Varun Khanna on Training at Seth Rollins' Black x Brave Wrestling Academy
SEA Wrestling
Varun Khanna Interview
A year ago, following his loss to Raj in the quarter finals of the ROR Championship tournament, it was announced that Varun Khanna would be leaving not just his home promotion but Singapore altogether to move to the US where he would be training at Black X Brave Wrestling Academy. SEA Wrestling caught up with Khanna a year on as he reached graduation.
For those who aren’t aware, what is Black x Brave Wrestling Academy?
It’s run by Colby Lopez, who performs as Seth Rollins in WWE, based in Davenport, Iowa. It’s one of the premiere wrestling schools globally and carries the official WWE ID designation. Seth is one of the head trainers alongside his former tag team partner Marek Brave, with Matt Mayday as assistant trainer. Both indie wrestling legends, incredibly talented, learned so much from them.
How did you get in?
Seth’s always been one of my favorite wrestlers, and I always wanted to train under him. I wanted to really invest in myself in this business and get trained at the highest level, so I applied two years in advance back in 2024. The application process was pretty comprehensive, but I was fortunate enough to get accepted for the 2026 batch, class 36 of Black x Brave.
What was the training regimen like?
Three wrestling days plus three CrossFit days a week, over 12 weeks. The class was a great mix, some guys had 10+ years in the business already, others came in as athletes with no wrestling background. Got to train alongside some notable names too, including Randy Orton’s stepson Rob. Awesome group overall. We also helped out with local indie shows as part of the program, and had a weekly cleaning session where we all cleaned the gym together.
What was the curriculum like?
They took us through everything. We learned every move in the book, then sequences, then spots, then eventually full matches. We got to learn from Seth in person, and when he was on the road he’d often tune in via Zoom too, whether that was to teach high level psychology, review what we’d done, or run Q&As. That happened a lot.
What was the hardest moment?
Hands down, day one, the conditioning test. Physically I was pushed to a limit I’d never hit before. Can’t reveal exactly what it involves since it’s kept as a surprise for future students, but it was genuinely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I never thought I’d miss national service, but that day, I really did.
What were the highlights?
Honestly any time we got to learn directly from Seth was a highlight in itself. He was one of my favorite wrestlers growing up, so getting to learn from him, whether that was cutting promos in front of him or wrestling full matches with him watching, was such an honor. Can’t get into too much detail on the specifics since some of the training is kept under wraps, but those moments stuck with me.
Beyond that, the access we got was incredible. We had seminars open to current students and graduates, including six hours learning from John Cena, which genuinely opened my eyes to things I never would have thought of on my own, the kind of detail you only pick up on after that many years at the top level, things that will really enhance my ability to perform as a wrestler going forward. We also did a tag team seminar with the Motor City Machine Guns, one of the best tag teams to ever do it, and I got to meet Becky Lynch during my time there too. Seth even got all of us tickets to Monday Night Raw in Chicago, where we watched CM Punk return and win a world championship live, an experience I’ll never forget.
And beyond all of that, twelve weeks fully immersed with a group of people who were all just as driven and passionate about this business as I am was something special in itself. Some of the best people I’ve met, and I’m going to miss them.
What’s next?
Summer break’s ending so I’m heading back to Texas for college. Hoping to start getting opportunities to debut on the US indies and slowly work my way up, seeing where the business takes me with everything Seth taught me and with him as a mentor going forward. And even now that I’ve graduated, I get to stay in touch with Seth, Marek, and Matt, ask them questions, and send them my matches for feedback, so the learning doesn’t really stop here.
Will we see you back in a Ring of Rebirth ring?
That’s where I got my start, and I’ll always hold those memories in a special place. Grateful for all the boys I wrestled with early on, and a big shoutout to my first coach, the Eurasian Dragon, who started me on this whole journey. If I’m back in Singapore, I’d love to wrestle for them again. If the opportunity comes up, I’d also love to wrestle for Singapore Pro Wrestling and Grapple Max, and I’d love to explore more of Southeast Asia too. I wrestled in Thailand, and early on I was a valet in a match in Vietnam, but I’d love to actually wrestle there and cross off all the nations, that would be incredible. I’m based in the US for the foreseeable future though.
Final thoughts?
Overall, this has been the greatest experience of my life. I got to learn from people I idolized growing up, fully immerse myself in this business, and it didn’t just reignite my passion, it poured gasoline on it. Had so much fun, learned so much I never would have anywhere else, and it’s honestly been surreal.
You can follow Varun Khanna on Instagram @varunpw
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