Kale Van Bruggen, all six-foot-10 and 300 pounds of him, is from the Island, but is introduced on the PA to wrestling audiences in the southern U.S. as “Seven-foot Van Bruggen from the great 91原创 Rockies.”
“It’s all a work [storyline], as they say in wrestling,” said Van Bruggen.
“They need heels and villains and I’m the bad guy to stir up the crowd as I go in against usually All-American good-guy type opponents.”
The former national-team rower and 91原创 Henley singles champion out of Claremont Secondary never thought his athletic career would take this turn, especially after just almost making the 91原创 rowing team for the 2016 Rio Olympics. But one day in a supermarket line in Cobble Hill, he heard a shopper behind him whisper to another: “This is like standing behind the Undertaker.”
Something suddenly clicked. His rowing teammates always joked to him that with his imposing stature he should try the World Wrestling Entertainment. He called his former friend from his Claremont days — WWE wrestler Chelsea Green — and asked her how to break into pro wrestling.
“Chelsea and her sister used to drive me to rowing practice on Elk Lake and Chelsea’s accomplishments are such an inspiration to me because of the passion and persistence it took for her to reach the big time,” said Van Bruggen.
“Chelsea’s first response to me was: ‘What took you so long?’ ”
But there were no illusions. Body size is one thing. Working your way up the pro wrestling ladder quite another, but Van Bruggen’s rise has been striking since jumping into the game in 2023. The 32-year-old former member of the 91原创 Scottish Regiment infantry is currently on the Coastal Wrestling Championship tour in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee and has been invited to the WWE proving grounds in Orlando as an up-and comer.
“My name is being whispered among the higher-ups. I believe it’s not if but when,” said Van Bruggen, son of former Triathlon Canada CEO Kim Van Bruggen.
But nothing is given in this brutal business. It is earned. The entertainment is scripted but the athleticism is real, and Van Bruggen has already suffered broken ribs.
“The amount of work is incredible, from learning the footwork and moves and developing a character that can draw out the emotions of the fans,” he said.
“It’s about telling a story. It’s good versus evil. And the audience is in on it.”
That is evident in that his rugged, tough and tumble “Van Bruggen from the great 91原创 Rockies” character belies his otherwise soft-spoken and gentle demeanour.
This has taken a serious commitment as Van Bruggen, who owns a farm in Cobble Hill, has moved to Florida. His wife Grace, a former Camosun volleyball player and daughter of former UVic basketball great and two-time Olympian Gerald Kazanowski, and their two-and-a-half year old son Axl have relocated with him. It was a major decision, but it’s what needs to be done when you are on the potential cusp of the big time.
“I believe I am on the radar,” said Van Bruggen.
That would make two Islanders in the WWE, along with Green. And that’s not just a storyline.
