WCW Power Plant The WCW Power Plant was a professional wrestling school located in Atlanta and owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling . The Power Plant , which was developed from a school operated by Jody Hamilton , was in operation throughout the 1990s . It stopped holding tryouts in December 1999 , and closed in March 2001 when WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation . It had a reputation for pushing trainees to the limit . Criteria For Entry . The Power Plant was advertised on WCW Monday Nitro , and potential trainees could schedule a three day tryout session costing $ 250 where they would attempt to impress the trainers . If the applicants were suitably impressive , they would earn an invitation to join the school at a cost of $ 3000 for six months training . On one occasion , Sonny Siaki and two other wrestlers were admitted out of a field of twenty three applicants . In order to be accepted , applicants had to be physically fit and between the ages of eighteen and twenty - eight . Male applicants had to be at least 5 ft 9 in ( 1 . 75 m ) tall and 180 lb ( 82 kg ) in weight , and were forced to undergo a physically taxing three - day exercise session . Potential trainees unable to keep up were asked to leave . In the course of the three - day period , the applicants would often vomit and suffer from muscle spasms and cramps . Training Routine . The Power Plant had an infamous reputation , with many graduates comparing it to a boot camp . This was exacerbated by the presence of head trainer Dwayne Bruce , who acted like a drill sergeant . To succeed , the trainee was required to display a great deal of strength and stamina , with less focus on basic wrestling skills . Bret Hart , who was forced to retire when a stiff kick from Power Plant graduate Bill Goldberg tore a muscle in his neck and gave him post - concussion syndrome , blamed the end of his career on the Power Plant training regime , saying " I don ' t think it was a priority to protect your opponent . " The Power Plant was equipped with four 18 ' by 18 ' ( 5 . 5 m ) wrestling rings and a gym . A typical weekday would see the trainees begin at 9am with a half hour warm - up session consisting of calisthenics such as vertical squats , push - ups and sit - ups . They would then spend three hours practicing bumps . After a forty - minute break for lunch at 12 : 40pm , the trainees would take more bumps and then work on promos , finishing at 5pm . The daily fitness regime saw trainees perform between 500 and 1000 squats for up to six hours . They would also execute 200 to 500 push - ups , 200 leg lifts and 200 abdominal crunches . In addition , trainees underwent weight training and cardiovascular conditioning exercises . There were few breaks for rests or water , and the trainers were rarely sympathetic to complaints . The motto of the Power Plant was " Pain is temporary , pride is forever . " The drop - out rate was 85 % . The typical student would train for between six and nine months before graduating . While researching professional wrestling for a BBC documentary , journalist Louis Theroux visited the Power Plant . He volunteered to take part in some training in an effort to show some respect for the business , but as he had asked Dwayne Bruce some questions about kayfabe , he was forced into very hard exercise . At one stage , Bruce encouraged the other trainees to call him a cockroach while Theroux was struggling to regain his breath . Theroux was later shown vomiting on camera . Trainers . Male trainers Female Trainers