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Sylvester Terkay

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Sylvester Terkay
Terkay in 2006
Birth nameSylvester Matthew Terkay
Born (1970-12-04) December 4, 1970 (age 53)
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 height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1]
Billed weight320 lb (150 kg)[1]
Billed fromBig Bear Lake, California[1]
Trained byUltimate Pro Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling Rick Bassman
Debut1999
Retired2012
Medal record
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the NC State Wolfpack
NCAA Division I Championships
Gold medal – first place 1993 Ames 275 lb
Silver medal – second place 1992 Oklahoma City 275 lb
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Iowa City 275 lb

Sylvester Matthew Terkay[2] (born December 4, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestler, actor,[3] and mixed martial artist best known for his run in WWE. He has held NWA Zero-One's United States Championship twice and Ultimate Pro Wrestling's first Heavyweight Champion.

Early life

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While attending North Carolina State University, Terkay was a member of the Wolfpack wrestling team. He won four consecutive ACC heavyweight wrestling championships (1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993).[4] Terkay finished the season as a first-team All-American in each of his final three seasons.[4] He finished second in the 1992 NCAA 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

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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)

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Terkay (left) with Elijah Burke at December to Dismember

After more training with WWE's Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental territory, Terkay was brought up to the main roster of SmackDown! on July 28, 2006 working an MMA gimmick with Elijah Burke, who acted as his cornerman.[1] Terkay defeated Matt Hardy 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, 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). 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)

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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

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During his time in Zero1, Terkay also fought in several mixed martial arts (MMA) matches for K-1. He made his debut by knocking out his opponent Mauricio da Silva 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 and 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 Georges St-Pierre 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.[8]

Kickboxing career

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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

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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

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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

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Professional record breakdown
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

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0 wins, 2 loss (2 decisions), 0 draws.
Result Opponent Method Event Date Round, Time Notes
Loss Choi Hong-man Decision (unanimous) K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas 04/29/06 3, 3:00
Loss Remy Bonjasky Decision (majority) K-1 Dynamite 2005 12/31/05 3, 3:00

Championships and accomplishments

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Amateur wrestling

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Professional wrestling

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  2. ^ "NSAC report of K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Sylvester 'Bear' Terkay - IMDb". IMDb.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Sylvester Terkay (2013) - NC State Athletic Hall of Fame". NC State University Athletics. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "WWE releases Superstars". WWE. Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  6. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WrestleRama Guyana « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  7. ^ Sherdog.com. "K-1 MMA: Romanex Preview - Gary Goodridge vs. Sylvester Terkay". Sherdog.
  8. ^ "411MANIA | My Take on MMA 1.22.07: Akiyama Cheats, Terkay Back to MMA, Inside the UFC and More". Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  9. ^ Kamipro magazine, December 2005
  10. ^ K-1 VEGAS REVIEW AND RESULTS
  11. ^ a b Schilt, Karaev and Choi Victorious in K-1
  12. ^ "Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies (2014)". IMDb.
  13. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2003". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  14. ^ "ZERO-ONE United States Heavyweight Championship official title history". ZEROONEUSA.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
  15. ^ "UPW Heavyweight Title (California)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
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