A professional wrestler who has appeared in five seasons of “The Walking Dead” television series will compete in the squared circle to raise money benefiting people with autism.
Josh Turner, nicknamed “TKO” in wrestling circles, played the Tatooed Savior character in 21 episodes of “The Walking Dead” from 2016 to 2020, according to IMDb.com. He also appeared as a vampire in five episodes of “The Vampire Diaries” in 2013.
He has been helping to promote “Fighting for Autism,” a wrestling event in eastern Tennessee to promote autism awareness, The Erwin Record reported. The event will be held July 16 at Love Chapel Elementary School in Erwin, with the first match to begin at 6 p.m. EDT.
Proceeds from the event, organized by pro wrestler Kedrick “Big Smooth” Jones, will benefit the East Tennessee Autism Society.
Turner, 37, who has an autistic son, has been part of several charitable benefits. He wrestled in 2020 and 2019 in exhibitions that benefited deaf children.
[ ‘Walking Dead’ actor Josh Turner hosting auction to help deaf children ]
“Autism is something very close to my heart for many reasons,” Turner said in a news release. “I met an amazing family years ago, and their daughter Kayliegh who is autistic instantly became family as they all did. Also, my youngest son Bebop has autism.
“So it’s something I am very passionate about helping raise awareness and acceptance for. Plus it’s all about helping the kids, they are our future.”
Turner will step into the ring against Drew “The Bandit” McCracken.
Jones, who made his professional wrestling debut in 2022 in Erwin, will also appear. Other wrestlers scheduled to compete include “Notorious” Shad Kennedy, Nicole Pain, Lenny Stratton, Corey Smith, Maverick Price, Kyler Hunt and Billy Foster, according to the news release.
Jones’ bout will an extension of a “feud” with Unicoi County Director of Schools John English, according to the Record. Jones had a memorable “confrontation” with English last year during his debut at Love Chapel Elementary School.
“It even got us over 470,000 views on TikTok, so I challenged him this year to actually step in the ring,” Jones told the newspaper.
Challenge accepted.
Tickets to the event are $8 for adults and $6 for children. Children 3 and younger will be admitted for free.