Sylvester Matthew Terkay (born December 4, 1970) is a retired American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

,and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

best known for his run in WWE. He has held NWA Zero-One's United States Championship twice and

Ultimate Pro Wrestling Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) was a California-based independent pro wrestling company owned and operated by Rick Bassman, that operated from 1999 to 2007. The company had working relationships with Pro Wrestling Zero1 and World Wrestling Entert ...

's first Heavyweight Champion.

Early life

While attending

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universi ...

, he finished second in the 1992

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

Division I Heavyweight tournament, losing to future Olympic gold medalist

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former collegiate wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Total Nonstop Actio ...

by points, 3-2, and later became champion in 1993. According to Angle's autobiography ''It's True, It's True'', Terkay had 78 pins during his college career.

Professional wrestling career

After training under Rick Bassman's Ultimate Pro Wrestling school in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, Terkay was signed to a WWE developmental contract, but later released. He joined Japanese pro wrestling promotion

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. ...

in 2001 under the ring name The Predator, patterned after

Bruiser Brody Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the year ...

's character.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2007)

After more training with WWE's

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. ...

(OVW) developmental territory, Terkay was brought up to the main roster of '' SmackDown!'' on July 28, 2006 working an MMA

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

with Elijah Burke, who acted as his

cornerman In combat sports, a cornerman, or second, is a coach or trainer assisting a fighter during a bout. The cornerman is forbidden to instruct and must remain outside the combat area during the round. In the break, they are permitted to enter the ri ...

. Terkay defeated

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag t ...

in his debut match on ''SmackDown!''. In the following weeks, Terkay dominated jobbers as well as later interfering in Burke's matches. On the October 20 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Terkay helped Burke defeat

Vito Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...

, breaking his 4-month undefeated streak. On the November 7, 2006 edition of WWE's '' ECW on Sci Fi'', Terkay and his associate Elijah Burke debuted in ECW by doing a backstage promo. Their undefeated streak as a tag team was ended when The Hardys defeated them on ''ECW''. At ECW's December To Dismember Terkay and Burke defeated The F.B.I. ( Little Guido Maritato and

Tony Mamaluke Charles John Spencer (born July 19, 1977) is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Tony Marinara and with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrest ...

). In a backstage ECW promo Burke and Terkay dubbed themselves as the "Knock-out Tap-out Connection", a reference to Terkay's MMA and kickboxing background and Burke's amateur boxing background. He accompanied Burke to his matches in a bodyguard-type role for the next several weeks. Terkay remained undefeated in TV singles competition. On January 18, 2007, Terkay was released from his WWE contract.

Japan (2010–2012)

After leaving the WWE, Terkay returned to wrestling for the Japanese promotions of Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) and

and wrestled under his alter ego The Predator. On March 31, 2012 Terkay worked his last match which took place in

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

for the WrestleRama event.

Mixed martial arts career

During his time in Zero1, Terkay also fought in several

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

(MMA) matches for

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

. He made his debut by knocking his opponent

Mauricio da Silva Mauricio may refer to: *Mauricio (given name) *Maurício José da Silveira Júnior (born 1988), Brazilian footballer known by the mononym Maurício *Maurício (footballer) Maurício is the Portuguese variant of Mauricio (given name). The diminutive ...

out in 13 seconds as part of the annual K-1 New Year's Eve spectacular, K-1 Dynamite. He returned at the Romanex event in 2004, facing

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts eve ...

veteran Gary Goodridge. Despite Terkay's size advantage, experience played in Goodridge's favor and he finished Sylvester in 1:22. Also in 2004, however, Terkay defeated K-1 veteran Kristof Midoux, former trainer of

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...

and Choi Mu-Bae, submitting him with a wrestling neck crank. This attracted a revenge match against Mu-Bae, which was won again by Terkay by unanimous decision in his last MMA venture. It was reported he had trouble getting fight contracts, as his lack of name value mixed with his good performances were seen as dangerous to established stars.

