Nowinski persevered through it all, though, making his way to the final two in consideration for a contract.

But at the moment he was closest to his goal, the floor gave way beneath him.

Nowinski was not selected as the winner, defeated by Maven Huffman at the final stage in the competition.

But Nowinski was not ready to abandon his aspirations on account of one setback.

“When he puts his mind to it, he believes he can do anything,” Murphy says.

Continuing to train and work independent circuits, Nowinski steadily improved his level of proficiency in the ring. After working out for the WWE, Nowinski was offered a contract and his dream was realized.

“When I signed my first contract was one of the best days of my life, something I made a lot of sacrifices for,” Nowinski says. “I felt like I had earned it, like they chose me not because they needed a winner but because I’d earned it.”

On June 10, 2002, Nowinski made his professional debut on “Monday Night Raw,” leaping out of the stands to toss sermonizing Briton William Regal a set of brass knuckles to aid him in his victory.

“I was just nervous as hell, thinking don’t blow it,” Nowinski says. “It’s actually difficult to toss those knuckles and to have him catch them. It’s a live show, no second chances.”

Off a Turnbuckle, Through a Table

Though Nowinski is both approachable and down-to-earth outside the ring, Chris Harvard is quite a different story.

“His personality is a lot different than the one he’s making a living at,” Murphy says. “He’s a typical Midwestern kid—humble with a little irreverent sense of humor.”

Arrogant and condescending, he has won the disgust of the WWE crowds through his constant disparagement of the other less intelligent wrestlers whom the fans admire.

“Everybody out there in the world hates us [Harvard students and alumni],” Nowinski says. “No one is ever going to feel good for the privileged guy, which is what everyone looks at us as.”

Nowinski’s background is certainly not the same as the one he claims on television. He hails from a humble middle-class family in Arlington Heights, Illinois, the son of a hotel manager and a high school guidance counselor, each of whom took a little bit of time to get used to the idea of their Harvard-educated son as a professional wrestler.