Daniel Puder Returns To The Ring
My Life My Power Pro Wrestling comes to Miami this Thursday.
In the same year that Kurt Angle retired from professional wrestling, one of his most infamous rivals plans to step back into the squared circle.
Daniel Puder, winner of the fourth WWE Tough Enough and an undefeated MMA competitor, returns to the ring this Thursday in Miami. His nonprofit organization My Life My Power will be hosting the event, which will feature talent from Gangrel’s Wrestling Asylum, including its blood-spewing namesake.
“I’m proud to get back in the ring and blessed to be in there with Gangrel,” Puder told The Wrestling Estate. “He’s not only been a mentor to me, but he’s an amazing human. We get to do a lot of good together.”
The former WWE Superstars became friends while both were working in Ohio Valley Wrestling nearly 15 years ago. Puder says they would go to the children’s hospital in Louisville, KY, bringing smiles to sick kids’ faces. Those experiences helped influence Puder’s path post-wrestling, in which he created a program to address the bullying crisis throughout the United States. In the decade since then, My Life My Power has expanded into an innovative evidence-based curriculum with a highly effective youth diversion and mentoring program. Puder and his team also provide flexible and solution-based training for adults to become mentors to youth in order to create a significant and purpose-driven society.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw6Tj6U5HmA
“The system is broken today and we’re not solving problems,” Puder says. “When we privatize jails or foster care, things I don’t believe should be privatized, it’s not helping our kids. Our school districts are getting less and less money when it costs more and more every year to exist. Our teachers should be making $60,000-$70,000 a year.”
Puder and his team have designed customized programs to fit into many aspects of the public and private sector, including school staff and students from kindergarten to university, corporate, military and government, judicial and law enforcement, rehabs, retirees, community organizations and nonprofits.
Students hold a special place in Puder’s heart, as the organization offers in-school, after-school and home-school programs, as well as pre-college preparation courses to make sure that teenagers get into the college of their choice. It’s all about having a mentor to keep children from broken homes or poverty-stricken communities on the right path.
“This year we’ve had a 94% success rate with kids that have been failing out of the system or coming out of foster care,” Puder says. “They’ve worked really hard and now they’re getting out of school for the summer. It’s great to give them some entertainment at the end of the year.”
Late last year, Puder appeared at a Pro Wrestling Mid South event in Dyersburg, TN, when up-and-coming grappler Derrick Griffin tried to make a name for himself at the former MMA competitor’s expense. As you can imagine, things didn’t end up well for the youngster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czVj1NE-ZZM
So we know that Puder can still hang, but who he’ll be facing remains a secret. “It’s going to be hard-hitting and tough, but I’m excited to see how we can put on a show for everybody,” he says.
My Life My Power Pro Wrestling takes place Thursday, June 6, at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in Miami, FL.
For tickets and more information, visit mylifemypower.org.
Follow Puder on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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John Corrigan, thanks so much for the post.Really thank you! Great.