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New professional wrestling school in Edgewood brings intrigue

Posted: Sep 17th 2022 By: Alex Wallner

Becoming a professional wrestler takes years to master, and Zero1 USA Professional Wrestling is helping aspiring professional wrestlers achieve just that with a brand new location not too far away from Effingham.

Owner David Cavazos recently opened a school in Edgewood and said six-eight students signed up well before they opened their doors.

To Cavazos, it’s all for the love of professional wrestling and wanting to get
their feet wet in the industry, just as he did when he opened his first school nearly
16 years ago.

“I’ve been a fan my whole life. One of my half-brothers was a wrestler, so we decided
to start this in Mattoon, our hometown,” Cavazos said. “We went ahead and did that,
got shows going, and it just took off from there. We’ve been doing it since 2006 and
have now opened a school close to Effingham.”

Cavazos added that he never quite imagined that his school would get to this point,
stating that he previously opened one in Champaign, but it didn’t take off quite like
the one in Edgewood.

Overall, this school opens tons of opportunities and Champaign-native Dallas
Blacker is one student looking for just that.

Blacker, 36, said he’s loved wrestling ever since he was little.

“Ever since I was little and saw the Road Warriors and Hulk Hogan, it helped me escape reality,” Blacker said. “I was drawn to the physicality of it, and being here has been a blessing for me.”

But he also understands that it is not an easy road.

Challenges have occurred that have had him second-guess himself at times.

“When we started doing the front-flip bumps, I had difficulty convincing myself that I
could do it,” Blacker said. “I used to be about 400 pounds before I started training
and lost a bunch of weight, so convincing myself that I could do a front flip was hard
for me.”

Having the guidance from Zero1 head trainer and 17-year professional wrestler Joey
O’Riley has helped Blacker overcome those doubts.

“Watching Joey for years and then getting to train with him has been awesome. He’s so knowledgeable and technically sound,” Blacker said. “The first thing we always
ensure is that everyone’s safe. He’s no-nonsense, but he’s very fair.”

O’Riley, 32, is originally from Indiana but also attended school in Olney, Illinois.

He has been training for the last 2 1/2 years and would tell you that he’s learned
more about the business as a trainer than in any other role.

“Training has helped me develop more as a wrestler,” O’Riley said. “I did a lot of
things in wrestling that I didn’t know. I will look at my training schedule, sit there, and question myself, ‘Do I even know how to do this? How long has it been since
I’ve done this?’ So, being a trainer has helped me in the long run.”

O’Riley said he has been on World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night RAW, Friday Night SmackDown, 205 Live, and All Elite Wrestling, and every stop has taught him something different.

What O’Riley said he takes from each stop is what he passes on to his students, too.

Footwork is one area of the business that O’Riley takes great pride in teaching.

“Footwork is an essential part of wrestling. Many wrestlers don’t know it, and I can tell that it affects their in-ring work, the way they move; the way they shift; the moves
they do,” O’Riley said. “Everything revolves around footwork. I come from a martial-art background, so footwork was very important there, too. It’s all about balance and
finding yourself, which I’m teaching these guys.”

Another area is the ability to take “bumps” or how to fall safely and correctly.

“The difficulty of performing and taking bumps is very high,” O’Riley said. “I do my
best to teach you how to take them properly. I can show you how to fall, and I can show you how to protect yourself, but I can’t show you how the other person is going to slam you, going to push you. I’ve broken my tailbone taking a bump before, taking a slam in the middle of a match.

“I would say bumping is essential and one of the first things I teach these guys because if you can’t bump, you can’t wrestle.”

While footwork and being able to fall are two critical aspects to have, so is the
ability to tell a quality story, as professional wrestlers are more than just gifted athletes.

“Story-telling is very important. You would know, as a fan, that if you’re not invested
in a story, you lose interest in what’s going on fast,” O’Riley said. “We don’t want
that because if a fan loses interest in a story, they lose interest in that wrestler
because that wrestler isn’t doing their job to tell that story. Wrestling is not just
going out there and doing cool moves or who has the cool or the shiniest gear; it’s
about who can tell the best story while still performing.

“If you’re invested in your character, then the people need to be invested in your
character.”

The next chance to see such storytellers will be Saturday at the Burgess Osborne
Auditorium in Mattoon for Zero1 Pro Wrestling USA Homecoming.