American Ninja Warrior is more than just crossfit goofballs in T-Rex costumes running its obstacle course. It’s a show about grit and determination. It’s uplifting and inspirational. It’s television for people iron-willed individuals who treat the saying “you can’t do that” with a grain of salt.
One of these individuals is former pro wrestler Zach Gowen, the first WWE wrestler to compete with one leg. The 33-year-old lost his left leg at the age of eight to cancer, using a prosthetic ever since. As our friends at UPROXX remind us, Gowen had matches some of the biggest names in wrestling during his brief stint in the WWE; he climbed in the ring to wrestle against Vince McMahon, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar, which resulted in Lesnar chair-shotting an amputee:
Last night at an Indianapolis, Gowen took to the American Ninja Warrior to show off just how much of a beast he is. I won’t ruin how far he makes it, but lets just say he gets past the spinning log/log dangle.
Gowen’s performance on the show is a reminder that cancer cannot. It’s also cool to know that just a few months ago Gowen teamed up with his fellow “handicapped hero” wrestler Gregory Iron to create Wrestling for Warriors, a non-profit wrestling promotion designed to help kids:
The inspiration for “Wrestling For Warriors” was discovered after reflecting back on just how much of a positive impact professional wrestling, and it’s larger than life characters, has had on us throughout some of the greatest hardships of our lives.
Each event that WFW organizes and promotes will have a different cause associated with it. A few examples of this would be Pediatric Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Neurofibromatosis, among others.
The net profits from each event will go directly to the associated cause, helping fund their respective research efforts. Additionally, WFW will utilize a portion of the net profit to purchase medical equipment for those who are in attendance, afflicted with the associated cause and prescribed the equipment by a physician yet are unable to acquire it on their own due to insurance company denial.
Just another reason Zach Gowen is a total Bro. Gotta love to see a dude who has been through so much give back to others. That’s the very definition of a Bro move.