RDC’s P.J. Swales is no stranger to athletic challenges, but he may well be taking on his toughest challenge yet.
Swales will enter the ring as a competitor in the CNWA wrestling show at RDC at 7 p.m. Saturday.
He will face “Alpha Wolf” Andy Anderson on the card, which will see proceeds going to the RDC athletic leadership fund.
Swales has been involved in the last three cards at RDC, first as a ring announcer, then as a referee and now as a competitor.
“I’m somewhere between excited and terrified,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been working on learning a lot about pro wrestling techniques and I hope my size and athletic ability will help. But I’m up against a legitimate professional wrestler, who says he’s going to break my nose.”
Swales is aware something could happen and there has been some concerns voiced by the college and his family.
But he feels it’s worth it.
“My main reason is to help raise funds for the leadership fund while I guess, like a lot of guys who have grown up playing sports, it’s on my Bucket List. I know there’s risks in everything you do, but Anderson is a professional and I expect my game plan will be more on the defensive than offensive.”
Swales was a multi-sport athlete growing up and competed in both swimming and football. He was drafted out of the University of Alberta by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2000.
He has also trained with Olympic wrestling heavyweight Colby Bell while at the U of A.
Anderson, who lives in Edmonton, started his career in 1996 in Winnipeg. He has made a number of WWE appearances and competed around the world.
The bout is one of seven on the card which will feature Red Deer’s Vance Nevada against Adam Pearce for the NWA World Championship.
The NWA World Championship has been held by some of the top wrestlers in the world such as Ric Flair, Harley Race, Whipper Billy Watson, Dusty Rhodes, Jeff Jarrett, Christian, and Sting.
Nevada, who is Vern May and head of security at RDC, is the major reason for the CNWA coming to RDC.
“This will be a treat for fans to see,” said Swales.
Another match on the seven-bout card sees Bambi Hall facing Sexy Samantha.
Tickets are only $15 each and can be purchased at Full Spectrum Kustoms, the RDC Student Life office, online at ticketweb.ca or by calling the RDC Athletics ticket line at 403-342-3497.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com