Meet the coach who helped Philadelphia Eagles legends Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson train for WrestleMania
PAULSBORO, N.J. (CBS) — Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson shocked the wrestling world with an epic and surprise appearance at WrestleMania.
The recently retired center and offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles looked like naturals in and around the ring, but they put in the hard work before the big event.
"It was fun to watch them because I try to tell everybody the greatest people to train are athletes and athletes who are fans, and they were both," said Danny Cage, who owns the Monster Factory in Paulsboro.
Cage trains professional wrestlers. He said Kelce's team reached out to him directly ahead of WrestleMania to help prepare the two Eagles fan favorites, and he couldn't say yes fast enough.
"They say 'don't meet your heroes,' I met them. They're cool, and they're awesome people," Cage said.
Kelce and Johnson ended up helping Rey Mysterio win his match Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field, but last week they didn't know what their role would be exactly. Cage said he got his students involved to help teach the stars how to run the ropes, perform a body slam and drop an elbow.
"Everyone, especially in this city, sees Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson as superheroes, and being able to say that I was in the ring with these people and got to get slammed by them, no one in the world can say that," said David Goldy, who began wrestling at age 17.
Cage said Kelce and Johnson spent more than seven hours training.
After running through multiple scenarios, they took photos and spoke with the students, signed autographs, and they even signed the wall in the gym. It's a day that Cage said he and his students will never forget.
"When I say I was in the ring with Jason Kelce and was training him and doing all this stuff with him, having conversations, and got to crack beers with him — I'm not going to let everybody forget that I got to drink a beer with Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson — but that was a really cool experience," he said.
Kelce and Johnson are now considered honorary graduates of the Monster Factory. Cage said they asked for the training schedule and told him they wanted to come back. Cage replied his door is always open.