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UPW
is proud to announce that former NCAA National Champion
wrestler (North Carolina State University) in the Heavyweight
Division and UPW star turned professional fighter, Sylvester
“Predator” Terkay has officially signed with World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Longtime
UPW fans will remember the early days of Terkay’s pro
wrestling career in which he competed as Sylvester “The
Escapee”. Terkay
holds the honor of being the first ever UPW Heavyweight
Champion. He was
crowned as the inaugural titleholder after winning a battle
royal. Sylvester
turned a lot of heads with his hulking size mixed with
astonishing athleticism and agility given his stature.
Representatives from WWE Talent Relations were among
those impressed with Terkay’s potential.
As a result, the UPW stand out was signed to a WWE
developmental contract in 1999.
Terkay’s contract came to an end in 2001, and
Sylvester returned to UPW action.
Now
known as “Predator”, Sylvester worked harder than ever,
and became an international pro wrestling star representing
UPW while competing in Japan’s Zero-One.
Predator earned the honor of being named the #1 Gaijin
(non-Japanese wrestler) in Japan.
Terkay also became a 2-Time NWA/Zero-One U.S. Champion.
Never
satisfied, Predator took on yet another challenge when he
began training for Mixed Martial Arts fighting competition.
Terkay made his MMA debut in grand fashion by knocking
his opponent Mauricio da Silva out in just 13 seconds in a
high profile fight as part of the annual K-1 New Year’s Eve
spectacular, K-1 Dynamite.
He then went on to earn impressive wins over Kristoff
Midoux and Mu Bae Choi.
Terkay
recently fought again on K-1 Dynamite.
Predator, who was undefeated on K-1’s New Year’s
Eve spectaculars coming into this year’s show, was being
touted as the underdog. Predator was fighting in his
first ever K-1 rules fight (Kickboxing), and on top of that,
it was against Remy Bonjasky, the two-time Grand Prix Champion
in 2003 & 2004! Most experts anticipated
Bonjasky to dominate the fight as he is much more experienced
in this style, and it caters to the staples of his offense,
including flying knees and kicks. Terkay, a wrestler,
utilizes his great size and strength against his opponents in
most cases. Predator
surprised everyone by taking the fight to Remy. Terkay seemed to dominate the action, but lost the fight in a
controversial split decision.
Despite not
coming away with a win, in a fight where all of the odds were
against him, Predator showed great promise in his first K-1
rules fight. Many insiders said for him to last three
rounds with Bonjasky was a victory in itself. But the
fact that most people felt he actually won the fight means
even more. Predator certainly made his mark in the
K-1 world. With
performances like these, ,any were touting Predator as
the next big thing in K-1 prior to his signing with WWE.
Terkay will now have the opportunity to dominate in the
squared circle. Where
will Sylvester end up? Raw?
Smackdown? ECW?
One thing is for certain, WWE Superstars better get
ready, because Predator is coming! |
