LIKE many teenagers growing up in Singapore in the 2000s, Sean Tan enjoyed watching larger-than-life wrestlers such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin duke it out in the ring on television.

The chaotic over-the-top make-believe world that was WWE (the company formerly known as World Wrestling Entertainment) was not just mere entertainment to Tan, however. He set himself a goal: to become a professional wrestler one day and emulate his heroes such as "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels.

When the opportunity presented itself in the form of a fledgling local wrestling promotion called Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) back in 2012, Tan - now 25 years old - jumped at the chance. In January 2013, he began his training, wrestling under the ring name "Trexxus" and becoming one of SPW's founding members in the process.

"There was something special about Sean when we had our first training session together. He was always a natural in the ring, always eager to learn and honing his craft to get better," said SPW co-founder Andruew Tang.

SPW is the brainchild of Tang, 32, and his business partner, Vadim Koryagin from Russia, and has evolved into a mainstay with wrestling fans here. Spectators regularly packed venues such as the multi-purpose hall at The Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations at Toa Payoh and The Pavilion at Far East Square to watch their favourite wrestlers pummel one another and perform acrobatic stunts.

In July 2019, Tan, Tang and local female wrestler Alexis Lee joined 37 other hopefuls from various Asian countries to take part in WWE's tryouts held in Shanghai.

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Tan, who stands at 1.84m and weighs 89kg, impressed WWE officials with his in-ring abilities and was eventually offered a contract.

"I got the news on the final day of the WWE tryouts in Shanghai back in 2019. Head coach Matt Bloom told me to keep it a secret," said Tan in an e-mail interview from Orlando, Florida where he is currently based.

He was then in his final year at Republic Polytechnic studying for a diploma in Health Management and Promotion.

"WWE wanted me to relocate to Orlando at a time before I could complete my diploma. I wanted to finish school and WWE allowed me to do so," he said.

The Covid-19 pandemic, however, threw a spanner into the works. "The initial plan was for me to relocate to Orlando in July last year, but it kept getting delayed despite WWE's best efforts to bring me over," he said.

After the situation improved, Tan finally made the big move to the US in April this year. His parents, who had watched him develop and grow during his time in SPW, had mixed emotions.

"They were excited because I managed to achieve my dream, and sad that I had to leave home. My father was more excited than sad, and my mother was more sad than excited. They are one of the few that I got to frequently talk about it to because it was supposed to be a secret," he recalled.

Sky's the limit

"There are many things to settle as someone relocating to the US," he said. "I definitely miss my family and friends the most, I spend a lot of time video-calling them during my spare time to stay in touch."

Tan's days are now filled with training sessions at the WWE Performance Center, a state-of-the-art training facility in Orlando.

"The programmes are conducted in a way that would work to our benefit when we compete in the ring, as well as take care of our bodies when we are resting and recovering. We are constantly learning and taking care of our bodies at the same time, because there isn't any off-season at WWE," he said.

A mere two months after joining WWE, Tan made a cameo appearance at a segment on NXT, WWE's weekly TV programme that showcases its up-and-coming talent. His role was to act as the "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase's security officer.

"I had to interject and inform (wrestlers) Cameron Grimes and LA Knight not to waste Dibiase's time. I went to bed that night with zero notifications on my phone, and woke up the next morning with my phone constantly buzzing," he said.

With advantages such as youth, agility and a natural "bad guy" face that people generally love to hate, the sky's the limit for Tan as far as his WWE career is concerned.

"My short-term goal is to make my WWE (in-ring) debut, and my long-term goal is to compete at a pay-per-view event and win a WWE Championship."