ANYONE that's been to a live National Rugby League match knows there's nothing that makes a crowd erupt like a bone-rattling tackle. People love collisions.
However, it's nothing like a professional wrestling crowd. The noise when a spectacular move is executed is electric. Often followed by chants of, "this is awesome."
Having once experienced the excitement of the NRL and the grind of week-in week-out competition across eight seasons and 114 first-grade games with Canberra, St George Illawarra, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Daniel Vidot is chasing the adrenaline rush of a new dream.
Last year the 29-year-old former winger joined Jarryd Hayne and Valentine Holmes by quitting rugby league to pursue new goals in the United States.
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However, while Hayne and Holmes were attempting to crack the NFL, Vidot signed a development contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.
The WWE is a behemoth. It's worth US $3.2 billion and is broadcast to 180 countries every week through a variety of TV shows and its own Netflix-style streaming service.
For the past year Vidot has been learning the ropes of head locks, clothes lines, body slams and drop kicks at the WWE's Performance Centre in Orlando, Florida working under the guidance of wrestling icon "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels.
Other trainers include Norman Smiley and Matt Bloom (Albert, A-Train, Kensai), while he's also received advice from wrestler-turned-Hollywood star "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson, Triple H, John Cena and Roman Reigns.
"Especially starting [it's really hard], it's a different kind of fitness," Vidot said during his recent return to Australia for WWE's SmackDown Tour.
"It's just going through 20 car crashes a week, that's what it feels like on your body. Taking falls and tumbles and rolling around and doing flips and learning how to run the ropes.
"For a couple of weeks my back was bleeding doing that stuff. You get used to it, but it takes a couple of months.
"It can be real crazy. You can be in the ring for five minutes and it feels like a half of footy."
Of course wrestling is as much about the colourful characters and storylines as it is about in-ring action.
Vidot was initially given the ring name "Ghost Vin Quade", also known as "The Samoan Ghost", before being repackaged as "Vidot the Untamed."
"It's kind of like let your wild side run free, don't let anyone control you," Vidot said. "That's the kind of path I'm going down now.
"I've always been that person who wears their heart on their sleeve. I did what I felt like. It's just a magnified version of me."
Vidot's development has been rapid. He's already competed in a series of non-televised matches for WWE's third brand NXT and is hoping to make the transition to the weekly show early in 2020.
With the launch of rival organisation All Elite Wrestling in October going head-to-head for ratings with NXT on Wednesday nights in the US, Vidot could become vitally important to WWE.
"My goal at the moment is to get on TV on the USA Network and then work from there to get on SmackDown and Raw," he said.
"It's a massive year for me in 2020 and hopefully I start creating some waves."
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