WWE News: Alex Riley credits a former AWA star with helping his pro wrestling career

WWE star Alex Riley credited AWA star Greg Gagne with helping his pro wrestling career while being interviewed by the Miami Herald. "I’ve been a huge [pro wrestling] fan my entire life," Riley said. "I played football since I was 14, and I was very involved in that but also followed WWE very closely. My father knew Greg Gagne. He’s a close friend of the family. He’s kind of like uncle Greg to me."

Riley said his father contacted Gagne and then WWE's John Laurinaitis about getting into the business. "I contacted John Laurinaitis in January four years ago, and he said there was an open tryout in April, which was about three months away," Riley recalled. "He said we got five or six other guys coming down. Some of them played football. Some didn’t. You’re going to get guys from all walks of life, but you’re more than welcome if you want to throw your hat in there and see if you can do this. Go ahead.

"On Friday, the last day of the tryout, when it was over, I took a plane back to Virginia, and before the plane landed, I had a message saying, ’If you want a contract, we’d love for you to come,’ and the rest is history." To read the full story, visit MiamiHerald.com.

Powell's POV: Riley's father is Kevin Kiley, a former NFL player, who co-hosts the Michael Irvin Radio Show. Kiley played linebacker for the University of Wyoming, where Gagne was the team's quarterback, according to the story. It's a good read that includes quotes from Kiley,