Argonauts’ A.J. Ouellette realizes childhood dream with Greektown Wrestling

Toronto Argonauts running back A.J. Ouellette has joined a long lineage of athletes to go from the gridiron to the squared circle. 

On Aug. 19, Toronto-based promotion Greektown Wrestling played host to Oullette’s first professional wrestling match. The 28-year-old received an invite to join Greektown for an event as far back as last summer before making his first appearance earlier in June.

With the Argos on a Week 1 bye, Ouellette stepped into the ring to help fellow Ohio native Jock Samson in his matchup against Trent Gibson. 

“I got here, saw everybody warm up and I’m like, ‘Is there any way I can get in the ring?’” recalled the Argos running back. “They were trying to find something for me to do. A football tackle, a little spear, was the easiest thing we could think of. It was quick and easy for me to get in there, and just … don’t hurt myself.” 

That first appearance laid the groundwork for Ouellette to step back into the ring for another appearance with Greektown, which happened to be running another event during the Argos’ second bye week of the season. This time Ouellette would team up with Samson and Greektown Wrestling Champion Channing Decker to take on Sonny Kiss, Gibson and Brent “Money” Banks.  

Ouellette’s interest in wrestling coincided with the rise of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock in WWE. However, as a three-sport athlete, Ouellette soon threw all his focus behind training. 

“It was on too late, and I was trying to go to bed early,” said Ouellette, laughing. 

Now, though, Ouellette’s passion and interest have returned thanks in large part to an eye on what he may want to do once his football career winds down. 

“Our coaches are super cool because you’re going to need something after football’s over,” said Ouellette. “So maybe this is something for me. Hopefully, football lasts another ten years, but you never know.” 

The support from the Argos coaches and staff has been an added motivator for Ouellette. Seeing an athlete cross over into wrestling isn’t new, but for an athlete to participate in an event in the middle of their season is a tad more unique.

However, where Dennis Rodman was questioned by some for leaving the Chicago Bulls to step inside a World Championship Wrestling ring in the late 1990s, Ouellette’s participation has been met with encouragement. 

“The first time I came, and did the spear, (Argos coaches and teammates) were pissed off I didn’t tell them about it,” Ouellette recalled. “I’m like, ‘I didn’t know I was going to be involved!’ So, then once they found out I was going to be here, everyone was like, ‘I want to come, I want to come!’” 

His teammates would not be denied on their second chance as Dylan Giffen, Braydon Noll and Dan Adeboboye accompanied their starting running back to the event and were there ringside in a show of support during Ouellette’s match. 

Wearing jean shorts as an homage to Stone Cold, Ouellette looked every bit the part of a pro wrestler as he stepped inside the squared circle. Long, flowing hair darting around as he crashed around the ring, sending opponents flying, Ouellette even scored a Stone Cold Stunner as part of the match. 

However, the most memorable moment came when Ouellette speared Gibson through a table set up in the corner of the ring. The crowd at Greektown, filled with wrestling and Argos fans alike, exploded just as the table did. 

“We’re just going out there having fun,” said Ouellette. “We’re trying to get the wrestling community and the football community together, hopefully, they’ll be some more fans at Argos games, hopefully, get some more Argos fans here to support these guys because this is freakin’ awesome. 

“I’m going to approach this just like I do every day, just day by day. I try not to look too far ahead. If this takes me somewhere after today, then so be it. If it doesn’t, I’m going to have fun while I’m doing it.” 

Ouellette is now part of a long history connecting pro wrestling and the CFL, joining a star-studded list of athletes who went from tackling to grappling. Here are some other noteworthy athletes to make the crossover. 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson 

You may have heard of him. 

Dwayne Johnson, also known as “The Rock,” never actually played an official down in the CFL, but his impact on the CFL is deep, nonetheless. After a senior season at the University of Miami that was filled with injuries, Johnson received a practice squad invite from the Calgary Stampeders in 1995 but was never signed. 

Johnson left Calgary with just $7 in his wallet, which ended up as inspiration for his aptly named production studio; Seven Bucks Productions. 

Johnson has since spoken fondly of his brief stint in Calgary, expressing his gratitude towards the CFL for giving him an opportunity. 

Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) 

The current Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion of over 1,000 days once patrolled the defensive line of the Edmonton Elks for just one season in 2008. 

