Black Widow
01-18-2013, 11:37 AM
Former Beaver heavyweight will head to Tampa later this month to join WWE's NXT tour
TAMPA, Fla. - Former Oregon State heavyweight Clayton Jack will soon be taking his talents to the professional ranks of the World Wrestling Entertainment. Jack, who competed at OSU from 2009-12, signed a three-year contract with the WWE earlier this year and will begin training in Tampa, Fla., starting Jan. 24.
Jack was recruited by former professional wrestler Gerry Brisco to attend a WWE tryout in Florida last summer. After being offered a pro contract shortly afterwards, Jack decided to wait until 2013, when he had finished school and was able to help teammate Chad Hanke make the transition to heavyweight.
"I am just really excited for the opportunity to work with the WWE," Jack said. "As far as goals go, I just want to learn as much as possible. Hopefully if I do well in the three years, maybe I can get an NXT title or move up to the WWE."
The former OSU standout will join close to 50-other professional wrestlers on the NXT tour, which is the WWE's developmental program that mainly competes at venues in Florida.
"The training ground they have in Tampa is specifically designed to train athletes there the style that WWE has," Jack said of his new gig. "So I will be learning strictly how the WWE performs their wrestling moves and trains their athletes."
While the former All-American has always been known to be a friendly and caring character off the mats, he hopes to channel a different kind of persona as his professional career approaches.
"I wouldn't mind playing the heel, which is the bad guy," Jack explained. "When you first start out you are always kind of the heel and then you work your way into being a face, which is a good guy. As much as I want to say it's based on my personality, it's also based on how well I can act."
The Vacaville, Calif. native grew up an avid WWF/WWE fan and especially enjoyed entertainers and athletes such as Triple H, Sean Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin as well as the Rock (Dwayne Johnson).
During his four-year career in Corvallis, Jack compiled a 121-37 record en route to four NCAA appearances, two conference championships as well as becoming an All-American following his senior year. He also was named Male Athlete of the Year at the 2012 Benny's.
"It's awesome being an Oregon State Beaver and going into the professional ranks of the WWE," Jack thought. "I will be the only one so that's cool and means a lot to me."
Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the OurBeaverNation.com. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. Former Student-Athletes are invited to join the Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events.
OSUBeavers.com
TAMPA, Fla. - Former Oregon State heavyweight Clayton Jack will soon be taking his talents to the professional ranks of the World Wrestling Entertainment. Jack, who competed at OSU from 2009-12, signed a three-year contract with the WWE earlier this year and will begin training in Tampa, Fla., starting Jan. 24.
Jack was recruited by former professional wrestler Gerry Brisco to attend a WWE tryout in Florida last summer. After being offered a pro contract shortly afterwards, Jack decided to wait until 2013, when he had finished school and was able to help teammate Chad Hanke make the transition to heavyweight.
"I am just really excited for the opportunity to work with the WWE," Jack said. "As far as goals go, I just want to learn as much as possible. Hopefully if I do well in the three years, maybe I can get an NXT title or move up to the WWE."
The former OSU standout will join close to 50-other professional wrestlers on the NXT tour, which is the WWE's developmental program that mainly competes at venues in Florida.
"The training ground they have in Tampa is specifically designed to train athletes there the style that WWE has," Jack said of his new gig. "So I will be learning strictly how the WWE performs their wrestling moves and trains their athletes."
While the former All-American has always been known to be a friendly and caring character off the mats, he hopes to channel a different kind of persona as his professional career approaches.
"I wouldn't mind playing the heel, which is the bad guy," Jack explained. "When you first start out you are always kind of the heel and then you work your way into being a face, which is a good guy. As much as I want to say it's based on my personality, it's also based on how well I can act."
The Vacaville, Calif. native grew up an avid WWF/WWE fan and especially enjoyed entertainers and athletes such as Triple H, Sean Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin as well as the Rock (Dwayne Johnson).
During his four-year career in Corvallis, Jack compiled a 121-37 record en route to four NCAA appearances, two conference championships as well as becoming an All-American following his senior year. He also was named Male Athlete of the Year at the 2012 Benny's.
"It's awesome being an Oregon State Beaver and going into the professional ranks of the WWE," Jack thought. "I will be the only one so that's cool and means a lot to me."
Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the OurBeaverNation.com. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. Former Student-Athletes are invited to join the Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events.
OSUBeavers.com