Gangel recently spoke to Jim Varsollone at the Florida Supercon about his former student, "The Bulgarian Brute" Rusev. The former WWE wrestler discussed how he trained The Bulgarian Brute at the beginning of his career.
"Me and Rikishi we had a school called Knokx Pro out in California," Gangrel said. "Yeah and we had [Rusev] come through as a talent. One of the current stars in NXT, Vanessa Bourne -- I trained her as well."
Gangrel recalled the trials and tribulations “The Bulgarian Brute” went through in order to achieve his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
"Rusev has gone the furthest of and the most right now," Gangrel continued. "He was a big Bulgarian guy from Bulgaria. He moved from Bulgaria to become a pro wrestler and that cat slept in his car, he didn't miss a class.
"He was delivering food, bouncing in a bar, and driving a taxi. But in-between all that, he was at wrestling school or sleeping in that parking lot so he wouldn't miss his next class. His dedication is proof that hard work pays off. I couldn't be happier for him that it paid off. Because you know, he wasn't the most athletic coming in or this or that, but he had heart and he had drive and he had passion.
"I'm so blessed that I was a part of his life and seeing his success now. I ride that wave. Deep down inside I'm like, 'yeah! I may not be [in WWE] anymore but a piece of me is.' That's so awesome."
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