Adam Pearce contributes to his alma mater's time capsule.
Peaerce took to Facebook on Tuesday, May 27 to celebrate a fun accomplishment, revealing that he recently penned a letter for his high school's time capsule.
Pearce's alma mater, Waukegan High School, will open the capsule in 2075.
Fans can check out Pearce's full letter below.
May 7, 2025
If you're reading this in 2075, please know:
I am just like you.
I'm a Waukegan kid. The house at 715 Westmoreland Avenue (directly behind the Bally Muck, if it's still there in 2075) was where I called home. My Dad was a mechanic at North Shore Sanitary District, my Mom a secretary at North Shore Gas. They built careers and a stable home for our family in 60085.
My brother and I both graduated from WHS, and I last roamed the halls of the Brookside campus in 1996. I screamed my heart out in the Dog Pound for Basketball games and left it all on the field at Weiss - BEFORE there were any lights. I'll always remember my time at WHS with love. Waukegan shaped me.
She gave me my grit and blue-collar work ethic, and she gifted me the chip that (still, I hope) lives on my shoulder. That chip has always been Purple, Green, and Gold.
I dreamed of playing football for the Green Bay Packers - I know, I know, I hear the GROANS. Remember Bear fans: Nobody's perfect. But the NFL wasn't in the cards for me. Acute Muscular Compartment Syndrome in my lower legs dashed those dreams. Medical technology wasn't then what it is now, and while corrective surgery changed me physically, recovery changed me mentally. I was depressed. I was not motivated. I was lost.
Professional Wrestling found me when I needed finding.It gave the natural athleticism I thought was sheared away a reason to bloom again. My personality was a fit. And my Waukegan work ethic gave me the passion and drive I needed to fuel my new purpose. I trained in Chicago across the street from the Aragon Ballroom in Uptown. When I was ready, my first professional match was at a roller rink called Magic City that used to live on the corner of Grand Avenue and Green Bay Road. And on that May 16, 1996 night (a few weeks before I graduated), Waukegan showed up loud and proud; many of my classmates wearing their own Purple, Green, and Gold. And I proudly wore my varsity football pants in the ring on my way to that first victory.
And I never looked back.
As I write this, that was nearly 30 years ago. In that time, I've been so fortunate to tour the globe, and I credit the focus and dedication needed for it to my Waukegan upbringing. I worked hard because that's what we do in Waukegan. I never took "no" for an answer (Bulldogs are stubborn, after all) and I made my own path, unconventional as it may have been. I had great teachers and coaches at WHS, some that ended up being lifelong friends long after my days roaming the Brookside halls or playing Left Tackle and First Base at Weiss Field. Coach (then later, Dean) Chris Dreyer was one of my football coaches as a freshman. He was like a second father to me and believed in my wacky career choice, maybe even before I truly did.
I wasn't born to a famous wrestling family and I didn't have a sure-fire ticket to the top. It was teachers and coaches like Mr. Dreyer that reinforced to a Waukegan kid like me - like you - that ANYTHING is possible. That even when the outside world tells you "no", it really only matters what your heart says. If your heart says "yes", then "no" is just a fork in the road and not the end. That we all carve our own paths and walk our own journeys, and that ultimately, WE determine what the destination
For this Waukegan kid, that meant I went on to become a multiple-time World Champion and eventually was blessed enough to hang up the wrestling boots and become a coach and television producer in WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment; I hope it's still around in 2075). And as the General Manager of Monday Night RAW and the longest serving on-screen authority to this point in WWE history, I preach to those in my care the same tenets I learned in Waukegan:
That if you work hard every day, and if you treat people fairly every day, and if you do those two things often enough for long enough, you will EARN respect.
And you already know that in Waukegan, respect is everything.
When you build a life and a career with respect as its foundation, everything on top of it is strong. Just like the purple, green, and gold chip that lives on my (and hopefully, your) shoulder.
I hope this letter finds you and yours well, and that you get out of your time at Waukegan High School everything I did and more. I hope your success is Bulldog-stubborn and that you walk whatever path you choose to the final destination you dream about because there is no limit to what a Waukegan kid can do. And I should know.
I am just like you.With respect,
Adam Pearce
Waukegan High School
Class of 1996
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