S P O R T S
WRESTLER MATHIS MYRE IS READY FOR HIS HOMETOWN FANS
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
win either. He never got a chance to climb into the ring. “Two weeks before the event, he dropped off the card,” Myre said about his would-be opponent. “He wasn’t feeling well.” Rougeau considered and then decided to allow Myre to take part in a “Royal Rumble” event as an alternative to the original solo wrestling match. A “royal rumble” is a multi- person event that starts with two wrestlers in the ring and then another wrestler enters the ring at timed intervals and everybody is fighting with everybody else until there is one winner. That did not work either in the end because Myre misunderstood when his new event was scheduled. It was for a Saturday but he thought it was on a Sunday. Rougeau was not pleased but he gave Myre another chance for a later event after a fellow wrestler at the school spoke up for the Hawkesbury youth. “I got squashed,” said Myre, laughing about the results “But I had my first real wrestling experience and it was cool.” Home in Hawkesbury Over the past three years Myre has had seven wrestling matches with his partner, Samuel Boisvert, as part of The Young Stars tag-team duo. So far, he has three wins and four losses to his credit, which is not bad considering that together he and Boisvert have a combined weight of about 300 pounds while most of the opposing tag-team duos tip the scales at 500 pounds or more. “I’m fast,” said Myre, smiling, “and I’ve got agility.” He’s also got his first solo bout debut in Hawkesbury February 2 as part of the GNW Saturday Night Showdown Spectacular in the gymnasium of his hometown school, Le Sommet. The latest GNW wrestling show in
Mathis Myre has always loved profes- sional wrestling. “I loved wrestling since I was six,” Myre said, with a grin, “seeing the Good Guys against the Bad Guys.” The 15-year-old Hawkesbury athlete loved the sport so much that he was able to convince Québec’s legendary Jacques Rougeau, to take a chance three years ago on training Myre in all the techniques, both physical and mental, that make professional wrestling one of the most entertaining sports entertainment spectacles in the world. Under normal circumstances, Myre should not have had a chance of becoming part of Rougeau’s professional wrestling school until he was at least 16. That is the minimum age allowed most of the time for anyone to sign up. «And you had to be a big guy,” Myre said. But the young Hawkesbury wrestling fan had a big advantage over anyone else. “I told my mum that I would like to wrestle,” he said, smiling. That was after he attended his first professional wrestling event as a spectator when he was 11 and Great North Wrestling (GNW) hosted one of its regular wrestling spectaculars in Hawkesbury. With the support of his mother, Myre contacted Rougeau and, with his mother’s arguing her support for her son, the former World Wrestling Federation tag-team champion agreed he would see with the youngster could do. “He saw I was really passionate about it,” Myre said. Into the ring After eight months of training, Myre, now 13 years old, was allowed to go on the card for his first wrestling bout. But it did not go as planned. He didn’t lose but he didn’t
Mathis Myre est tout excité et prêt à monter sur le ring pour un match de lutte devant sa famille, ses amis et ses partisans à Hawkesbury pendant le Grand North Wrestling Saturday Night Showdown le 2 février au gymnase de l’École Le Sommet. Mathis Myre a déjà plus d’une demi-douzaine de combats à son actif depuis qu’il a commencé à s’entraîner comme lutteur professionnel sous la direction du légendaire Jacques Rougeau, mais ce sont tous des défis d’équipe. Ce sera son premier combat en solo de sa carrière de lutteur professionnel. —photo fournie
Hawkesbury feature fan favourites like Max Testosterone and Yasmine Khan, and also include a special challenge match between GNW’s Hannibal against the Black Dragon, a professional kickboxer. The GNW wrestling show will also serve as a fundraiser for a couple of local projects. Proceeds from all the concession stand
sales during the evening will go to the Grade 12 Prom at Le Sommet. Myre’s match is against Xavier Black, who he’s met before during past tag-team bouts. He’s not sure how things will go but he knows one thing. “It’s going to be special,” Myre said with a smile.
Beautiful but dangerous, Yasmine Khan is one of the most popular members of the Great North Wrestling stable of athletes, and she will face two-time champion Jessica Black February 2 in Hawkesbury at GNW’s Saturday Night Showdown at the Ecole Le Sommet gymnasium. —supplied photo
Max Testosterone affrontera le Bruiser le 2 février au gymnase de l’École Le Sommet dans le cadre de l’épreuve de sept matchs du Grand Nord de lutte du samedi soir à Hawkesbury. —photo fournie
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