Mr. Anderson and Daivari opening a wrestling school

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., September 26, 2016 – The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling will be
opening its doors in the Twin Cities of Minnesota for its first class of students on November 1st 2016. The
Academy is owned and operated by former WWE and TNA Impact Wrestling Superstars and champions
Ken Anderson (a.k.a. Mr. Kennedy) and Shawn Daivari (a.k.a. Sheik Abdul Bashir). It’s Ken and Shawn’s
goal to turn Minnesota back into breading ground of the industry’s top wrestlers such as Jesse “The Body”
Venture, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, The Road Warriors Hawk & Animal, Jerry Lynn and many more.
KURT ANGLE – Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist:
“I’ve wrestled and trained with both Anderson and Daivari. They are exceptional wrestlers. The school
they have opened will be one of the best in the world. They understand technique, psychology and what
it takes to be a superstar on the pro-wrestling circuit. I highly advise anyone who has a goal of becoming
a pro-wrestling superstar to go to this particular school. You are in incredibly good hands.”
Owner/Head Trainer Ken Anderson exploded on the wrestling scene in 2006 as Ken Kennedy in World
Wrestling Entertainment. There he wrestled in countless main events against industry legends such as
The Undertaker, Batista, Ric Flair and many more. Anderson went on to win the WWE United States
Championship and the coveted Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania. In 2010, Anderson
signed with TNA Impact Wrestling where the list of pro-wrestling icons he competed against continued to
grow including Kurt Angle, Bully Ray (a.k.a. Bubba Ray Dudley) and defeated both Sting and Jeff Hardy to
become a two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

COLT CABANA – Former WWE Superstar, two-time Ring of Honor Tag-team Champion; host of “The Art of Wrestling” podcast:
“First off, training with Ken and Shawn is a no brainier. Being a Midwesterner, when I was trying to train
to become a pro-wrestler, there was nobody with TV and international experience coaching. This is an
incredible opportunity for people with no experience to even pro-wrestling veterans. Both Shawn and
Ken are great friends of mine in wrestling, and have minds that can mold. Again, a no brainier.”
Owner/Head Trainer Shawn Daivari first garnered international exposure in 2004 when he signed with the
WWE. As Daivari, Shawn worked many pay-per-views and main events for both the RAW and SmackDown
brands against WWE main eventers and Hall of Famers like John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and
even Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania. In 2008, Daivari started touring with All Japan Pro-Wrestling across
Eastern Asia and signed a contract with TNA Impact Wrestling. Competing under the name Sheik Abdul
Bashir, Daivari was able to capture the TNA X-Division Championship live on pay-per-view. In 2010 Daivari
returned to Ring of Honor where could be seen wrestling on their weekly TV program ROH on HDNet, live
events and pay-per-views. In 2015 Daivari signed with Lucha Underground where he would be known as
Delavar Daivari.

Anderson and Daivari have also brought into The Academy former WWE Women’s Champion Molly Holly
(WWE, WCW, New-Japan), Arik Cannon (ROH, PWG, Dragon Gate) and Ariya Daivari (WWE Cruiserweight
Classic, NXT, ROH) to help assist with training as coaches.