Photo by
Joseph Ariono
Photo by
Joseph Ariono
Growing up in Malaysia, Daryl Snelson, a sophomore majoring in health and human science, said he found a great passion in professional wrestling. He said his love for self-defense has grown since he was 9 when he took a Taekwondo course, and later on, he discovered more mixed martial arts, like boxing.
After exploring several branches in self-defense, Snelson said he shared his desire to be a boxer to his father, but his father said, “When I die, you can be a boxer.” Daryl Snelson said his father knew he would get hurt in boxing because the whole goal of the match is to knock the rival out. But his passion didn’t end there, Snelson said. As he explored pro wrestling and negotiated with his father to become serious at it, he said his father finally agreed.
Snelson explained how pro wrestling is a form of theater. It combines physical skills and showcases acting talents to audiences, he shared. He said the whole point of everything that happens in the ring is to entertain the audience. Everything is scripted to create a story, he shared. “Everything we do is real, and most failed stunts hurt, but it is all part of being a different character when you are in the ring performing,” he added.
According to Snelson, when he was assigned as the “good guy” of the match or the protagonist in the ring, he shows the audience this through the way he acts out his wrestling skill without saying it. The goal is to persuade the crowd to be on his side, he said, “If I am the good guy and the audience is supporting me to beat my rival up, that’s how I know I did my job well.” He said, if the audience cannot tell which one is the bad and good guy, something is wrong with the way they are portraying the character in the story.
Whenever he wrestles, he said he feels like he accomplishes something whenever the crowd responds to the performance. “Every time I wrestle, I strive my best to have an engagement with the crowd. It does not matter what kind of stunts or moves I perform. If the crowd is not engaging or having fun, I need to change the way I wrestle,” he said. He said getting the attention of the crowd, whether you are placed as the villain or hero in wrestling, is the ultimate accomplishment of being a wrestler. He said it helps the crowd follow the storyline and eventually buy more tickets just to see you perform in the ring again.
Photo by
Joseph Ariono
Photo by
Joseph Ariono
The professional training
Snelson said this branch of self-defense is called pro wrestling because every participant needs to be professionally trained, not only to throw a punch, slam or strike but also in the technique of how to act the fights out without vitally hurting each other. He said, “In wrestling, everything is done with a safety precaution. So, when you hit something ahead, you can hit it as hard as possible and it will not bother you. It does hurt but won’t kill you.”
He shared his first experience receiving training before he got into the field. He said he learned the correct way to fall with his back landing first, which is called a back bump. It took a whole month to make sure he had expertise in this skill, he explained. “When you fall, you always want to tuck your neck in. So no matter what movement you receive from your opponent, you always fall at the same basic position.”
He said his recent training is now focused on how he can please the crowd. He said no matter how important learning a new stunt or move is, it will not attract the crowd if you do not engage with them.
“Ever since I started to wrestle here [in Hawaii], it was still a struggle at first because most of the audiences here are accustomed to seeing their local fighters wrestle. From our group, I am the only one so far who is from Malaysia,” he said. Little by little, he said he is continuing to learn how to please the Hawaiian crowd and encourage them to love him while he is performing in the ring.
Alexander Lee, the co-owner and founder of Unify Championship Entertainment Wrestling and the Wild Samoan Training of Hawaii, said he met Daryl Snelson over a year ago. Lee said he has been into wrestling for 18 years and trained people for 10 years, and he now oversees everyone on the team who wants to train and wrestle. Lee said Snelson was humble and teachable. “He learns very quickly. Coming from a foreign place, I assumed that transitioning from wrestling in Malaysia to Hawaii might be a struggle for him, but he proved us wrong,” he said. Lee added his overall experience training Snelson was simple because he made it easy to adapt to the culture of wrestling in Hawaii.
Throughout his journey to be a pro wrestler, Snelson said he has seen some people stop showing up after the second or third training. He said he realized there are so many risks that need to be taken to increase his skill, but because of his persistence and passion, he didn’t quit.
Photo by
Joseph Ariono
Photo by
Joseph Ariono
Balancing wrestling, family and education
Cynthia Snelson, Daryl Snelson’s wife and a sophomore majoring in TESOL from Malaysia, said, after Daryl Snelson’s mission, he talked about wrestling several times during their early dating life. She said she thought it was the sport type of wrestling, but when he went to one of his matches, she was surprised to find out that it was entertainment wrestling. She said, “The first time I went to his match, it was very interesting. The moves look so real as if they are getting hurt, but in reality, they are trained to lessen the impact anytime they get knocked down in the ring.” She continued, “I was worried at first that he might get hurt while wrestling, but because of his trainers and his intense preparation, my worries were [taken] away.”
By the time they got to Hawaii, Cynthia Snelson said her husband was still eager to join matches and expand his connections with new people and wrestlers. She said it was a struggle at first because he found a place to wrestle around July 2022 and their wedding was scheduled for that next month. “I was apprehensive at first because he decided to continue to wrestle here. It requires him to have weekly Wednesday training in town, and on top of that, he is a student and a club president at the same time,” she said.
Days before their marriage, Cynthia Snelson said she learned to accept everything her husband loves. “Even though he had a tight schedule, he was still able to train, study, be a club president and a husband all at the same time. Over time, I just learned to accept what he loves to do and showed my utmost support to him,” she said.
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