Today we’d like to introduce you to Ray Jazikoff.
Hi Ray, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in a blue-collar town in New Jersey, where wrestling became a huge part of my life from a young age. That work ethic eventually took me to NYU, where I became an NCAA All-American and graduated as the winningest wrestler in program history.
After college, I took that background into professional wrestling. I’ve had the opportunity to wrestle and perform for nearly every major wrestling company in the country, appearing on national television and continuing to build my career as both an athlete and entertainer.
At the same time, I never left amateur wrestling behind. I coach high school wrestling in New Jersey and was honored to be named the 2025 New Jersey Assistant Coach of the Year. I also work with Coaches Corner, selling wrestling mats and helping schools and programs build and upgrade their wrestling facilities.
More recently, my career has taken another unexpected turn into sports entertainment as part of the Savannah Bananas cast. I perform with the Calendar Crew, the firefighter group that entertains fans during Banana Ball games around the country.
My path has been a little unconventional, but wrestling has been the common thread through all of it—from competing, to coaching, to business, to entertainment. I’ve been fortunate to turn something I’ve loved my entire life into a career that continues to take me places I never expected.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges of my life came during my junior year of college when my sister tragically passed away. I had to find a way to keep moving forward through that loss. I went on to graduate from NYU with honors, become an NCAA All-American, and finish my career as the winningest wrestler in school history.
Later, I felt like I had finally reached my lifelong dream of making it in professional wrestling, only to have that opportunity taken away. It was another moment where I could have walked away, but I chose to keep fighting.
Those experiences shaped who I am today. I’m still chasing my dreams, still wrestling, still performing, and still finding new opportunities. More importantly, I try to use my story to inspire others. Life can change on you in an instant, but adversity doesn’t have to define where you end up. I want people to see that you can get knocked down, lose something—or someone—you love, and still find the strength to keep going.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My professional life has always centered around wrestling, entertainment, and connecting with people. As a professional wrestler, I’ve had the opportunity to perform for many of the biggest companies in the industry and on national television. I also stay connected to my amateur wrestling roots by coaching high school athletes and working in the wrestling industry with Coaches Corner.
What I enjoy most, though, is where entertainment has taken me. Whether I’m wrestling or performing with the Savannah Bananas, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel around the country, see places I never thought I would see, and meet people from all different walks of life. I genuinely enjoy hearing their stories just as much as I enjoy entertaining them.
I think what sets me apart is that I don’t look at what I do as simply performing. It’s about creating a connection and giving people a moment they’ll remember. I’m proud that a sport I started as a kid has opened the door to a life where I can compete, coach, travel, entertain, and hopefully leave a positive impact on people along the way.
How do you think about luck?
I don’t really call it luck—I call it being blessed. I’ve been blessed with some incredible opportunities, but I’ve also learned that some of the things that felt like bad luck at the time ended up pushing me toward places I never would have imagined.
There have been moments where I thought I knew exactly where my life was going, only for everything to change. Looking back, those setbacks forced me to grow, take different chances, meet new people, and find opportunities I probably never would have pursued otherwise.
I’ve learned that you can’t always control what happens to you, but you can control what you do with it. Some of my biggest disappointments ended up opening doors to some of my greatest experiences. So whether something feels good or bad in the moment, I try to trust the journey and consider myself blessed to keep experiencing it.
Pricing:
- Priceless
- Wrestling mats are alittle pricey 10-17k
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ray__jaz?igsi=ZHp2dnRnN2x3MWIy&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1F4momiueM/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Twitter: https://x.com/RealRayJaz
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@therayjaz?si=w0KSLfBA0k7E9K3L
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ray_jaz?_r=1&_t=ZP-99NLEutETqI
