AI won’t save your corporate learning—but wrestling might

I recently found myself standing in front of 450 people, wearing a leotard, under a ridiculous pseudonym (which I’ll reveal later). It was the culmination of an eight-week wrestling training course, and I’d just performed a full wrestling match—bodyslams, suplexes and all.

If you’d told me a year before that I’d willingly throw myself into a wrestling ring in front of a live audience, I’d have laughed. But that experience taught me something crucial—not just about wrestling, but about corporate learning, employee experiences, and the way we approach training in organisations.

And the biggest lesson? Content isn’t everything.

In HR and L&D, we’ve become obsessed with content—e-learning modules, PowerPoint decks, generative AI-written articles, and endless training videos. Yet, after eight weeks of training, I performed live with zero e-learning, no formal training videos, and definitely no generative AI involvement.

What made it work? A small group of people, two brilliant coaches, and a training environment built on trust, motivation, and community.

That experience made me rethink how we approach learning at work. Here’s why wrestling might just hold the secret to better corporate training—and the seven things we should be focusing on instead of content.

Wrestling and work: more in common than you think

Let’s rewind a bit. My love for wrestling started young—when I was two years old, I met the legendary British wrestler Big Daddy. Fast forward to my teens, and I was wrestling lifesize Mickey Mouse plushies with my mates after watching American wrestling shows. And then, much later, I rediscovered it after watching Fighting With My Family, the film about Norwich-born wrestler Saraya (formally known as Paige).

I got hooked again. So hooked that I signed up for an eight-week intensive wrestling course.

Over those eight weeks, I learned how to fall (without breaking my nose), how to perform, and most importantly, how to work with a partner. Because here’s the thing: wrestling is all about collaboration. If you don’t get it right, someone gets hurt.

And doesn’t that sound a lot like work?

• If teams don’t trust each other, things fall apart.
• If people don’t feel safe learning, they won’t take risks.
• If there’s no motivation, nothing sticks.

Yet, in corporate learning, we often ignore these fundamentals in favour of ticking boxes and churning out content.

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Seven things you should be focusing on (that aren’t content)

Over eight weeks, I went from an absolute beginner to performing in front of 450 people. That happened without sitting through hours of training materials.

So, what did make the difference?

Here are seven things that mattered far more than content.

1. Motivation: tap into the why

If you’re not tapping into what motivates your people, your training won’t work—no matter how much content you throw at them.

In wrestling training, everyone had their own reason for being there. Some wanted to get fit. Some wanted to face a fear. Some just loved wrestling.

Zak and Roy, our coaches, took the time to understand those motivations. And because of that, we stuck with it, pushed ourselves, and showed up twice a week.

At work, we need to do the same.

2. Trust: without it, nothing works

If you don’t trust your coach, trainer, or colleagues, you won’t take risks. And learning requires risk.

The first time I had to fall on my face, I hesitated. But I trusted Zak and Roy to keep me safe and guide me through it.

At work, trust isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the foundation of learning. If employees don’t feel safe making mistakes, they won’t experiment, they won’t grow, and they definitely won’t innovate.

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3. Community: learning is social

A strong learning experience isn’t just about the teacher—it’s about the group.

In our wrestling course, there were 14 of us. We trained together, cheered each other on, and held each other accountable.

At work, we often expect people to learn alone, staring at screens. But real learning happens in communities, where people can share, discuss, and challenge each other.

4. Practice: learn by doing

Here’s what we didn’t do in our wrestling training:

• We didn’t watch endless training videos.
• We didn’t sit in a classroom taking notes.
• We didn’t complete an e-learning module.

Instead, we practised. Every session, we threw ourselves into the ring, tried, failed, tried again.

Corporate learning often prioritises knowledge over practice. But knowledge means nothing if you don’t apply it.

Want to build confidence? Let people practice. Want to develop new skills? Give them a safe space to try.

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5. Feedback: immediate and actionable

Every session, we filmed ourselves wrestling. Then we watched the footage back and critiqued our own performance.

We didn’t wait for a quarterly review. We didn’t get vague, generic feedback.

We got real-time, specific, actionable feedback—and we improved instantly.

If you want people to grow at work, give them feedback they can use, when they need it.

6. Purpose: beyond motivation

Motivation is what gets you started. Purpose is what keeps you going.

Everyone on that wrestling course had a different purpose for being there. Some wanted to perform. Others wanted a personal challenge.

Zak and Roy made sure we all understood our purpose—and connected it to the training.

At work, people need to see why their learning matters—beyond just ticking a box.

7. A deadline: make it real

At the end of our eight-week training, we had a live show. No getting out of it.

That forced us to commit. It created urgency and accountability.

At work, learning often feels optional and never-ending. But when there’s a real-world moment to apply it—whether it’s a presentation, a project, or an event—it suddenly becomes real.