Superstar wrestlers such as Ricky the Dragon Steamboat, Shawn Michaels and Brett Hart planted the seed for James Hogan to love wrestling.
As a six-year-old, he watched them with his father.
“I said I’m going to do that one day,” said Hogan. “No matter what I was doing with myself, I always thought in the back of my mind, there is still a chance for me to get in the ring.”
The London, Ont., native, who now calls Penticton home, has been stepping into the ring the last two years as KC Andrews. On Sunday, he will take on The Unholy Minion, who is the Okanagan/Interior champion at the Royal Canadian Legion for the title.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Hogan, the afternoon radio host for SunFM. “This is the first time that we are stepping into my hometown. I’m ready to bring the heat. I’m really psyched about it. I have been training extra hard and I’m looking forward to tearing the roof off the place.”
Because The Unholy Minion will be a strong competitor, KC Andrews, said he will rely on his speed and technical aspects to win the championship belt.
“If I get caught, I’m going to be in a little bit of trouble,” said KC Andrews, who stands six-foot-two and weighs 220-pounds.
In other matches, the Thrash Wrestling Champion (Top Drawer) Michael More will be putting his title belt on the line against the 22-year veteran The Black Dragon, who was trained by the Dynamite Kid, also known as the British Bulldog. This main event will be a street fight match as The Black Dragon will go out of his professional realm against More. In a battle that promises the strong style of pure wrestling, Kyle Sebastian faces Adam Ryder. Other matches feature American grapplers Washington (Greased Lightning) Ronnie Angel and (The real Karate Kid) Danny Knightmare,
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and showtime is 7 p.m. at the Penticton Legion hall at 502 Martin St. Tickets are $12 and are available at The Grooveyard on 239 Main St. and Custombilt Tattoos on 403 Martin St. and at the door.
“I’m hoping it’s a really big turnout,” said KC Andrews. “What you’re going to be getting is a form of entertainment that doesn’t come around that often in smaller towns. It’s a really good family show. It’s the kind of thing where you can bring grandma out or you can bring the kids. Everybody can cheer or boo and have a good time in a safe environment. What people are going to get is the opportunity to basically feel a live action movie.”