WWE Superstar, UFC Hall of Famer now coach high school wrestling in Florida

Two public high schools near Fort Myers now have world-class coaches teaching kids on the mat

Former five-time UFC champion Tito Ortiz is now coaching high school wrestling in Cape Coral, Florida. / Justin Ford-Imagn Images

Two world-class veterans of the ring – but in very different disciplines – will be on the mat coaching high school wrestling teams in Southwest Florida this season.

Former WWE Superstar Charlie Haas is the new head coach of the wrestling program at Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers. Haas had a 20-year career as a professional wrestler in the sports entertainment business all over the United States in Japan.

Also in Lee County, another type of fighter is helping out with the Ida Baker High School program in Cape Coral. Five-time UFC champion Tito Ortiz is serving as a volunteer assistant coach with the Bulldogs.

Wrestlers from Cypress Lake (left) and Ida Baker (right) grapple during the LCAC Wrestling Championships on Feb. 4, 2023. Cypress Lake is coached by former WWE star Charlie Haas, while Baker is led by former UFC fighter Tito Ortiz / Chris Tilley/Special to USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

The two new coaches gained fame fighting in very different rings in the early 2000s.

Haas, 52, became a two-time tag team champion in WWE, which bills itself as entertainment rather than sport. And even though the outcomes of professional wrestling are pre-determined, it’s highly skilled and physical work.

Ortiz, 49, rose to prominence throwing punches and kicks in mixed martial arts. He’s the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and has been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Despite making their careers using fighting moves that would get a high school grappler kicked out for good, both Haas and Ortiz excelled in amateur wrestling as kids.

Former WWE superstar Charlie Haas is the new head coach of the Cypress Lake wrestling team in Florida. / WWE

Haas won a high school state wrestling championship growing up in Edmond, Oklahoma. He earned an athletic scholarship to Seton Hall, a Division I program. Haas qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1995 and was a two-time Big East Champion in college.

Haas has been all around the world with professional wrestling before settling in Fort Myers. He started his career in 1996 before wrestling with WWE from 2000-05. He returned to the promotion from 2006-10, when he paired with Sheldon Benjamin to form “The World’s Greatest Tag Team,” which won the title twice.

Before coming to Florida, Haas coached club and high school wrestling in Texas. Haas's son recently played youth baseball with the son of Cypress Lake football coach Joey Mendes. That led to Mendes recommending Haas for the Panthers' vacant wrestling coach position.

"Just talking to him you can tell his passion for growing the sport of wrestling and helping young individuals," Cypress Lake athletic director Betty Rodriguez told SBLive. "I can't stress enough the passion he exudes. When (the wrestlers) walk into practice, (Haas) has them focused and ready to work hard."

Ortiz also won a state championship in high school in Huntington Beach, California. He then attended Golden West College where he was a California junior state champion and a JUCO All-American for two years in a row.

Ortiz fought in some of the biggest UFC pay-per-views when the sport of MMA was catching on in the early 2000s. He had legendary fights with the likes of Ken Shamrock, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Chael Sonnen.

Former UFC fighter Tito Ortiz opened his first restaurant, Tito's Cantina, in downtown Cape Coral in 2023. / Robyn George / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ortiz retired from MMA in 2012 with a career record of 34-21, started his own training company in California, and even became a city council member and mayor of his hometown of Huntington Beach.

Two years ago, Ortiz moved to Cape Coral. He opened Tito’s Cantina Tequila Bar & Grille there in the fall of 2023.

His twin sons, Jesse and Journey, enrolled as freshmen at Ida Baker. With fighting in their blood, the boys joined the wrestling team.

Wanting to give back to the sport that helped him, Ortiz volunteer to help with the program for free. Ortiz grew up in a violent area of Huntington Beach and saw people around him struggle with drug abuse. He credits wrestling for helping him stay on the right path.

“It’s important to me to form these men, and that is what formed me as a man,” Ortiz told Fort Myers television station WBBH in December of 2023. “I found wrestling, and it saved my life. So if I’m going to have the opportunity to show kids wrestling also, maybe I’ll save a kid’s life.”