Mike Hollow – An Xperience Interview

By Joshua Scarselli.

Today, we are talking with Mike Hollow. Mike is the head trainer at the WWE Independent Development school, the Elite Pro Wrestling Training Center. Mike Hollow’s path in professional wrestling goes straight back to Killer Kowalski, one of the most respected trainers the business has ever seen. He began training under Kowalski in the early 1990s, where the focus was on fundamentals, conditioning, ring psychology, and an old-school level of discipline that shaped how wrestlers were expected to carry themselves. After finishing the program and spending time in the ring himself, Hollow returned to help train the next wave of talent. As Kowalski’s health declined, Hollow took on a larger role, eventually running the day-to-day classes while staying true to the system Kowalski built. After Kowalski passed in 2008, Hollow became one of the main people carrying that philosophy forward, continuing to emphasize strong basics, respect for the craft, and storytelling—while adapting those lessons to modern wrestling.

RRX: You have an extensive career in Professional Wrestling. Can you tell me a little about the journey that brought you here?

MH: Before I enrolled in Killer Kowalski’s School, I worked for the WWF on production and the ring crew. Ever since I was a little kid, I was hooked and always said to myself that I would be involved one way or another. Here it is, 30 years later, and I love the wrestling business that allowed me to help so many people.

RRX: You are extremely knowledgeable and talented in the ring yourself. What drew you to the teaching aspect of Professional Wrestling?

MH: I was fortunate enough to have a relationship with Walter (Kowalski) over the years. But I was also a good friend of Pat Patterson, who was so insightful about the wrestling business. He would share that it’s imperative to give back and help others reach their potential dreams.

RRX: Let’s talk about your journey through your career.

MH: So Walter and I started together in 1992. I ended up becoming his head trainer at the school as he was getting up in age. I was taking care of more of the day-to-day responsibilities and really implementing some of the things that I was taking from the WWF at the time. I was able to spend some time in Connecticut and work with Dr. Tom (Prichard), doing TV and all that good stuff. I just really was trying to take away the WWE, or WWF, ways of training and development going forward.

So I came to a point in 2000 where I had just built my house and had my first son, Michael. Walter and I always did business on a handshake. One of the things that I had sat down with him and Teresa and tried to talk about or negotiate with them, was to take the Killer Kowalski School of Professional Wrestling into an LLC. So (God forbid if someone was ever to get hurt), Walter, he didn’t have much until Teresa came into the picture, but I had just built a brand new home, and I didn’t want to not have protection, from a liability standpoint. I didn’t want to not have any type of protection, God forbid if something was to happen.

So he and I probably met with three or four attorneys at the time who handled that type of stuff. My ex-wife (she worked for a law office) was trying to move that along for both of us. Unfortunately, Walter was stubborn, and he had been burned on a couple business deals that kind of put him in a bad position financially. So I understood where he was coming from, but then again, I had to look at it from where I sat or stood for the well-being of my family, with where I was doing the majority of the work.

So it came to a point where I said to Walter, “If we can’t come to some type of deal putting it on paper, I’m gonna have to  find another place to go.” Unfortunately, that day had come, and I went. I had to have a conversation with them. Basically said, “We’re gonna be parting ways with you.” That was really difficult because here’s a guy who gave me a wonderful opportunity and gave me a starting point. Stopping my teaching career and working with aspiring wrestlers, having to leave him – that was really tough for me. I wasn’t looked at in a very popular light with where I was the guy who burned Killer Kowalski, but only a very few people understood what was going on behind the scenes. So that was another story for the situation.

So anyways, I ended up leaving. Chaotic Wrestling was just starting to come about. Not only do they want to run a promotion, but they also wanted to run a school. They happened to find a building in North Andover. I sat down and talked to them after they had gotten up and running. They said to me, “Would you be interested in teaching at our school?” And I said, “Sure, why not?” I mean, the school was in North Andover. I had just built my house in Plaston, New Hampshire. So it was an eight-mile drive. It was an easy commute. From 2000 to 2010, you know, I was the guy at CTC. My wife and I at the time owned 50% of the school, and Jamie Jamitkowski owned the other 50%. It was a good working relationship from that perspective.

The really interesting thing that I’ll share with you is that about six months after I had left Walter, I was home at the time, and my doorbell rang. I saw a car coming down my driveway, and I wasn’t sure who it was. I didn’t recognize the car. So I opened the door, and there were Walter and Teresa at the front steps of my house. I was kind of shocked, taken aback, you know, because I hadn’t talked to Walter in a bit. He said, “Can I come in?”  I said, “Walter, absolutely.” He’d been involved with my weddings and my kid’s stuff. He was really an integral part of my family and being around. We really had that special relationship. So he came in. We sat down and talked back and forth. Walter is a very proud man. Basically said to me, “You know, I made a mistake.” I said, “Well, Walter, what do you mean?”  “I should have come with you, or I should have listened to you,” he responded. I said, “Well, it’s never too late.” So from that point on, Walter ended up closing his school, and he became part of the CTC cloth and fabric. He would come to the school on weekends, on Saturdays. So that is the story of how Walter and I had a little bit of a breakup. We got back together again, and the rest was history.

