Thompson's classroom is about 18 feet by 18 feet, surrounded by ropes with a canvas floor. His teachers are big, burly men who enjoy chasing him and inflicting pain when they catch him.

But, believe it or not, he loves it and, for now, can't think of anything else he's rather be doing for a living.

The 20-year-old wrestles as 'Retro' Rex Atkins, a take off on Fred Atkins, who longtime wrestling fans will remember best as a referee and as a trainer for the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.

It was while he was working out at Bland's Boxing Club in Crystal Beach that Thompson first envisioned himself actually wrestling for a living. That's where he met Blackjack Phoenix, who had recently retired from the squared circle.

"He showed me a few things and then he started getting back into the groove again. Before you know it, he had me fully trained and he was climbing back in the ring himself," said Thompson. "I always had in the back of my head that it would be a cool thing to do, but it wasn't until I started getting trained that I actually thought it was possible."

That was three years ago and since then Thompson has wrestled on independent shows across Ontario, New York state and as far away as Michigan, where he wrestles in a promotion run by none other than the son of the legendary Sheik, Ed Farhat.

It's not an easy way to make a living and as the price of gas continues to rise, Thompson's profits shrink accordingly.

"You're barely breaking even most of the time," he says. "It's all about getting exposure and getting on TV if you can. The more people see you the better.

"After the show and sometimes before, you wonder if it's all worth it but once you're in the ring you remember why you're there. You have to have a passion for it."

Thompson holds down a full-time job as a cook to help pay the bills.

Saturday night at the Crystal Ridge Community Centre, Thompson and Patrick Carolan, Fort Erie high school grad, are promoting a card of their own with several big names.

"There hasn't been wrestling here for a long time, so we wanted to put on a good show during the summer and see how it goes," said Thompson. "We'll do this show in July and another one in August for sure and then we'll see what happens. We'd like eventually to be able to have one show every month."

"We've been doing a lot of ticket giveaways at the Friendship Festival to try and get people out to the first show," he added. "Then they can make up their mind if they would like to come back."

Thompson cited Chuck Simpson's Rough Wrestling International as the type of promotion he would like to have.

"They have a good following, about four or 500 fans every show which isn't bad, it's enough to keep you in business."

In addition to Thompson, Carolan's alter ego and fan favourite 'The Sexy Monkey' and Port Colborne High School graduate 'Go Time' Chris Laplante are also scheduled to appear on the card,

The first match is at 7 p.m. and tickets -- $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under -- are available at the door.