Iowa's Ben Puttmann, 25, is retired from the field of professional wrestling. Ben who?

Podcast: 'Old School, New School' -- Episode 73

Oh, make that Christian Moore, former independent grappler. Puttmann/Moore made a name for himself a few years back appearing in various small Midwest promotions.

Puttmann, seen in this video clip, grew up as a TV wrestling addict. As he puts it, "I couldn't get enough of what I was seeing. Taking a hold of me from the start were the bright lights, screaming fans and ruthless battles for the right to wear a title around your waist."

Egged on by a high school football coach, at the age of 19 he got serious and sought the training he'd need to become a professional.

Did Mr. Puttmann ever jump to the WWE/TNA big time? No, he did not. But he did earn a few dollars in his chosen craft, held a few championship belts and along the way kept a detailed diary. In January, those notes were published in a book, "Being Moore: My Life In Professional Wrestling" (Publish America).

I have to be frank. If you're not a fan of the independent scene, you may have never heard of anyone in this book. You may have never heard of any of the promotions that employed Puttmann. It doesn't matter. What matters is that the book gives a grassroots glimpse of how a regular guy transforms himself from a fan into a fan favorite -- often performing in front of 200 people a night, or less.

Reflecting on those times, Puttmann says one of his favorite moments was the time he became the unified champion of Plymouth Championship Wrestling (PCW), based in Sioux City, Iowa, winning both the TV and heavyweight titles.

Another highlight: The day he drove to Minnesota to help out a fellow wrestling buddy, allowing his pal to win ("go over") in a squash match.

"I drove up there for four hours," Puttmann said. "I had a 19-second match, and then I drove home for four hours. It's kind of a long night, but it was a pretty fun night. I was happy to do it."

Win or lose, Puttmann made sure he did what was right for the promotion and workers who needed a break. He often took more pleasure in losing and telling a good story than winning and telling a lousy story.

To Puttmann -- even on wrestling's entry level -- showing respect for the business is paramount. Guys who didn't do that -- and didn't spend a minute in the gym -- bugged him to no end.

"You look around the room and maybe two out of the 20 guys had been to the gym," he recalled. "The out of shape punks … want to be the next Triple H and they can't figure out why they're not offered a contract."

Puttman, who worked doggedly in the gym (and still does), had some initial success in the Indy circuits, but never secured that big contract himself.

"Ultimately it was because of my lack of passion," he said. "Another main factor was that I was establishing a very good life outside of wrestling.

"I had finished college, landed a great job, got married and knew eventually I wanted to settle down with a family. Getting back that passion for wrestling and making it full time wouldn't have allowed for any of that."

Oh, but Ben, you were so close. Additional training at Ohio Valley Wrestling (a WWE farm system) could have been the last step to true stardom.

"I always told myself if I wasn't 100 percent happy doing it, I wasn't going to waste anybody's time -- including my own," Puttmann added. "(I have) no regrets at all. I'm very happy with what I did."

Not to egg you on, Mr. Puttmann, but look at your highlight reel again.

Reconsider.

Everyone deserves Moore.

(Professor Wrestling is a masked employee of Internet Broadcasting, hailing from Parts Unknown. Got a question, comment, complaint? E-mail him right here. )