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As Delicious Orie was considering his options after the Olympic Games in Paris, the GB super-heavyweight was not expecting an offer from WWE to appear in his inbox.
“I actually got a message on Instagram during the Olympics,” Orie told Sky Sports.
“Initially I just thought it was one of those messages, I thought it was just a scam. Why would the real thing message you?”
But it was for real and Orie was flown out to Florida for a week-long try-out at the WWE performance centre.
He was taught the basics of professional wrestling, trained with other athletes and got an insight into their methods.
“I do have a finisher [a finishing move],” Orie said with a smile. “It’s called the ‘Delicious Haymaker’. I’ve also got to implement boxing in my wrestling moves!”
He added: “We also did the promo work, which I found amazing. Completely different to what I’m used to. What I’ve experienced was huge that I can take away and let boxers know that it’s really important to be able to show yourself to the camera, be confident in front of the camera.
“These wrestlers are so confident in front of the camera. It was a mind-opener for me.
“I got to work on an exaggerated version of me. There’s two ways you can approach it with wrestling at that level, you either are an exaggerated version of yourself or you’re a different person. What they call it is ‘a heel’ or ‘a babyface’.
“I think a babyface is probably the exaggerated version of Delicious but I can definitely give heel a go with a big smile on my face. It was fun.”
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Sky Sports’ Toe2Toe podcast discuss the losses handed to Team GB boxers Orie and Rosie Eccles at the Paris 2024 Olympics
As he leaves amateur boxing behind he has been meeting with all of the major professional boxing promoters. But a change of sport is now also an option for him.
“It’s massive worldwide, WWE is the biggest entity in the sports industry,” Orie said.
“I am now at the stage where I have spoken with all the [boxing] promoters, I got to experience the WWE life and lifestyle and I am open to every single one of them [offers]. I’m in the process of getting all the offers on the table. Weigh up the pros and cons of each and then I’ll make my decision.”
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What makes the Olympics special? Favourite movie? Get to know 2022 Commonwealth Games champion Orie
He continued: “It’s not something I’ll take lightly. This decision will have an impact and influence on my whole career and the trajectory of my whole life. And also, whatever decision I pick, it’s going to be something I will take with 100 per cent full commitment and full sacrifice.
“So I need to make sure that I make a decision and never live a life with regret.
“Now I’m moving away from the amateur style of boxing, I am now an entertainer, whether it’s a professional boxer or a wrestler.
“My name’s Delicious for God’s sake, I’ve got to be some sort of entertainer!”
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