RRX: How did that develop into your current position at the Elite Pro Wrestling Training Center?

MH: So, after, when I was at CTC around 2010-2011, I was going through a divorce. The good old wrestling business kind of got in the middle of a marriage. I was just promoted to an asphalt plant superintendent, where I was responsible for two of our larger facilities. So my time being able to teach was limited. I was always told that you’re either in halfway or you’re in all the way. So I just couldn’t dedicate enough time, and I was raising my kids and being newly divorced.

So I stepped away, probably for about two or three years of actually teaching. Then my career kind of changed a little bit, with where I kind of had some more free time. Then at the time, Jamie Jamitkowski, the former owner of Chaotic and CTC, said, “Mike, why don’t we create Hollow Stables for you?” and I said, “Well, what do you mean?” He said, ”Well, why don’t we do it on a small time basis. Where you’re like a golf pro, and you teach small groups, two to four students. We’ll go about it that way and kind of keep you involved.” So I did that for a couple of years.

Then I found out Bud Browning was opening a school in Manchester. I wanted to go back and teach at a regular location. So I spent some time with Bud in Manchester. There was an opportunity for him to join me up in Concord with Scott Reed at Elite. But he opted to stay where he was. That’s basically how I ended up with Scott.

But one of the things I had shared with Bud, and I shared with Scott, is that I just didn’t want to own a wrestling school. I’d already done that. My primary focus is I want to go back and reestablish or develop a relationship with the office (WWE), to make it where it was worthwhile and be under their umbrella. Having a healthy, good working relationship that we have with them now, with the WWE ID program. So that was the reason why I decided to get back with Scott, because when you look at the facility with what we were trying to create, I definitely knew it was gonna grab some attention from the office and from Gabe (Sapolsky). Then with Hunter (Triple H) in charge, and him understanding what I’ve been able to do over the years, and keeping the Walter lineage alive, which is very close and dear to him.

Let’s face it, it was kind of interesting that Scott and I ended up becoming an ID school out of the four that are left. The other three are run by Hall of Famers, and I’m not a WWE Hall of Famer. I’m just a guy who teaches wrestling and has been able to create some stars along the way. So I’m fortunate in that respect.

One of the things that I had shared with Gabe and I said, “I just don’t want to be one of the schools, I want us to be the number one school.” It’s really been good for us with where we’ve got people coming from all over the country. I’ve got Canadians coming to visit us on a regular basis. I’ve got people from Maryland, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, and Connecticut. I got guys and girls coming from other schools to come visit us to kind of see what it’s really like.

One of the compelling things that I’m hearing consistently across the board from both male and female talents is that the school really gets to the weeds and the basic fundamentals and creates a lot of positive takeaways, you know, both in and out of the ring for future development. And that says a lot, and I really appreciate that piece.

RRX: Walter was an amazing wrestler and teacher. A few greats have come from his school. What was it like being his hand-picked successor and having a hand in their training?

MH: I am beyond grateful for what Walter has passed on to me. It is my responsibility to continue his legacy for years to come.

RRX: What is the biggest thing that Walter instilled in you that you instill in your students?

MH: I would have to say that self-confidence is the biggest one. And it’s what I want to instill in all of the Elite students. It takes a unique person to do what we do. As Walter used to share with me, not only did he want all of his students to have confidence in the ring, but more importantly, in life.

RRX: How did the Elite School end up being part of the ID program, and how did it affect what you do at the school?

MH: I don’t know this for a fact, but I am assuming that Hunter has kept close tabs on what I have been doing over the years and appreciated the talent that I had a hand in developing the right way, which went on to work for WWE, and keeping Walter’s legacy alive to this day. As for Elite Pro Wrestling Training Center, it’s simple to keep teaching fundamentals both in and out of the ring so that talent can thrive at the next level.

RRX: What are some of the things that you teach the students that normal wrestling fans don’t think about?

MH: How many moving pieces actually go into a match, and how the small details are essential to being able to tell a compelling story.

RRX: What’s your personal Mount Rushmore of wrestling?

MH: Rock, Steve Austin, Pat Patterson, Curt Hennig.

RRX: Any final takeaways?

MH: I’m very privileged to do what I do. It’s not my right. If I were to leave the wrestling business tomorrow, from a teaching standpoint, hopefully I could say that I left the business in a better place for the future. I still have relationships today with reaching out or just being able to “How are you doing?” Then just really being able to work with, you know, the future stars of tomorrow has been really something that I thoroughly enjoy.