Corey Kastle crawls to the
outside and steals away a chair
from the one-legged man in the
front row. “Give me that you
bum!” Kastle screams, pushing
the bystander down. He
climbs back on to the apron
(the curtain that hand down
from the sides of the ring to the
floor), and slithers back in the
ring like the snake that he is.
Young’s back is turned. Oh
No! Kastle illegally hits
Young on top of the head with
the stolen folding chair.
The noise Young’s head made
when the metal slammed
against it sounded like a gun
going off. The crowd could not
believe the ending of the
match, as they booed Kastle
off stage. The bell rang. Kastle
had been disqualified.
For James Goins, 26, known
in the wrestling world as Corey
Kastle, wrestling in front of
crowds of 20,000 to 30,000
screaming fans, is only one
body slam away.Afar cry from
his typical crowds of 50 to 100
people.
The WWE (World wrestling
Entertainment), owned by
business icon, Vincent J.
McMahon, is one of the top
growing industries in the world
today. The top wrestling athletes
in the world today compete
to join McMahon’s company
and spend over three hundred
days on the road each
year.
To get to the big league of
Professional wrestling, some
“workers” (known in the business
as wrestlers) spend years
on the Independent wrestling
scene, wrestling in front of
small crowds, in small, rundown
arenas. Some give up
because the work is too grueling,
but not James Goins.
With his 200-pound frame
and long dirty blonde hair,
Goins travels every weekend
to work at various independent
shows on the East Coast. He
wrestles for little to no money.
Showing up to an event a couple
hours before each match,
he meets up with his opponent
for the evening to go over
moves they want to use in the
match.
“The Blockbuster” is one of
the moves Goins uses to finish
off his opponent. “After I lay
out the punk in the center of
the ring, I climb to the top
rope, pose for the crowd, and
as he’s about to get up, I drop
my leg onto his skull for the
finish.”
This move can knock the air
out of the opponent, and cause
severe pain to his head and
neck, as the upper body slams
down on the hard mat, Goins
tells me. “Nobody said it doesn’t
hurt.”
Goins uses his good looks to
win over with the fans, especially
the ladies. “Women definitely
want to see good looking
guys on the card, and I
think my hair and my looks,
puts butts in the seats,” says
Goins.
Goins started out in the
wrestling business at the very
young age of 15, becoming one
of the first students at the CZW
(Combat Zone Wrestling)
Academy, which is a short 20
minute drive from his
Bensalem home.
“CZW is one of the biggest
Minor League Promotions in
the country, and many top stars
of the WWE today got their
start there.” One of the stars
Goins is referring to is former
WWEHeavyweightChampion,
CM PUNK, who trained and
wrestled at the CZW
Academy., “I believe I am a
better worker than he is, and
soon everyone will see.”
Goins added, “If he can do it,
why can’t I?”
Goins always knew that his
passion in life was professional
wrestling. “I was too busy
working in front of 20 people
in a small garage, to think
about college,” said Goins.
“All I loved was wrestling, and
knew I wanted to make a
career out of it.”
He sounds arrogant, but it is
all part of the gimmick and
character he created for himself.
“I originally called myself
Cory Kastle, and played a
cocky model type, since I am
good looking and have the
body of a God,” said Goins.
Goins doesn’t hesitate to take
off his shirt and present the
audience with his sculpted
physique. “For a wrestler to be
successful, he needs a great
character, a gimmick,” says
Goins.
Last November, Goins finally
got the call from the big
league. Years of tanning, oiling
up his body, and heckling audiences
finally paid off.
The puppet masters, who
control talent and stories for
the WWE, grabbed up the
promising star. “They asked
me to clear my schedule
because they might want to use
me for shows leading up to the
Survivor Series.” In the
wrestling biz, this is referred to
as a “try-out.”
The Survivor Series is one of
the main pay-per-views the
WWE has to offer. The series
premiered in 1987 and quickly
became a main staple of the
industry.
The initial try out was to be
held in Philadelphia, Goins’
home town.
