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<\/p>\nHe enjoyed an unlikely rise from non-league to the Premier League and the brink of an England call-up.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t your average ex-footballer.<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 and ensured he was ready to impress in the squared circle.<\/p>\n
READ MORE:<\/b> 'I was on the brink of England call-up when Fabio Capello quit but I\u2019m not bitter'<\/b> <\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/b>15 greatest footballer names of all-time including legendary Jizz Hornkamp<\/b><\/p>\n
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\u2019s Carrow Road in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did it for charity,\u201d Holt, who recently completed a charity walk for a group of children\u2019s hospices, tells Daily Star Sport.<\/b> \u201cIt wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t do it. <\/p>\n
Which footballers would you like to see transition to wrestling? Tell us in the comments section below<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
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\u201cA 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that, I had companies asking me to wrestle here and wrestle there. I\u2019m still firmly in the football world so I haven\u2019t really got time to change tact and become a wrestler.\u201d<\/p>\n
While full-time wrestling isn\u2019t for him, Holt has the utmost respect for in-ring performers and what they put their bodies through. \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not something you can drop in and drop out of. I can\u2019t just say now, \u2018oh, I\u2019m going to wrestle next week\u2019. There\u2019s so much you need to learn and get yourself into shape for.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s a bit like playing football at where I\u2019m at now [Holt plays Veterans\u2019 football in Norfolk] and then going to play in the Premier League next week. You can\u2019t. It\u2019s an act, it\u2019s a skill that you\u2019ve got to learn because people get hurt doing it. You can get seriously hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 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\u2019t be doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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That Carrow Road show saw him team up with member Billy Gunn, who now wrestles for WWE rival AEW. \u201cIt was surreal,\u201d says Holt of working with the former D-Generation X member. \u201cI was brought up with the Attitude Era [in WWE] where they\u2019re all being lunatics. So being in the ring with him was a bit weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
On any advice Gunn offered him, Holt laughs: \u201cYeah, don\u2019t go into wrestling! He was a good guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Holt, now 42, is now focused on forging a career in football off the pitch. \u201cI\u2019ve done all my badges,\u201d he adds. \u201cI\u2019ve done a management diploma. It\u2019s on the agenda, either management or being a sporting director in the next few years. I\u2019ve been trying to build up my knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes in football, not just on the grass.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n