WWE superstar Sidney Iking Bateman better known as ‘Reggie’ to worldwide fans, said as a kid growing up in Walnut Park he never imagined he’d be where he is today.
“I remember teachers and other people asking my peers and I what we wanted to be when we got older,” he said. “There would be generic answers—a football player, basketball player or a rapper. I thought about becoming an athlete, but those goals were so far out of reach.”
“I like to mentor kids. I’m very adamant about giving back and rebuilding my community in St. Louis. It’s all about paying it forward,” said Sidney Iking Bateman.
Wrestling was always a hobby to him and it was an interest he shared with his uncle who he watched it regularly with. He said he didn’t give it much thought after his uncle died.
“There was no way a kid like me from a poor neighborhood could learn how to receive wrestling training or how to get into the business,” he said. “There was no blueprint back then. I felt the most I was going to get out of living that dream was by watching it or going to watch wrestling live.”
Now, more than 15 years later, Bateman’s wildest dreams are a reality. He said he grew tired of being with the circus and that inspired his pivot to WWE.
“In 2019, Cirque du Soleil was my employer, and we were doing a show in Orlando, Florida when the head coach told us WWE was in town and they were interested in doing an exchange with us,” he said. “April 2019 was when I changed my life, and now we’re here.”
He reigned as the franchise’s longest 24/7 champion for 112 consecutive days and has been with the company for three years. He received his formal training at its performance center.
He is a graduate of Beaumont High School with college education from National Circus School in Montreal, Canada. After graduation, he joined Seven Fingers, a French-Canadian circus. Prior work was with Circus Harmony and Circus Flora.
He returns to his hometown to compete in the Royal Rumble next Saturday, Jan. 29 at the America Center’s Dome.
His grand stage introduction led him to embody the fictionalized persona of a debonair sommelier with an undeniable charm. Admittedly, he said the role reversal came easy for him due to his college years in Montreal.
“I went to college in Montreal, so I speak French and know a little bit about some wines,” he said. “It’s easy to be that character because, in many ways, it’s who I was when I was in school.”
Coming from a circus background, Bateman knows how to rely on his seasoned acrobatic moves and uniformed agility while defeating his opponent.
“I like to be in the conversation for having one of the best dropkicks in the company,” he said. “I’m very evasive, so I do a lot of backflips, front flips, slides on the knees, and different things to help maneuver myself out of tricky situations.”
He said he tributes his stage name to his late childhood friend who died in a car accident when they were younger.
“The name was drawn to me, and my company thought the name fit me, which worked out because it honors my late friend,” he said.
Thousands of households are frequently entertained from watching Bateman and his colleagues finish off each other one-by-one in some of the rowdiest matches. Fans may wonder who he is outside of the ring.
The person shown on TV is who he said he authentically is, but when he’s not on the small screen and at home he’s more chill, and laidback.
“I love movies. I love writing. I’m writing a book about my life that ties into everything I’ve done throughout this journey of 29 years thus far,” he said. “I like to mentor kids. I’m very adamant about giving back and rebuilding my community in St. Louis. It’s all about paying it forward.”
For kids from similar socioeconomic backgrounds like him, he gives the advice to keep an open mind and knock some of those borders down. As a former gang member, he said once he embarked on a new life, he learned to be receptive to new ideas and new possibilities.
“I never thought in a million years I’d be a wrestler or a circus performer, but you know what, I took that leap of faith and said I want something different,” he said. “Never give up on dreams you have because you think it isn’t cool enough, or you think people in your neighborhood won’t approve.”
“You don’t wanna miss this show because it’s gonna be a great one,” he said. “I’m super excited because it’s in my hometown.”
He has been featured in the St. Louis American in the past. Read his story from 2018 here:
Read his story from 2017 here:
