KOBEY YANG

As Kobey Yang walked backstage after being eliminated from the Royal Rumble match, he smiled because he knew something that no-one else in the arena knew. It was the start to a dream that he could never achieve back home.

It had taken almost 20 years for Kobey to reach this point. It was a long and difficult journey where it seemed like his wrestling story would never be told until now.

The beginning of a dream

Kobey was born in Taiwan back in 2005 and spent most of his childhood moving from country to country, living in places such as Thailand and Indonesia.

Growing up, Kobey liked sports and was an athletic child.

“I’ve always been a really sporty kid and growing up I only focused on a few sports,” said Kobey. One of the sports that gained Kobey’s attention at age 14 was boxing and it quickly became an obsession.

“I really saw potential in myself, I thought I was really naturally gifted and talented at boxing, but I also realised that I had started at age 14/15 and most professional boxers started at 5 or 6 so I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch up.”

However, Kobey knew where he really wanted to be. He loved professional wrestling. He often watched WWE with his dad after they moved to Thailand.

It was a passion. It was love at first sight. Kobey wanted to be like the people that he saw on his television and it stuck with him quickly. “A really big thing that caught me was Daniel Bryan vs John Cena at Summerslam 2013, ever since then I just fell in love with wrestling,” said Kobey.

Kobey Yang representing the University of Leicester at a student fight night

The problem

Kobey wanted to learn wrestling at a wrestling school near him but there was one big problem. There were only a few wrestling promotions near him and even fewer pro wrestling schools.

“I would go on my ipad and search online for wrestling schools near where I was but it just wasn’t that big in Asia especially where I was in Thailand… even though I loved it so much I just couldn’t get involved,” said Kobey, who worried his passion would slowly die out.

As difficult as it was to have a dream that could not be realised, Kobey knew that he had to continue with his life. He even tried to ask his parents about dropping out of school to pursue a career in wrestling like one of his heroes Daniel Bryan but he was met with a resounding “no”.

Kobey's pursuit of higher education led him in search of a university in an English speaking country but struggled to find one that he could afford.

“I had a look around, I looked at the United States, Canada, Australia, but the tuition fees were all too expensive so I settled on England.”

He moved to England in 2023 to study computer science at the University of Leicester. The reason why he chose Leicester was due to an abundance of wrestling schools nearby.

.

What's nnext?

Kobey eventually decided to head to the FTGU school of wrestling. He knew very little about the school and did not even know that they did public shows once per month.

“I remember showing up to training without knowing that these students had actually performed in front of a crowd,” said Kobey.

It had taken him a decade to get involved in wrestling since watching Bryan vs Cena at Summerslam but he had done it. His dream was slowly becoming reality and now it was up to him to prove that he could be like his heroes in the WWE.

“I was happy to really get involved because in a way I had waited my whole life for a moment to really show if this was right for me,” he said.

As Kobey trained more and more, it became obvious to him that he was progressing very quickly and was “miles ahead” of other people who started training at the same time as him.

Kobey detailed how “within a couple of months I felt like I was ready to be on shows,” and the owner of FTGU Wrestling, Gareth Harris, noticed it as well.

He would make his debut at an FTGU event in Birstall in September 2024 and competed in what is known as the Royal Rumble match. He did not win the match but he would walk to the back after his elimination happy because he was finally doing what he had wanted to for most of his life.

However, Kobey has one big regret from that day, “Now looking back in hindsight, I should have enjoyed it more because at the time I was a little too ambitious for my own good.”

One thing that Kobey feels has always defined himself from others is his confidence in his abilities and the trust he has in himself to perform. “I was so confident in what I was doing, I was given a job and I can do it as well as I can and I knew it was enough.”

The name Kobey Yang is now a household name for FTGU fans as he continues to be a fan favourite. His high flying manoeuvres have captured the fans eyes whilst his confidence and his smile have captured the hearts of fans.

However, the Taiwanese star currently faces a race against time as he begins his third year at university. Even though he wants to forge his name into the wrestling history books, his return home to Asia may mean that his wrestling dreams are cut short.

Kobey is very aware of this and while he wants to try and continue his wrestling career, he is prepared to call it quits: “Honestly, that’s fine because if I’m speaking realistically, there is a very low chance that I make this my full time job.

“In one or two years if I leave the UK and that is the end of my wrestling career then so be it. I’m happy with what I was able to do.”

Kobey’s main goal is to finish his computer science degree with a good grade with any progress with his wrestling career as an added bonus. His wrestling goal is to try and enjoy it as much as he can and get onto as many shows as he can before his time at university is over.

“This is my passion and this is what I want to do but if I put pressure on myself to do this, it might change the fact that it is my passion so I’m just trying to have fun,” he said.