Before the journey began for several WWE talent, their skills were honed in gymnasiums, auditoriums, and crowds of a few hundred people, much like Cameron Grimes. They never wavered in the pursuit of their goals, and those roads they traveled helped them achieve the success they have today. This is the newest series to be found here on Pro Wrestling Post, titled “Before the E”. ‘The E’ is inspired by a common nickname for WWE. To understand where talent is today, it is essential to know how they came to be part of the Entertainment side of World Wrestling Entertainment. This week we present Cameron Grimes before The E.
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A veteran of six years, Trevor Lee Caddell has wrestling in his blood. As the son of the late Tracey Caddell, Lee is working to make his father proud. The North Carolina native is synonymous with his relationship with the state’s favorite wrestling brother’s the Hardy’s. While under the tutelage of Matt and Jeff Hardy, Trevor first established himself competing for his local promotion at the time CWF-Mid Atlantic in 2014. He held the record for the longest match in the promotion competing for a 105-minute match for the CWF Mid-Atlantic championship. This was then followed with his debut competing for California based-Pro Wrestling Guerilla. Despite losing his first match in PWG, they could see his value. That led to a push within the promotion. He made it to the quarterfinals of 2014’s Battle of Los Angeles (BOLA). This tournament saw him defeated the likes of Cedric Alexander & Michael Elgin.
Cameron Grimes ‘Carrying On The Caddell Cult’
“Ever since I can remember, we had a wrestling ring in our backyard from like, probably until I was four or five, so Hardy Boyz were like the big ones. They would always come there to train at the OMEGA training spot or whatever. Jason Arhndt, Shannon More, Christian York, Caprice Coleman, Matt, Jeff, Marty Garner/Cham Pain, all those dudes would come through and it would just happen in my side yard, so like, it was kind of like, ‘oh, this is how life is or whatever.’” (h/t WrestlingInc via Art of Wrestling)
In the Fall of 2014, Caddell built a name for himself early on. With wins against Adam Cole and Chris Hero, he was turning heads. Despite not winning in his first title show against Roderick Strong, Caddell was quickly achieving the status in the industry. What came next for him was a championship opportunity that he would be sure to jump on. Alongside Andrew Everett, Caddell would defeat PWG Tag Team Champions John Silver and Alex Reynolds of the 2015 DDT 4 Tournament capturing the titles in the finals.
One of the long-established tournaments in PWG has long been its Battle of Los Angeles. Caddell won his first match of the tournament in 2015. Despite losing on night three of the second round, Caddell had been a part of something special. Wrestling is often about making memories and Trevor Caddell was beginning to create his as well.
‘Carrying On The Caddell Cult’
He turned his life around and has one man now looking down on and smiling to thank for that.
“My dad started to help a guy run a promotion and that’s what all started it again because they ran a show at my school when I was going from eighth grade to ninth grade and like, I played football and I started amateur wrestling at this time, but then they did a show in my school and I saw how f*****g cool it was.
Like, the match that specifically did it was this guy called Kamikaze Kid and then Ultra Dragon, which is Lance Lude now, anybody know who that is, one of Ugly Duckling guys. This match was just all f*****g crazy high-spots. Like, watching it now, I’d be like, ‘ah, this is the worst match ever!’, but when I saw it then I was like, ‘this is so awesome’ because I always loved The Hardy Boyz and they were doing high-flying stuff.”
(h/t WrestlingInc via Art of Wrestling)
Lee’s value was seen by notable names in the industry and one of being IMPACT Wrestling. In the late Summer of 2015, Lee joined IMPACT! Wrestling. He was a co-TNA World Tag Team Champion with Brian Myers. However, after losing the titles Lee was absent from TNA/IMPACT Wrestling for nearly a quarter of a yea. Upon his return, he captured the X-Division Championship. It came with the help of his new manager, Gregory ‘Shane’ Helms. Lee was now under the mentorship of Helms and part of the Helms Dynasty. After his former tag team partner on the independent scene, Andrew Everett walked alongside him and in the Helms Dynasty. Lee would become a multi-time X Division champion defeating DJZ. However, there is no honor among thieves, as Lee would turn on Everett seemingly kicking him out of the Helms Dynasty.
