ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - North St. Louis native Sidney Iking Bateman was thrilled to be performing with Cirque du Soleil's show Luzia, until COVID-19 shut the company down. However, wrestling was considered an "essential service" in Florida.
Bateman participated in a publicity stunt that paired circus performers and wrestlers. That performance caught the eye of WWE and he became a sommelier named Reginald Thomas.
Reginald, or Reggie for short, made his national primetime TV debut on WWE Smackdown on Jan. 22 when Carmella's rival, Sasha Banks, challenged him to a match.
In the Sasha vs Reginald video clip, which is closing in on 2,000,000 views, Reggie is speaking French. It's a little something Bateman picked up while attending Ecole Nationale de Cirque, an international circus school in Montreal.
Bateman's journey from the streets of Walnut Park to an exclusive school in Montreal was fueled by his time at Circus Harmony, the social circus school located in City Museum. He trained there for seven years and was a member of the St. Louis Arches, the school's elite acrobatic performers who wow audiences each year at Circus Flora and around the region.
Bateman's perilous journey to Circus Harmony was highlighted the PBS' American Experience. He says circus and Circus Harmony saved him. Now, he says it's his duty to inspire young people and change the mindset of a group of kids who have very little hope.
Being part of WWE, he says, gives him a platform to inspire young people that he couldn't have found in the circus.