European wrestlers will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when WWE holds invitation-only tryouts in Manchester, England, on Nov. 17. Thousands have applied for the chance to impress WWE officials, but few will make the cut and get their long-awaited audition for the most powerful company in sports-entertainment. One such invitee is 6-foot-4 Eric Schwarz from Mainz, Germany, but he didn’t know the good news until a international telephone interview earlier today:

WWE.com: Eric Schwarz, you have been picked for a WWE tryout next month. How does it feel to be selected out of thousands of applicants for a WWE tryout?

Eric Schwarz: (shocked) Can you repeat that please? I’m chosen? For me, it’s a dream come true. I’m sorry. I’m a little bit nervous. This is a big honor for me. I’m 10 years in the business right now and always since I was a kid — like every other wrestler — wanted to get a chance to wrestle for WWE. And now finally, I will get that chance. I have wrestled in 12 countries around the world, and this opportunity is the greatest opportunity for me in my life.

WWE.com: Can you give us a little bit of background into you and your wrestling career so far?

Eric Schwarz: I started in 1996 in Canada with the Hart family, with Keith and Bruce as trainers. Bruce stretched me out pretty good. This is where I started, for Stampede Wrestling, then a few different other Canadian promotions. Then, I came back to Germany and took a half-year to get into the big tournaments — the CWA tournament — with guys like Fit Finlay. Right now I’m at a tournament, and Dave Taylor is here and the Headshrinkers. So, I came back to Germany and worked with CWA and many other promotions and spent the last couple wrestling years in Africa.

WWE.com: What was that like?

Eric Schwarz: It was great. It was an island near Africa, beside Madagascar, and there’s nothing much for the people to do, but wrestling is very popular. Most of the time I work in Europe, sometimes I went to the States, but there was no work for me. I worked in France and Italy because the wrestling is popular there. Many other countries, too, but the promotions are always small promotions.

WWE.com: How would you describe your wrestling style?

Eric Schwarz: It’s a mix; a little bit American style and of course the European style. I work solid. In Europe you learn a lot of the technical stuff and how to make it solid, not too fancy. I have a few power moves. The moves are hard for me to describe (in English), but the tape is on the way.

WWE.com: When you go for the WWE tryout, how do you plan to distinguish yourself from the other wrestlers there?

Eric Schwarz: I just try to be myself and do my work and I don’t try anything too fancy. I just work as Eric Schwarz always do; I give 100 percent always. I don’t plan to do anything special or something new. Thank you so much for this. I am sorry for my bad English.