When Cougars athletics meets professional wrestlers

author: matt wincherauk | editor-in-chief

Carillon Club for life. #TooSweet/Ella Mikkola

When Cougars athletics meets professional wrestlers

Professional wrestling is the goofy, ridiculous cousin of professional sports, merging the worlds of athleticism and acting into one barely coherent product. I thought it might be fun to take some of the best University of Regina Cougars/Rams athletes, and match them with their best professional wrestling counterpart. Let’s dive into the weird world of professional wrestling.

Noah Picton (Football) – Shawn Michaels

Noah Picton might not be the biggest football player in the world, standing at just 5’9 and weighing just 180-pounds, but that’s never stopped him in the past. Picton has risen up from redshirt player in 2013, to sharing the starting spot with Cayman Shutter in 2014, to Hec Crighton award winner in 2016. Shawn Michaels was always the smaller guy in the world of wrestling, but managed to work his way through the land of the giants to become one of the all-time greats, and in my opinion, the greatest of all-time. Picton might not be as flamboyant at Michaels, but the pure talent to overcome size issues in worlds that are dominated by the biggest guys is something that these two have in common.

Katie Polischuk (Women’s Basketball) – Charlotte Flair

In her final year of eligibility, Katie Polischuk has not only been the Cougars Women’s Basketball team’s most consistent and dominant player, she has also become one of the best players in Cougars history. Leading the way for the 12-2 Cougars, Polischuk has the team in third place in Canada West, and looking for more playoff success in the near future. Meanwhile, Charlotte Flair continues to dominate and lead the way for women’s division wrestlers. At times, it seems like just effortless dominance from Polischuk, and the same can be said for Flair, who happens to be the daughter of the legendary “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Polischuk has that all-around dominance, and the Cougars women’s basketball team is reaping the rewards once again.

Lucas Hoffert (Wrestling) – Kurt Angle

A list combining the best of sports and professional wrestling would be nothing without the greatest crossover example: Kurt Angle. Angle won Olympic gold in amateur wrestling (it’s true, it’s true) back in the 1996 games in Atlanta. It’s only fitting that one of the best wrestlers on the Cougars team would be his match. Lucas Hoffert is on his way to another impressive season, coming off a second-place finish at the 2015 Canada West games, and a fifth place finish later at the CIS Championships, Hoffert is well on his way to another big finish at this year’s events.

Olivia-Ann McDonnell (Wrestling) – Sasha Banks

Much like how Kurt Angle is one of the most technically proficient male professional wrestlers of all time, Sasha Banks is one of the most proficient female professional wrestlers going today. It was a tough choice between the many talented Cougars women’s wrestlers, but I’m going with Olivia-Ann McDonnell. McDonnell has had a great year for the Cougars so far, who recently captured a gold medal at the University of Alberta Golden Bear Invitational Tournament.

Alex Igual (Men’s Basketball) – AJ Styles

If you’ve ever watched Alex Igual play for the Cougars in the short time that he has been here, you know that he’s a mastermind of offensive innovation on the basketball court, so who better to compare him to than the “Phenomenal” AJ Styles? AJ Styles is not only a technical master, but also a ridiculous athlete that is constantly testing the boundaries. Igual’s slick passes and lightning-quick movements are some of the most entertaining things in Cougars basketball since he arrived here in 2014.