“I couldn’t believe it. I knew
I wouldn’t be passed up,” said
Goins gushed. Goins would get
to wrestle in Hershey, Penn.,
Philadelphia and Washington
D.C. for the try out.
“All I could think about was
seeing how big Vince
McMahon is,” said Goins.
If you look at the roster of
the WWE, you won’t notice
too many small guys.
McMahon, the owner of the
WWE, loves the big muscle,
chiseled look, and you have a
slim chance of becoming a star
if you aren’t over the 240
pound mark.
“If you are small, you have to
be pretty popular to begin with.
You have to be like Rey
Mysterio, or Punk,”said Goins.
“It would be pretty embarrassing
to be announced to the ring
as a barely 6 foot, 200 pound
scrub about to be hurt by a
300-pound monster.”
The entire month prior his
tryout, Goins tried to bulk up,
hitting up the local Planet
Fitness gym, and eating right
to pack on weight. Since he
would be the new guy in the
locker room, he had to bulk up
to gain respect.
“I tried to get to the gym
every day, lifting as much
weight as I could, and eating
nothing but chicken and
pasta.” Trying to hit the 215
pound mark was no easy task.
Goins arrived at the arena at
210 pounds, which was a noble
weight to be at, considering the
time he had. His friend Rick, a
close friend and fellow
wrestler, dropped him off at the
arena. He had only $20 in his
cargo pants pocket. Goins had
been to the arena many times
as a fan, but today it was a
completely new place.
“I was more anxious than
scared when I arrived to the
Wachovia Center. I knew I had
earned a try-out and would do
whatever they would ask me to
do,” said Goins. The first thing
Goins noticed was all of the
guys in the back, who he’d
watched on TV every Monday
night for years. “I was able to
talk to many of them, guys like
Big Show, a seven hundred
pound giant, Cody Rhodes,
who is the son of Hall of Famer
Dusty Rhodes. There were also
Kofi Kingston, The Undertaker
and many others,” said Goins.
The back rooms of the local
bingo halls, and smaller arenas,
couldn’t compare to the
backroom of the WWE. It was
a huge surprise to Goins.
There was plenty of room for
the workers to discuss storylines
and match endings, there
was a full buffet being, people
catered to the stars. This room
is where the guys spent most of
their time.
Goins ran wrestling drills
with the stars, and in the giant
arena. “I looked around during
practice at all of the empty
seats, and I swear I could hear
thousands of fans cheering,
Cory Kastle, Cory Kastle!”
The drills included running
the ring ropes back and forth
for about three minutes, to
work on his cardiovascular
condition. “That definitely
will blow guys up, but I am
already in shape as it his,”
Goins jokes. He also practiced
taking bumps, which is another
staple in the basic foundations
of wrestling. “You simply do a
flip, or fall down, so your back
hits the mat the right way.
About 90 percent of wrestling
is falling on your back, basically
beating yourself up,” says
Goins. Being able to practice
these skills in a WWE ring was
an honor for the 10-year
wrestling veteran.
Goins met the wrestling and
business god, VinceMcMahon.
“After messing around in the
ring a little bit with a guy
named Yoshi Tatsu, a Japanese
wrestler who I became friendly
with, I noticed Vince down by
ringside, and I remember him
looking me in the eye,” said
Goins. “Hello. I’m Vince
McMahon, I like your look.
You’re doing a fine job out
here,” Goins remembers
McMahon telling him, puffing
his 56 inch chest out and strutting
to the back, chin up in the
air.A fter years of imagining
what McMahon would be like
in person, Goins finally found
out, “He looked bigger in real
life. He must work out a lot.”
For the three days Goins was
on the road with WWE, he was
only used for one small segment,
not even a match. He
was involved in a backstage
interview with one of the top
stars, Battista, but couldn’t be
seen, as he was blurred out in
the background.
Goins’ experience with the
WWE was unforgettable, even
if it was short-lived.
“It didn’t even matter. It
was such a cool experience; at
least I got to work out in front
of the boss,” said Goins.