He enjoyed an unlikely rise from non-league to the Premier League and the brink of an England call-up.
He was universally popular at virtually all his former clubs. He then dabbled in wrestling and teamed up with WWE legend. Needless to say, Grant Holt isn’t your average ex-footballer.
Now is he putting in the groundwork ahead of his next challenge. Unlike many ex-pros who lunge into the first big coaching job that comes up, Holt is biding his time and building up his knowledge to make sure he is ready. It was an approach that got him to top of the game – and ensured he was ready to impress in the squared circle.
READ MORE: 'I was on the brink of England call-up when Fabio Capello quit but I’m not bitter'
READ MORE: 15 greatest footballer names of all-time including legendary Jizz Hornkamp
After a career which saw him fire Norwich from League One to Premier League, where he scored 15 in one season, he enjoyed a brief spell in the wrestling world, culminating in a show in front of 4,000 fans at Norwich’s Carrow Road in 2019.
“I did it for charity,” Holt, who recently completed a charity walk for a group of children’s hospices, tells Daily Star Sport. “It wasn’t like I changed career to go into wrestling, which everyone kind of thinks. It came from the year before when I was meant to come into the ring and give someone a slap at an event, but I couldn’t do it.
Which footballers would you like to see transition to wrestling? Tell us in the comments section below
“A year later, I decided to build up to it and make it bigger and better. We had 4,000 fans at Carrow Road, which was mental and the money went to charity.
“After that, I had companies asking me to wrestle here and wrestle there. I’m still firmly in the football world so I haven’t really got time to change tact and become a wrestler.”
While full-time wrestling isn’t for him, Holt has the utmost respect for in-ring performers and what they put their bodies through. “It’s unbelievable,” he says. “It’s not something you can drop in and drop out of. I can’t just say now, ‘oh, I’m going to wrestle next week’. There’s so much you need to learn and get yourself into shape for.
“It’s a bit like playing football at where I’m at now [Holt plays Veterans’ football in Norfolk] and then going to play in the Premier League next week. You can’t. It’s an act, it’s a skill that you’ve got to learn because people get hurt doing it. You can get seriously hurt.
“I’m very much all or nothing. For the one we did at Carrow Road, I trained for six months twice a week to make sure I knew what I was doing and I had some other matches in the build-up to it. Unless someone offers me a big bit of money to come out of retirement and give it to charity, I won’t be doing it.”
That Carrow Road show saw him team up with member Billy Gunn, who now wrestles for WWE rival AEW. “It was surreal,” says Holt of working with the former D-Generation X member. “I was brought up with the Attitude Era [in WWE] where they’re all being lunatics. So being in the ring with him was a bit weird.”
On any advice Gunn offered him, Holt laughs: “Yeah, don’t go into wrestling! He was a good guy.”
Holt, now 42, is now focused on forging a career in football off the pitch. “I’ve done all my badges,” he adds. “I’ve done a management diploma. It’s on the agenda, either management or being a sporting director in the next few years. I’ve been trying to build up my knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes in football, not just on the grass.”
Holt was speaking ahead of the Scottish Masters Cup 2023 which took place earlier this month at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow. The round-robin tournament featured ex-players from Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Hearts, including the likes of Alan Hutton, Pedro Mendes and Kris Boyd. The event saw the Celtics Masters team stroll to victory with a 5-2 victory in the final against Hibs.
Source: Read Full Article