Sylvester Terkay
| Sylvester Terkay | |
|---|---|
 Terkay in 2006 | |
| Birth name | Sylvester Matthew Terkay |
| Born | December 4, 1970 Washington, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Big Van Vader UFO Sylvester Terkay Sly Scraper The Collector The Escapee The Predator |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 320 lb (150 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Big Bear Lake, California[1] |
| Trained by | Ultimate Pro Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling Rick Bassman |
| Debut | 1999 |
| Retired | 2012 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Collegiate Wrestling | ||
| Representing the NC State Wolfpack | ||
| NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships | ||
 |
1993 Ames | 275 lb |
 |
1992 Oklahoma City | 275 lb |
 |
1991 Iowa City | 275 lb |
Sylvester Matthew TerkayHeavyweight Champion.
Early life
While attending
Division I Heavyweight tournament, losing to future Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle by points, 3-2. In the 1993 season, Terkay posted an undefeated 41-0 record en route to the NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling title.[4] Terkay was also a leader on the Wolfpack wrestling team, helping them to two ACC team titles, serving as team captain for his junior and senior years, and leading NC State to a then program-best 7th place team finish at the 1993 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.[4] For his achievements, Terkay was inducted into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.[4]
Professional wrestling career
After training under Rick Bassman's Ultimate Pro Wrestling school in California, Terkay was signed to a WWE developmental contract, but later released. He joined Japanese pro wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling Zero1 in 2001 under the ring name The Predator, patterned after Bruiser Brody's character.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2007)
After more training with WWE's
Little Guido Maritato and Tony Mamaluke). 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.[5]
Japan (2010–2012)
After leaving the WWE, Terkay returned to wrestling for the Japanese promotions of Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) and Pro Wrestling Zero1 and wrestled under his alter ego The Predator.
On March 31, 2012 Terkay worked his last match which took place in Georgetown, Guyana for the WrestleRama event.[6]
Mixed martial arts career
During his time in Zero1, Terkay also fought in several
PRIDE Fighting Championships veteran Gary Goodridge.[7]
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
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.[8]
Kickboxing career
In December 2005, Terkay made his kickboxing 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 agreed their opinion in the post-event press conference.[9]
Terkay had his second and last kickboxing fight at K-1 Las Vegas, facing fellow superheavyweight
Choi Hong-man, 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.[10][11] 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.[11]
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. He appeared on an episode of In the House as a Santa Imposter, and also appeared on the game show Distraction 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 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 Kurt Angle.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | Huge Guard | Movie |
| 1999 | Pros & Cons | Prison Guard | Movie |
| 1999 | Universal Soldier: The Return | Hospital Security | Movie |
| 2004 | Slammed | The Goon | Movie |
| 2005 | 101 Reasons Not to Be a Pro Wrestler | As self/as The Predator | Video documentary |
| 2006 | Evil Bong | Bouncer | Movie |
| 2008 | Muay Thai | Giant | Movie |
| 2010 | True Legend | Elder Scot Brother | Movie |
| 2012 | Extreme Rising | Mum | Movie |
| 2014 | Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies | Himself | Movie |
Television
| Television | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Episode | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | Coach | "Coach for a Day: Part 2" | Walter | TV series |
| 1995 | In the House | "Christmas Story" | Santa | TV series |
| 1996 | The Parent 'Hood | "Substitute's Pet" | Burly Man | TV series |
| 1996 | The Bold and the Beautiful | "Episode #1.2378" | Harry | TV series |
| 1999 | Mad About You | "Separate Beds" | Amish Hellcat | TV series |
| 1999 | V.I.P. | "The Quick and the Dead" | Bruno | TV series |
| 2000 | Indie Wrestling School | N/A | As self | TV movie |
| 2001 | Black Scorpion | "Fire and Brimstone" and "No Stone Unturned" | Granite | TV series |
Mixed martial arts record
| 4 matches | 3 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 1 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 3–1 | Mu Bae Choi
|
Decision (unanimous) | K-1 HERO's - HERO's 2005 in Seoul | November 5, 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 2–1 | Kristof Midoux | Submission (neck crank) | K-1 - Premium 2004 Dynamite!! | December 31, 2004 | 1 | 1:11 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Gary Goodridge | TKO (punches) | K-1 MMA - Romanex | May 22, 2004 | 1 | 1:22 | Saitama , Japan
|
|
| Win | 1–0 | Mauricio da Silva | TKO (punches) | K-1 - Premium 2003 Dynamite!! | December 31, 2003 | 1 | 0:13 | Nagoya , Japan
|
K-1 record
Championships and accomplishments
Amateur wrestling
- 1993 NCAA Division I Champion[citation needed]
- 3-time Division I NCAA All-American[citation needed]
- 4-time ACC Champion[citation needed]
Professional wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Pro Wrestling Zero1
- Ultimate Pro Wrestling
- UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, inaugural)[15]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ "NSAC report of K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas" (PDF).
- ^ "Sylvester 'Bear' Terkay - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ a b c d e "Sylvester Terkay (2013) - NC State Athletic Hall of Fame". NC State University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "WWE releases Superstars". WWE. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WrestleRama Guyana « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "K-1 MMA: Romanex Preview - Gary Goodridge vs. Sylvester Terkay". Sherdog.
- ^ "411MANIA | My Take on MMA 1.22.07: Akiyama Cheats, Terkay Back to MMA, Inside the UFC and More". Archived from the original on 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
- ^ Kamipro magazine, December 2005
- ^ K-1 VEGAS REVIEW AND RESULTS
- ^ a b Schilt, Karaev and Choi Victorious in K-1
- ^ "Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies (2014)". IMDb.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2003". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ^ "ZERO-ONE United States Heavyweight Championship official title history". ZEROONEUSA.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ^ "UPW Heavyweight Title (California)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sylvester Terkay.
- Profile at onlineworldofwrestling.com
- Professional MMA record for Sylvester Terkay from Sherdog
- Sylvester Terkay at IMDb
- Sylvester Terkay at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Sylvester Terkay's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database
