Gregory Iron reveals he was in talks with WWE earlier this year and it's all thanks to the kindness of Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae.
Gregory Iron is best known as the professional wrestler with cerebral palsy but early on in his career, he formed a bond with Johnny Gargano as they came up through the ranks together in Pro Wrestling Ohio. That friendship formed a lifelong bond with not only Johnny but Johnny's wife, Candice LeRae.
In wrestling, Greg is perhaps best known for his time as part of the 44OH! stable in GCW but, of course, his goal has always been to join WWE. Now, Greg is revealing that he had a chance to truly achieve that dream earlier this calendar year.
During a recent episode of his podcast, Iron-On Wrestling, Greg shares that a coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida recently inquired about bringing him on board. Greg is not sure whether this would have been for a wrestling, coaching, or right incapacity, but he was open to all opportunities and says that Candice LeRae truly put him over when she was questioned about him.
"I almost got hired by WWE, and I'm debating in my brain, whether I should even go into all the details about this, maybe it's something else saved for another day. But I'll say this, my name was brought up by one of the coaches at the Performance Center. This individual was wondering if I was still performing. We used to do shows together, so this person was obviously a former wrestler. She was asking Candice and Candice said, 'Yes, Greg is still performing.' This person that was inquiring about me said, 'I think Greg is really great and we could use someone like him here.' Candice, of course, agreed, and she really just put me over hard. Then, of course, this person also went to Johnny. Johnny, of course, made the joke that I would make a 'great hand.'
"We weren't sure if this was going to be some sort of wrestling role or writing role or producing, but I was really open to any of the possibilities. Candice and Johnny really pushed for me, and, you know, I don't know of a lot of friends that would go out of the way for someone unless they really believed in them. So just the fact that Johnny and Candice believed in me enough to push for me within WWE meant a lot."
When it came time to email Matt Bloom, Greg was, understandably, nervous about how to best format the email and he says that on a Tuesday in July, when she just so happened to not be at NXT TV, Candice helped him format the email which would eventually successfully garner a response from Matt Bloom
"I started some communication with Matt Bloom. Johnny told me one day that I had to send an email to him to introduce myself, and I had to do it by the end of the day. I believe this was in July, and I sweated while writing this email because I didn't want it to be too long or too short. I looked at it on my phone and looked long, but then I looked at it on the computer and it looked short and Candice, who just happened not to be at TV that day. She had the day off. This was a Tuesday. She, over the phone, helped me write this email. I think it was a solid email, to be honest. She was there for me when I needed it. When I was freaking the fuck out because I'm thinking to myself, 'Oh God, I never thought I was gonna get this opportunity with WWE.' Seriously, at this point, I'm 34 — 35 now, but at the time of the email 34. I don't know, I've been focused on more stuff like AEW and motivational speaking, IMPACT. I think those all seem like more plausible things, you know? Again, Candice was there for me when I needed her."
Ultimately, Greg would hear back from the former Albert but shortly after that first correspondence, WWE began its next round of cuts and Greg has yet to hear back from anyone at the WWE Performance Center.
"Bloom wrote me back that week, and he said something to the effect of, 'Hey, I look forward to getting to know you and connecting with you. I'm really busy this week, but I will get back to you after the weekend and that is the weekend that they began the WWE firings, I think the first round of the major cuts. A couple of weeks went by, I reached out to Matt Bloom again, just to sort of follow up and did not hear anything. It's very disheartening. Of course, when these firings begin the internet is ablaze, and the rumor is that they are changing the dynamic of what they want to hire. You've got to be a certain height requirement. now, you can't be over this age. They're going back to the old, any type of athlete outside of wrestling, they want to hire, and I figured, well, my chances are over. But for that little bit, earlier this year, Yes, I was in talks with the WWE, and it is because of Candice LeRae and Johnny, believing in me and my story that that was even a possibility."
Johnny and Candice are excited about the next chapter in their lives, starting a family. Candice is due to give birth to a boy in early 2022. Learn more about that here.
Johnny Gargano also has a decision to make regarding his contractual status. You can see the latest update on that matter here.
Gregory Iron spoke with Fightful earlier this year about Johnny, 44OH!, Zach Gowen, and more. You can check out the full interview embedded above.
If you use any of the above quotes, please make sure to link back to this article crediting Fightful with the transcription.