in my way and I have of course had people doubt me and tell me “hey you should probably reconsider before you do this” or just flat out tell me I wasn’t good enough. Over time I started to feel less bad about myself for being told my worth and started seeing it as things to drive me towards my goal, I’ve had teachers tell me they didn’t think id succeed academically and I have proven them wrong by passing multiple honors classes and starting college classes at fourteen. There were former friends of mine who had tried to put me down for this wrestling dream of mine and now I can confidently say im pursuing this dream. Of course people doubting me hasn’t been the only obstacle in my path, there have been many mental and physical challenges, when it comes to wrestling there is always the risk of getting hurt and unfortunately around three months into my training I suffered a major injury that had left me out of wrestling for close to six months.
Looking at it now, the initial injury was the part that hurt the least, what I had struggled with the most was being away from this thing I loved for so long, I know six months is not a lot of time but to me, it felt like years. There were days I’d go to training to still sit and learn and I’d just be a wreck mentally because I had to just be patient about getting cleared and there was the uncertainty of even being cleared again. Those six months took a hard toll on me mentally, and I really don’t know where I would be without the support of my friends and most importantly my family. Both of my parents have helped me tremendously and been so supportive of me and this dream of mine, every step of the way without fail they have been my biggest supporters. They are the reason I always strive to succeed in anything and I hope they know how much they inspire me every day. My dad, he is and always will be the best man I’ve ever known and he has shaped me into the man I am today, he has always believed in me and my dreams and I hope that he knows that everything I am today is a big part because I’ve had him in my life and I hope to be half the man that he is. My mom is my rock; she helps drive me to success and she has helped pull me out of some of the darkest spots in my life, without her I don’t know where I’d be because she has pushed me so much to accomplish my dreams and goals in life and I hope she knows how much of an impact she has had on my life. I know there will surely be more to come, I don’t know when they will arrive but I do know that the bad times won’t always last, and each struggle helps you grow and learn more about yourself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a professional wrestler in training and a current referee for Knokx Pro Academy. While training at Knokx, I am not only proud of my progress but the collective progress of every single one of my fellow colleagues as we all learn and grow together and work harder to improve. Aside from my wrestling, I am currently pursuing my AA degree while also trying to finish high school all at the same time, on top of that I want to earn a degree in forensics science and criminal justice. Lastly me and a few of my friends currently have a podcast in development. We want to give our perspective on certain things in the world and we want to show it from our eyes as we all grew up in the valley. What sets me apart from others is that when I have my mind set to a goal I will do anything and everything to accomplish this goal, any dream I’ve ever wanted to achieve I have put my heart and soul into pursuing it.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
My determination is what has helped me succeed in life. Everything I have wanted to earn and work for has been achieved because when I am determined to accomplish said goal, I will do my absolute best to gain that goal.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/imdoom
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imdoom_187/?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM%3D
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IMDOOM187/photos