The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket had a standout game in September of that season against Hamilton when he tied for the team lead with five tackles, along with one forced fumble. 

Reigns would retire from football after the 2008 season before committing full-time to professional wrestling. 

Brian Pillman 

After a short sting with the Cincinnati Bengals, Brian Pillman made a pilgrimage into Calgary where he would suit up for one season with the Stampeders in 1986, appearing in just three games. 

Pillman would then retire from football and transition to wrestling. He trained under Calgary-based promoter Stu Hart wrestling for Hart’s Stampede Wrestling. Pillman would then go on to have a noteworthy career in WWE, WCW and ECW. 

Lex Luger (Larry Pfohl) 

Lex Luger played across three seasons of CFL football for the Montreal Alouettes from 1979 through 1981, which included an appearance in the 1979 Grey Cup, where Luger’s Al’s lost to Edmonton. 

It was in the 1981, season, though that proved to be influential in pro wrestling circles, where Luger would cross paths with… 

Ron Simmons 

Also known as Faarooq in WWE, Ron Simmons was an All-American college football player at Florida State. Simmons was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 6^th round of the 1981 NFL Draft but never played a game. Instead, he made his way north and played for the Ottawa Rough Riders, which included an appearance in the 69^th Grey Cup against Edmonton that season. 

Simmons and Luger played against each other in college and then again in the 1981 CFL season before eventually playing together for the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits. It was Tampa where Luger introduced Simmons to wrestling, leading Simmons to retire from football. Simmons would go on to achieve history in pro wrestling, as the first recognized Black world heavyweight champion while with World Championship Wrestling. 

Superstar Billy Graham (Wayne Coleman) 

Known to many fans as the precursor to Hulk Hogan, Superstar Billy Graham played in the CFL for one season in 1968 as part of the Alouettes. Graham originally joined the Stampeders but was traded to Montreal in July of ’68. Graham would eventually head back to Calgary to train to with Stu Hart, who would end up putting Graham into a tag team with… 

King Kong Mosca (Angelo Mosca) 

One of the all-time greats to ever play in the Canadian Football League, Angelo Mosca spent 16 seasons in the league with Hamilton, Ottawa, and Montreal from 1958 to 1972. He won the Grey Cup five times and was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 1987. 

Mosca was known league-wide as one of the toughest and meanest players on the gridiron, a trait he brought with him to the squared circle when he began a career in pro wrestling. 

Mosca wrestled across North America throughout his career, beginning in Montreal. Mosca started his career as a heel, but became a babyface into the late 1970s and into the 1980s. In Calgary while wrestling for Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling, Mosca was paired with Superstar Billy Graham in a tag team. 

“King Kong” would go on to face off against such wrestling legends as Ric Flair, Bob Backlund, Ivan Koloff, Wahoo McDaniel and Blackjack Mulligan. 

Gene Kiniski  

Born in Edmonton, Gene Kiniski is considered one of the most legendary figures in the long history of pro wrestling. Before stepping foot in the ring, though, Kiniski spent time with the Edmonton Eskimos, then part of the Western Interprovincial Football Union (a precursor to the CFL), for three seasons in 1949, 1952 and 1953. 

After retiring from football, Kiniski was a tour de force across the pro wrestling landscape, participating in some of the biggest events in the mid-20th century. The crowning achievement of Kiniski’s pro wrestling career was when he defeated one of the godfathers of pro wrestling, Lou Thesz, for the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship in 1966. 

Kiniski held championships across the world through his multi-decade career in pro wrestling and is considered by historians to be one of the most recognizable figures surrounding the popularization of pro wrestling in the mid-1900s. 

Stu Hart 

Before he was known as the patriarch of a Canadian wrestling dynasty, Stu Hart was a standout multi-sport athlete. 

Hart was an amateur wrestling champion in Edmonton in the 1930s, before eventually suiting up for the Eskimos from 1937-1939. Hart would eventually make his way toward professional wrestling, where he became a top wrestler in North America, before launching Stampede Wrestling based out of Calgary. The local promotion ran for several decades and, as evidenced above, was instrumental in developing some of the top wrestling talent through the latter half of the 20th century, including two of his sons in Bret and Owen Hart. 

More from Sportsnet

Around the CFL: Another quarterbacking Rourke among Canadians to watch in NCAA

Ford named CFL’s top-graded quarterback after leading Elks to first victory

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
gap: 20px;
}

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}