Fans might not yet be familiar with the name Tank Ledger, but if one of the company’s NIL prospects has his way, fans will know him soon enough.
The real-life Joe Spivak played defensive tackle for the Northwestern University Wildcats in the NCAA’s Big Ten conference. Spivak would sign on as part of WWE’s inaugural NIL class of December 2021. Speaking recently to NIL Now as his new character Tank Ledger, he spoke about getting signed and the reaction to that signing.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
His reaction to signing with the NIL program with WWE: “Surprised is probably the last word I would use to describe my teammates’ and coaches’ reactions. ‘Makes sense, about time.’ They were definitely not surprised, they were happy for me and very excited and very curious about what it meant. NIL is so interesting and I love hearing about people’s experiences and takes on the NIL landscape because no one knows what’s going on. It’s the wild west out there, and everyone keeps saying that, but I think it’s true. 99% of deals are, ‘if you post this on social media, we’ll send you $50 or a t-shirt,’ and that is so far from what WWE’s NIL program is. It’s really the first of its kind in that, it’s showing you a path that, before this NIL program, was pretty much hidden. It’s lighting this path for you to make your dreams of becoming a superstar a reality and, at the same time, I was able to experience so many different events and shake hands with so many amazing people and develop as a professional, not just a professional wrestler, through the NIL program.”
His thoughts on the NIL program: “The most fulfilling part of this entire thing is being a beginner again, being completely new at something and having to start from zero. I was very blessed to have a great football career, to go from a walk on to a captain, playing Big Ten football was my dream and I got to do that. To a degree, you start getting into a rhythm. This is so far out of your rhythm, to have this completely new thing in pro wrestling that you thought you might have understood from watching and loving it, but to get on the inside of it and having your mind blown every day and holding on and grasping what you can, but to see it paying off and getting on TV in just a few months and thinking about where I’m going to be in another few months or a year or two years. Being new, but seeing the progress already is absolutely the most fulfilling part of it and a testament to what the WWE has in Orlando in the Performance Center. It’s really on you to fulfill those dreams.”
On the process of getting a ring name: “Well, there’s a process that goes into it, but you get [a] say for sure, absolutely.”
On where his name came from: “You know, I’ve got to give some credit to my Pops. I was swirling around with a lot of names, I would give Mom and Dad a call, like, ‘What do you think about these, I don’t know.’ My dad would be like, ‘That’s terrible, no chance.’ But one he was constantly pushing for was Tank, Tank, Tank. He just loved that whether it was a first or last name, whether it was just Tank, he was like, ‘Do it, come on. You gotta do it, Joe!’ And I submitted my list. You know, everyone talks about, you submit a list of names. There’s guys and gals who go back and forth with creative time and time again. And finally, [they’re] like, ‘Whatever, just give me whatever you want.’ Because our creative team wants you to resonate with your name. You know, it wants to be personal, it wants to be authentic. And they sent me back Tank. They’re like, ‘What do you think about Tank Ledger?’ I’m like, ‘Sign me up.’ So, it was very easy for me. I was very lucky that I was able to go with a name I truly like and truly resonate with. And at the end of the day, I love being Tank Ledger. But the name does not make you, you make the name. And that that’s just what I want to prove to people.”
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