When Brian Cook was a middle school student in Toledo, he already knew what he wanted to do when he grew up.
His dream wasn’t much different than a lot of children his age: He wanted to break into the world of professional wrestling and perform in front of the live audiences he routinely saw on television.
Unlike many who aspire to launch themselves from a turnbuckle or execute the perfect finishing move in front of a live audience, Cook has worked hard to make those childhood dreams a reality.
Now, at the age of 33, he’s poised to compete for a title once held by such professional wrestling greats as Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes and Harley Race — the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Heavyweight Championship.
Cook will face the current champ, Thom Latimer, in Peak Sports Entertainment’s “Saturday Night Hike” show on Feb. 15 at VFW Post 2100 in Everett.
It will mark the first time in 24 years that the historic title will be defended in Washington state, with the last such occurrence happening in 2001.
“This is definitely the biggest opportunity I have had in, it’s silly to call it a career, but it’s a career,” Cook told The Chronicle. “A title match like that doesn’t go to just anyone … There’s a lot that goes into bringing the NWA champion out.”
Cook was born in Centralia in 1991 and graduated from Toledo High School in 2009 after making it to the Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome his senior year in the wrestling program. From there, he attended Centralia College and Central Washington University.
He and his brother, Kevin Cook, began wrestling on the independent scene in Washington. After a while, he said he lost his passion for the professional wrestling business.
“The promotion we trained with closed down and we both fell out of love with it,” Brian Cook said.
That changed about nine years ago in 2016 as the Cooks decided they wanted to give the profession another shot.
Cook began training at the Buddy Wayne Academy in early 2017 and perfected his craft for about a year and a half before he got his first match as part of a DEFY Wrestling show in Missoula, Montana, in May 2018.
Since then, he’s been traversing the regional world of babyfaces and heels, making a name for himself in the Pacific Northwest professional wrestling scene.
Taking bumps and generating heat from crowds isn’t what pays the bills, though. At least not yet.
When reached by The Chronicle recently, the sound of a drill rattled in the background as Cook carried out his day job hanging blinds, shutters and window coverings.
“It’s a hobby — a dream hobby,” Cook said of wrestling. “One of those things where I would love to pay the bills with it, but until then I will keep installing blinds and keep getting a steady paycheck.”
His job recently took him back to Toledo School District. He was completing an installation when he ran into his former teacher, Jeff Davis.
“The first thing he asked is if I had made it to the WWE yet,” Cook said.
Not yet. But that would be a dream come true for the Toledo High School graduate, who still lives in the South Lewis County town and commutes to training in Everett and wrestling shows in Portland, Tacoma, Everett and elsewhere.
“Everyone always just laughs because they expected it to happen,” Cook said of the common response from old friends in Toledo who find out he’s a professional wrestler.
While he hasn’t reached the highest levels of the business — think WWE and its upstart competitor AEW — he’s been around the edges, doing extra work for AEW at the Tacoma Dome during last year’s Wrestledream pay-per-view and even wrestling at the Ring of Honor event at the Spokane Arena in Spokane last October.
Cook said his Feb. 15 match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship will represent the pinnacle of his career — or hobby, if you prefer — so far.
He said he is honored to have been chosen for the opportunity, especially knowing the history of the title and what it means in the business. He noted how, in wrestling’s territorial days, the NWA champion would travel around the country and face opponents who were assumed to be the best in the area.
“It’s definitely a big opportunity for me to show I can hang with some of the best,” he said.
Cook counts CM Punk and Rey Mysterio among the professional wrestlers who motivated him to pursue a career in wrestling entertainment.
Wrestling against either of them would be another career highlight, he said.
His alter egos include “Evil Brian” when performing in Portland — “literally just me trying to be evil and nothing works out” — and Ghost Pirate Brian — “we had the fun idea where I died and came back as a ghost,” he laughed.
Most of the time, though, he wrestles under the name given to him after he was born at Providence Centralia Hospital, simply Brian Cook.
“If you go anywhere important they will change your name,” he said.
His match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship will be the most important appearance thus far, he noted.
Dave Turner, co-founder of Peak Sports Entertainment, says Cook earned the opportunity. They have gotten to know each other over years of traversing many of the same venues and shows, and Cook has earned respect from his peers.
“He puts in a lot of effort,” Turner said. “He’s completely transformed his body over the last six to eight months. He’s very consistent. He’s just a guy who has earned his opportunity every month, match by match.”
Turner said Cook has a lot of charisma, an attribute valued highly in the world of professional wrestling. He said Cook is a multi-faceted performer who brings a lot of personality to the ring and fills whatever role he is asked to do on any given night.
“He’s a guy I always felt works very hard and deserves to get someone to look at him on a national stage,” Turner said. “The opportunity to wrestle the NWA champion is an opportunity for a lot of eyes to see him.”
“This is a pretty prestigious and historic thing for Washington and a big feather in the cap for Brian,” he added.
Cook will square off with Latimer on Feb. 15 at VFW Post 2100 in Everett during Peak Sports Entertainment’s “Saturday Night Hike” show. Doors open at 4 p.m. and the show starts at 5 p.m. Along with Cook’s match, attendees will also see Peak Sports Champion Rebel Kel defend her championship as well as C4 and the Rain City Shooter Liiza Hall.
Tickets are $25.75 for general admission and can be purchased online at brainbustertees.com/tickets. Learn more about Peak Sports Entertainment at peakprowrestling.com.