Former WWE star opens up about life in professional wrestling outside of ring: 'Crazy land'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ryback Allen Reeves, born Ryan Allen Reeves, had a short and dramatic career in the world of professional wrestling.
The former World Wrestling Entertainment star-turned-author-and-entrepreneur sat down with Fox Nation to talk about his experiences in the WWE and why he ultimately decided that he had to leave it.
"You watch it on TV and you just see the match," said Reeves on Fox Nation's "Nuff Said With Tyrus," "You think it's this glamorous lifestyle."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LIMITED TIME OFFER, GET YOUR FIRST MONTH OF FOX NATION FOR $0.99
Reeves was hired by the WWE after appearing on the reality TV show "Tough Enough," where participants competed for a contract with the company.
On "Tough Enough," he met two trainers, who warned him that he did not know what he was getting into.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Al Snow and Bill Demont told me from 'Tough Enough' that 'you're going into crazy land' and I didn't understand it," said Reeves, describing the intense physical and mental strain of a wrestler's training regiment.
"If you don't blow up and if you don't get tired and you put in that work when no one's watching -- that is when you're able to go out there and have the intensity from the entrance, all the way to the finish, all the way to the celebration. And if you could do that, the crowd will feed off that energy," he continued.
"You can never be tired in the ring," agreed Tyrus, who also performed in the WWE as Brodus Clay.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}'PAWN STAR'S' RICK HARRISON EXPLAINS HOW HE GOT $1 MILLION PAWN SHOP LICENSE FOR $50
"We train two days and we train four hours at a time," he said, detailing the amount of physical preparation required. "And then you still got to get in the gym and... I didn't feel like benching 400 pounds in the gym, but you had to do it."
Reeves would eventually decide to leave the WWE because of financial disagreements as well as the worsening toll that training and performances were taking on his body.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The money is not great in comparison to other sports for what you do to your body," said Reeves. "I was being given toradol and cortisol for two years.
"I had five-disc that needed to be fused and a shoulder that I was told [needed] to be replaced by multiple doctors, so I had to get away," he said, "It was the best decision I ever made."
To watch all of "Nuff Said With Tyrus," go to Fox Nation and sign up today.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LIMITED TIME OFFER, GET YOUR FIRST MONTH OF FOX NATION FOR $0.99