Circus Harmony Alum Makes Stellar Debut with WWE

ST. LOUIS - Feb. 2, 2021 - PRLog -- "What a challenging year 2020 was and what a strange year 2021 is starting to be!" exclaims Jessica Hentoff,  Circus Harmony's Artistic/Executive Director. "When we closed our circus ring at City Museum on March 16 last year we had no idea how the rest of the year would develop."

With their alumni performing around the world in all in different situations, a notable standout is Sidney Iking Bateman. Sidney Iking recently made his move from the circus ring to the wrestling ring in January, after he caught the eye of the folks at WWE during a publicity stunt that partnered circus performers and wrestlers. While his current employer, Cirque du Soleil,  was shut down, wrestling was considered an 'essential service' in Florida.  WWE NEXT christened him Akeem Young and then he began his wrestling career as a sommelier with WWE's Carmella. Someone at WWE thought Reginald was a better name for a sommelier and he became Reginald Thomas - Reggie for short.  Sidney Iking – aka Reggie – made his national primetime television debut on WWE Smackdown on January 22, 2021 when Carmella's rival, Sasha Banks (recently seen on The Mandalorian), challenged him to a match. To date, this Sasha Vs Reginald (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGV_1OYcdqA) video has had over 1.5 million views!



Sidney Iking's training began with seven years at Circus Harmony and then another three years at Ecole Nationale de Cirque (an international circus school in Montreal) and he toured the world with Les 7 Doigts de la Main's Cuisine and Confessions as well as Cirque du Soleil's Luzia. His first official WWE fight showcased his impressive acrobatic skills and was reflected in the comments on the video. Sidney Iking has always loved WWE. When asked about becoming a wrestler, he replied "I'm still flipping! I'm still entertaining. It's just a square ring."

The past crazy, unpredictable past 10 months has proved positive for Sidney Iking. Professional wrestling uses the term 'kayfabe' which means presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic. It is hard, these days, to tell what is fake and what is real, what is staged and what is natural. At a time in history when reality seems like a movie script that no one would believe, maybe a youth circus performer turned wrestling star is just the person to tell the truth!

You can follow Sidney Iking on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sidneyiking.bateman), Twitter (https://twitter.com/ReginaldWWE), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/reginald.wwe/).