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Cochrane's 'Kid' coming home for more Karnage
By
DARRYL MILLS - Cochrane Times
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Devon Nicholson is a big, big man, and he has a big task on his hand on
Saturday, June 4 -- trying to topple his arch-rival Karnage at the Stampede Wrestling
"Brawl to Settle It All" event at Spray Lake Arena in Cochrane, Alberta.
It's a return match from their bout in April in Cochrane, and this one is a No Holds Barred affair,
where a winner must be declared.
"We've been feuding for the past three years," Nicholson, known
professionally as Kid Nichols says.
"He's my biggest enemy in the ring, and we don't like each other much
outside of the ring either."
Nicholson calls Cochrane, Alberta home, and he is hoping a solid dose of hometown
fans will help propel him over the 6'8", 310-pound Karnage.
He is hopeful that he can wear down his opponent on Saturday to the point
where he can apply his signature finish, "the claw," inspired by the legendary
Baron Von Raschke of the old AWA.
"I have yet to defeat him, but he always cheats," contends Nicholson.
Ah, so Kid Nichols must be a good guy then, always being knocked down by
one of "Portugese Man-Of-War" Karnage's dirty tricks?
Well, not necessarily.
"I'm not very well-liked in Calgary because we're both bad guys," he
admits. "But, I fight him at the out-of-town shows and I am well-liked because
I am so much smaller, but in Calgary we don't face each other -- we're both
bad guys."
Alas, it hasn't always been that way for the 6'3", 280-pound, 22-year-old
Kid Nichols. When he first came to Stampede Wrestling, he was one of the good
guys, but it didn't last.
"I was when I first started but the fans never really took to me, so I
stopped trying to suck up to them."
And, don't think that Nicholson is just a big guy who can throw a body slam
or two -- this guy knows wrestling.
He went to high school in Ottawa, and it was then that he started wrestling
-- amateur, Olympic-style wrestling.
He got quite good at it, including winning provincial titles and a national
title in his final year.
But, it was professional wrestling that he wanted to pursue, so after
graduating from high school in 2001, he came to Calgary to train with the
legendary Hart family and compete in Stampede Wrestling.
But, and this won't endear him to Calgary fans...
"I didn't really like Calgary, but I thought Cochrane was really nice so I
moved here."
And, wrestling isn't paying the bills yet for Nicholson, so he has a couple
of other jobs to tide him over as he continues reaching for the big time.
He works with people who are handicapped, doing respite/relief and outreach
work, and he is also a security guard at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
But, his dreams remain firmly in the big time, whether that be in North
America or overseas.
"My main goal is to make a living at wrestling, have it as my career," he
says.
"I'd like to make the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), but there's a
lot of money to be made in Japan too. "
But, he is confident that his chances are good with the WWE. They are
coming to Calgary next month, and he is hopeful he can get a try-out.
He is hoping many Cochranites will be ringside to cheer him on in a
good-old '80s-style match, without the swearing and other stuff that is so
prevalent today.
The Stampede Wrestling show starts at 7 pm. Other matches signed for the show are: The New Karachi Vice ("Tiger" Raj Singh & Gama Singh Jr.) vs Fast & Furious (Phoenix Taylor & Pyro Pete Wilson) and "Nasty" Nattie Niedhart vs Anna Marie. Tickets are $12-$8 advance.
RELATED LINKS
Devon Nicholson / Hannibal story archive
Editor's Note: This story originally appeared in the Cochrane Times on Wednesday, April 20, 2005.