Kickboxing career

In December 2005, Terkay made his

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gen ...

debut against Remy Bonjasky in K-1 Premium 2005, losing the match in a controversial unanimous decision. The normally polite Japanese audience booed heavily at this outcome, feeling Terkay was the true winner, and K-1 chairman

Sadaharu Tanikawa (27 September 1961 in Nagoya) is a Japanese combat sports promoter and the president of Fighting and Entertainment Group. Tanikawa graduated from Nihon University College of Law and worked as a journalist and executive at various sports media, m ...

agreed their opinion in the post-event press conference. Terkay had his second and last kickboxing fight at K-1 Las Vegas, facing fellow superheavyweight

Choi Hong-man Choi Hong-man (Korean: 최홍만, Hanja: 崔洪萬; born October 30, 1980), often anglicised to Hongman Choi, is a South Korean kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and former ssireum wrestler. In Asia, he is called "Che Man", "Techno Goliath", "K ...

, who came similarly from losing to Remy Bonjasky. Hong-man scored an early knockdown, but Terkay come back soon and fought a back and forth first round. The second was not different, with the Korean taking another point by knockdown and making Terkay bleed, only for Terkay to rally back and almost drop the Korean down before the bell rang. At the third, Terkay controlled an exhausted Choi, harassing him with combinations against the ropes until the end of the match. The decision was given to Choi due to the points scored.Schilt, Karaev and Choi Victorious in K-1
/ref> As in the previous match, the audience booed the decision, again feeling that Terkay was the victor and that the score system did not do justice to the match.

Other media

Terkay has appeared in multiple films and TV shows over the years. He appeared in the 2001 movie ''Slammed'' along with former wrestling personality

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

. He appeared on an episode of '' In the House'' as a Santa Imposter, and also appeared on the game show ''

Distraction Distraction is the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from a desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention ...

'' and bodyslammed contestants while they tried to answer questions. He made an appearance in the 2006 movie '' Evil Bong'' as a nightclub bouncer. He appeared in the 2010 movie ''

True Legend ''True Legend'' is a 2010 martial arts film directed by Yuen Woo-ping in his first film as directed since 1996. The film stars Vincent Zhao, Zhou Xun, Jay Chou, Michelle Yeoh, Andy On, David Carradine (in his final film role before his death) ...

'' as a fighter named Elder Scot Brother. He also appeared in the movie/documentary "101 Reasons Not To Be A Pro Wrestler", where he talked about his views on the wrestling business. In the 2014 film '' Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies'', Terkay makes a cameo appearance as a zombie wrestler who fights

Filmography

Film Television

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Mu Bae Choi , Decision (unanimous) , K-1 HERO's - HERO's 2005 in Seoul , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Kristof Midoux , Submission (neck crank) , K-1 - Premium 2004 Dynamite!! , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:11 ,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

Gary Goodridge Gary Henry Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian- Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranke ...

, TKO (punches) , K-1 MMA - Romanex , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 ,

, TKO (punches) , K-1 - Premium 2003 Dynamite!! , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:13 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

, Japan ,

K-1 record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 0 wins, 2 loss (2 decisions), 0 draws. , - !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Method !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Event !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round, Time !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , - align=center , style="background:#fcc;", Loss , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , ,

K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

, , 04/29/06 , , 3, 3:00 , , , - align=center , style="background:#fcc;", Loss , , Remy Bonjasky , , Decision (majority) , , K-1 Dynamite 2005 , , 12/31/05, , 3, 3:00 , ,

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

:*3 time All American-NC State Champion :*1993 NCAA Champion-NC State :*4 time National Heavyweight Champion :*3 time AAU Wrestling Champion :*1 time JUCO National Champion :*4 time ACC Champion

Boxing

:*5 time Boxing Champion :*2 time NAC Boxing Champion

Professional wrestling

*''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' ** Ranked No. 150 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

'' in 2003 *

** Zero-One United States Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) *

** UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, inaugural)

References

External links

Profile at onlineworldofwrestling.com
* *
Sylvester Terkay at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terkay, Sylvester 1970 births Living people People from Washington, Pennsylvania American male professional wrestlers American male sport wrestlers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Pennsylvania Super heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Pennsylvania Heavyweight kickboxers Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania NC State Wolfpack wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers