Lane DeGregory: TAMPA
The Moscow Mauler couldn’t sleep Sunday. On the night before one of the biggest days of his life, the 37-year-old professional wrestler lay in bed in his South Tampa home, staring at the ceiling, replaying scenes from his boyhood in the USSR: roughing up his buddies, discovering a golden-haired American hero on TV, hatching a dream. And now, on the eve of everything coming true, he was anxious. Excited. Maybe even — it was hard for him to admit it — nervous.
This 6-foot-6, 310-pound monolith of a man, who is known for choke-lifting his opponents with one hand, never trembles in the ring. But this performance was going to be different. This wouldn’t be Vladimir Kozlov smacking down some opponent on live TV.
This was Oleg Prudius. The real guy no one has heard of. The athlete/actor who plays the evil Russian agent wrestling fans love to hate.
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