The WWE Performance Center is an integral part of what WWE is about especially with their NXT developmental talent. The WWE PC is currently run by former WWE Superstar Matt Bloom, who used to wrestle for the company as Price Albert, A-Train and even had a brief run as Tensai following a lot of success competing in Japan.
Bloom is 44 years old and loves coaching as much as he loved being in the ring. If you want to see him and the other coaches in action, I highly recommend the “Breaking Ground” show that’s on WWE Network. It’s a shame that they didn’t make more episodes, but budget cuts tend to stop things like that.
Bloom was interviewed by Sports Illustrated recently and spoke about some of the coaches in WWE right now.
“A lot of people don’t understand that just because you were a great wrestler does not automatically make you a great coach, but that is true. What I’m looking for in a coach is, first of all, if they can fit into our team. This is the best team in the game. We have Norman Smiley, who is an encyclopedia of moves, and we also have Terry Taylor and Shawn Michaels here teaching. We have Steve Corino and Adam Pearce here. They had some companies behind them when they worked, but they never had WWE behind them, yet they still kept their names prominent around the world and accomplished that by doing it the right way. Scotty Too Hotty is Scott Taylor, and he’s a kid from Maine who did pretty well in this business. He knows what he’s doing, and he has the entertainment side of this well understood. We have an amazing team who complement each other very well.”
It’s an interesting group, that’s for sure. Shawn Michaels is arguably the greatest in-ring performer in the history of WWE and has talked about not being sure what his role is, but he loves being a part of it. Michaels likely has enough money to last him for a lifetime, but as somebody that loves the business he clearly wants to be there contributing.
Smiley was a former WCW wrestler that didn’t make it in WWE and has been coaching there for a decade. Terry Taylor was a midcard wrestler in both WCW and WWE that has served many different office roles. Scott Taylor was a midcard tag team wrestler in WWE that got over huge thanks to The Worm. Guys like Corino and Pearce have veteran savvy from working in companies other than WWE, so they know how to relate to those wrestlers that took a long journey to get to WWE.
Bloom went on to futher explain what kind of coaches they want in WWE.
“We look for character in the coaches. What type of person are you? Are you patient? How will you represent us? Do you understand that this is not a race? This is a marathon, not a sprint. We have talent here from all over the world, most of whom have relocated and left their families behind. We need our coaches to be caring and understanding toward that. We need to realize that everyone isn’t always going to grasp a concept on a particular day, so can you pick people up and dust them off so that they can understand better the next day? Also, everyone realizes that there is simply no room for complacency. That cannot exist here and it is not allowed. We know we don’t want you here if you’re not a good person. No ego and a lot of humility. No one is bigger than the team. We all complement each other so well.”
Considering how much great talent WWE has put on NXT and their main roster shows in the last few years and what Bloom said right there, it’s obvious he’s the right man for the job.
