A River Ridge High School teacher is using his professional wrestling skills to raise money for the school's drama department.

Drama teacher Rob Fields is organizing a Knight of Champions wrestling event to be conducted at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 18, at Mill Creek Middle School in southeast Cherokee. Admission is $6 at the door, and all money raised will benefit the drama department.

The district's newest school, River Ridge High, has only freshmen this year and is operating out of Mill Creek Middle. The high school facility will open in August with freshmen and sophomores. An additional grade will be added each year.

Fields, who wrestles as "Rob Adonis," said the wrestling show will be a family friendly event with performers including Glacier, "Untouchable" Jeremy Vain, Colt Derringer, Josh Stone and Bulldog Raines.

River Ridge physical education and track and field coach Barry Lakes will participate, too.

Fields said he has also invited Cherokee County school board member and famed pro wrestler Rick Steiner to attend.

"It'll be a lot of animation and a lot of family-oriented stuff," Fields said. "It'll be classic old-school wrestling."

Fields said he's hoping to raise between $1,500 and $2,000 at the event.

The drama department has about 20 active members and six more who help when their schedule permits, said counselor Jeff Bennett.

The students currently are rehearsing for their upcoming play, "The Butler Did It," which will run at 7 p.m. from March 30 and April 1.

Fields said he has been fascinated with wrestling since age 5, when he saw a video of "Nature Boy" Ric Flair defeating Dusty Rhodes.

"This is the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life," he said of his reaction.

Born in Marietta, Fields grew up in Cherokee County and graduated from Cherokee High School in 1994. He graduated from Reinhardt College in 1997 with a business degree and again in 1999 with a communications degree.

He promised his parents he wouldn't wrestle until he graduated from college.

He participated in his first match on July 1, 1999, a few weeks shy before being hired by the Cherokee County School District as a teacher.

As a drama teacher and professional wrestler, Fields said he believes both passions often intersect.

Teaching, he said, is often like a performance because you are trying to convince students that learning the subject is important.

"You are selling them a product every time you open your mouth," he said. "I always look at teaching like a one-hour sales pitch. I've got to convince these kids that I've got the facts."

In June 2003, he created Ultimate Christian Wrestling ministry, a Holly Springs-based ministry dedicated to providing family-oriented entertainment while also giving its fans the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

In 2008, he decided to cease operating the ministry because "it was rough doing that and being a teacher."

"If I feel led by God to start up another one, then I'll do it," he added.

On the first and third Fridays of each month, Fields appears in wrestling events by Warner Robins-based Rampage Pro Wrestling. On second and fourth Fridays of the month, he appears in Southern Extreme Championship Wrestling events in Villa Rica.

On the first and third Saturdays each month, he wrestles for Franklin-based Universal Independent Wrestling, and on the second and fourth Saturdays, he wrestles for West Georgia Championship Wrestling in Buchanan.

Fields lives in Holly Springs with his wife, Christy, and they attend First Baptist Canton.

Bennett, along with Fields, said they hope the community comes to the wrestling benefit to support the drama program and "unseen talent of a number of students."

"Many times we see the students differently on stage than when we see them in the classroom or on the athletic field," Bennett added.

Tiffany Johnson, 14, daughter of Jim and Stacy Johnson of Woodstock, said she long has wanted to participate in a drama program.

Now as a River Ridge freshman, her drama experience has gone well so far, and she hopes the program receives the financial help it needs to grow.

"Everyone supports football, and I don't think we should be an exception," she said.

Emily Murray, 14, daughter of Sean and Jennifer Murray of Woodstock, said she agrees that drama is "the middle child of electives."

The ninth-grader added she's looking forward to cheering on her teacher in the wrestling march.

Classmate Alayna Dull said she thinks the wrestling match will draw a crowd.

"The wrestling thing is kind of cool," the 14-year-old daughter of David and Lori Dull of Woodstock said. "It's different."