Tucked away in the corner of an otherwise unremarkable industrial park in Orlando, Florida is the WWE Performance Centre. A training facility for the “sports-entertainment” behemoth’s developmental talent, inside it’s a veritable Wonka Factory of professional wrestling: multiple practice rings, a mock-up entrance ramp, big name wrestlers sweating it out in the gym, and walls adorned with memorabilia.

As a longtime fan, I’m as giddy as a schoolboy who’s been clobbered with a steel chair. When I meet Hugo Knox – a fellow Brit who’s made the curious transition from professional goalkeeper to WWE Superstar – I see I’m not the only one excited to be there.

I ask what inspired him to retire from for football and make the leap from “legit” sports to the pantomime of pro wrestling.

“I’ve always been a fan,” says Hugo. “As a kid I used to wrestle my brother. My childhood dreams were to play football or be a wrestler. The opportunity to be part of it is something I didn’t even think twice about.”

Most British schoolboys would 'back suplex' their own grandmothers to live just one of those dreams, let alone both.

In his ten years as a professional goalkeeper, Hugo – real name Stuart Tomlinson, from Chester – played for such teams as Crewe Alexandra, Port Vale, and Burton Albion. Playing mostly in the lower leagues, including a couple of spells in the Conference, he admits his footballing career didn’t reach the heights he originally hoped for.

“I can’t complain,” he says. “I worked as hard as I could and that was the level I reached. In my last season I was at Burton Albion I had an issue with the posterior cruciate ligament in my knee I had to ask myself if, at 28-years-old, I wanted to keep playing lower league football or take the chance and come to WWE.

“When I started with football I wanted to play in the Premiership and the World Cup. I’ve got the same ambitions here. I’ve been to WrestleMania. I’ve seen the show that gets put on, and, I’ll be honest, I want a piece of that.”

Hugo is one of several athletes from other sports to join the ranks of WWE. The Performance Center – which teaches its wannabe wrestlers everything about the grapple game, from learning the moves to cutting promos – makes it all the more possible. Other recruits gave included including MMA fighters, NFL players and even another goalkeeper: former German international Tim Wiese.

But his goalie skills have served him well between the ropes, particularly his fast feet, natural athleticism, and stockier build.

“I’d regularly get chants of ‘who ate all the pies?’” he laughs. “But then, I can’t see many of those skinny little wingers making the transition to WWE.”

Forget the pies. Up close, Hugo is a strapping six-footer and built like a well-chiseled brick privy. But even for a bloke of his size, the training regime is seriously hardcore – a marked change to his days on the footie training ground.

“A basic day is strength and conditioning training for two hours,” he says. “And that’s a lot of functional stuff, not your typical bodybuilder workout. Then you’re back in the ring for maybe three hours of drills and cardio.”

That’s not to mention the “bumps” (wrestling lingo for hitting the mat). Getting into a WWE ring for the first time, the mat is harder than I imagined.

“Did you take a bump?” Hugo asks, pegging me immediately for a massive wimp.

“Erm, no,” I say. “I just poked it with my finger a bit.”

“Try taking a powerbomb from someone who’s 6’8”,” he laughs. “I was so excited to take the first bumps. But the next day I felt like I’d been hit by a bus. My body wasn’t used to it. I used to wake up in the morning and be like… ohhh. It took time to adjust.”

You need more than physical strength and durability, though. As WWE would tell you, this isn’t wrestling – it’s sports-entertainment. And without a flair for the entertainment­ side of things, you’ll never make it as a bona fide WWE Superstar.

“This isn’t a place for someone who’s intimidated speaking in front of people,” Hugo says. “If you’re a character and confident, you’re going to shine, but I’ve watched tryouts with new guys who might be amazing in the ring, but it’s obvious they’re lacking in personality. It takes time to develop.”

Hugo worked his first live match after six months of training (“I was incredibly nervous… it was the anticipation of wanting do well) but it’s a long road to that big WrestleMania moment though. Technically, Hugo is not quite a WWE Superstar. He’s still learning the ropes in lower-tier show NXT, the official face of WWE’s developmental ranks.

And though NXT might be the WWE equivalent of the Conference, it’s also the hottest wrestling brand in North America, so he’s in the right place.

Last month Hugo performed on NXT’s tour of the UK. The next steps will be regular appearances on NXT’s television show, which airs weekly on the WWE Network, followed by promotion to the main WWE roster for official Superstar status.

“Someone asked me recently why I haven’t been on TV yet,” he says. “But if you were signed by Real Madrid, you wouldn’t just walk in and start playing on the A-team. You’ve got to build your reputation and trust with people.

“I realize that’s going to take time. Most of the people who perform the main event matches at WrestleMania have been perfecting their craft for 10-15 years. So to expect me to just walk into the main event after just two-years deep … it’s not going to happen. But I want to go all the way with this.”

Watch NXT and other WWE programming on the WWE Network