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Alberta Independent Wrestling: Where Do We Go From Here?

by Spencer Love
written by Spencer Love

Doors weren’t just opened in Albertan wrestling this weekend – they were blown off their hinges.

It was a landmark weekend for professional wrestling scene in the province, with three shows hosted between the 11th and 12th throughout Alberta. Real Canadian Wrestling, Lakeland Pro Wrestling and the Prairie Wrestling Alliance were all in action this weekend, and as can be expected from any of the province’s numerous promotions at this point, all three were outstanding shows; however, a number of in-show and post-show developments that truly sent shockwaves throughout the scene.

First, some background.

Alberta Indy Dream Matches

Even prior to this weekend’s developments, Alberta wrestling was set to make a statement on January 11th and 12th. Not one, but two first-time-ever matches would be taking place over the course of two days, with “God’s Gift to Wrestling” Michael Richard Blais set to face off with Pride in Radway, Alberta, with RCW Canadian Heavyweight Champion Christian Strife set to face off with Mitch “Danger Zone” Clarke the following evening in Bonnyville.

Both were dream matches for many in the Alberta independent scene, despite only the former being advertised as such; the open-door policy (or lack thereof) in the Edmonton and Calgary areas had all but eliminated the possibility of either match occurring within city limits. The fact these matches were even booked was a statement in itself and provided an exciting opportunity for some of Alberta’s smaller wrestling scenes to truly get a glimpse of the talent contained in the province.

January 11th

On January 11, 2018, professional wrestling returned to Radway, Alberta for the first time in 31 years. Both the match card and the seats were packed, with many eager to get their first glimpse of live pro wrestling in over three decades. To be blunt, it was an outstanding show from front-to-back; from the opening match of Dean Richtor vs. Cameron Stevens, the action was fantastic, and the crowd was equal to the task. It was an excellent wrestling event, period; whether it be the terrific in-ring work from all involved, the RCW debuts the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Kylie Morgan – who some may recognize as the excellent manager of now-PWA Tag Team Champions the League – or simply the experience of watching a show for the first time in a new location, it truly was a unique show for all involved.

The building was raucous from the start and was completely frenzied by the time former PWA Champion Michael Richard Blais and CWC Canadian Champion Pride squared off for the Alberta Indy Dream Match.

It’s hard to undersell the importance of this match; truly, it was a dream match in every sense of the word. The sight of Pride and MRB across a ring from each other was something many hardcore Albertan fans never thought they would see and throughout the entirety of their 30-minute classic, the building nearly shook with noise. It’s a match that can’t be described as anything but must-watch, with both Blais and Pride pushing to prove themselves as the best professional wrestler in Alberta.

Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – it’s a question that still remains after the events near the conclusion of the match

Late in the match, just following a devastating MRB Brainbuster to Pride, an unidentified assailant ran into the ring brandishing a championship belt and began to assault both Pride and Blais, ending the match in a no contest. While it was a disappointing finish to an otherwise classic match, the anger turned to shock when the assailant was revealed to be none other than PPW Heavyweight Champion and Monster Pro Wrestling roster member Chris Perish. The tagSTRUGGLE member continued to assault the other two competitors before grabbing a microphone and verbally lambasting both Pride and Blais. There are few better on the microphone than Perish, and his fiery promo to close the show was one of the best heard province-wide in years.

As Perish alludes to in the above tweet, it’s hard to undersell the impact of Friday’s show. Between the three wrestlers closing out Friday’s show, five separate promotions and three separate championships were featured. More importantly, it set the stage for a continued feud between three of the top names on the independent scene in the province – and that’s without mentioning the formidable backup that each wrestler comes prepared with. While nothing has been confirmed as far as Blais goes, a match between Pride and Perish was set for February 23rd in Bruderheim, Alberta. Despite previously facing off, the two haven’t battled since Pride’s recent hot streak began. It’s yet another tilt that can be described as an indy dream match, and one that Albertan wrestling fans should be very, very excited for.

While Friday night in Radway featured some incredible developments, it was truly only the spark that set the fire for what was to come.

January 12th

Unfortunately, due to injury, the second advertised match between Christian Strife and Mitch Clarke was unable to take place. It did, however, set the stage for further developments on the previous night’s events.

Fresh off of his shocking appearance in Radway the previous evening, Chris Perish entered Bonnyville looking for a shot at Pride prior to their previously announced February 23rd match for RCW. Entering the show-opening Battle Royal for a match with Pride in the main event of the evening, Perish looked primed to win before interference from the First of the Fallen caused the PPW Champion to be eliminated.

However, it didn’t mean Perish was out of action for the evening. With neither of their scheduled opponents able to compete, the tagSTRUGGLE member took on the aforementioned Christian Strife in a champion-versus-champion thriller. Again, it was another match that wrestling fans had anticipated for a long while, but city boundaries had prevented from happening. For the first-time-ever, the RCW Champion would face off with the PPW Champion, and both men left it all on the line in what was a fantastic match. Yet again, however, it was another dream match ruined by the actions of others.

In eerily similar events to the evening before, Pride interrupted the match as it neared an incredible climax. It was the former Jack’s smirking revenge for Perish’s interference in Radway, with Strife as collateral damage in what is now sure to be a four-way feud.

Pride, however, received his just desserts during the evening’s main event. During the main event match between Pride and battle royal winner Adam Sky, Perish emerged to distract the RCW Jr. Heavyweight Champion and allowed Sky to roll him up for the victory. Immediately following, the former CWC Champion absolutely decimated Pride in yet another statement to build on the night before.

Both Pride and Perish made statements on Saturday, and while neither was able to gain an upper hand over the other prior to their match in Bruderheim on February 23, both showed why they’re two of the top names in Alberta today. Now, with Christian Strife also speaking out against the events of the 12th, the independent scene in the province has never been more unpredictable.

What’s Next?

Well, the doors have officially been opened, to say the least.

This weekend saw five different championship belts represented across three different promotions. Subsequently, the main event scene province-wide is already being talked about on a level not seen in years. Officially, the only development to come out of the weekend is a scheduled match between Chris Perish and Pride on February 23rd; however, unofficially the scene is as unpredictable as ever in the most positive way. Outside of a post-match promo, Michael Richard Blais has been conspicuously silent on the matter, and it’s only a matter of time before the former Prairie Wrestling Alliance Champion strikes. Additionally, it will be interesting to see where Christian Strife gets involved after making comments online that Pride’s “receipts were in the mail”.

As mentioned, I don’t believe we’ve even begun to see all the key players in this inter-promotional feud get involved. Envy already made her presence known throughout Friday’s main event in Radway, and her impact on Pride’s success can’t be understated. However, it’s not as though Perish, Strife and Blais don’t come well-equipped with some backup of their own. It’s only a matter of time before tagSTRUGGLE, the Western Lions and Strife’s numerous allies in the RCW locker room come calling.

It’s a damn exciting time to be an Albertan wrestling fan. Buckle up, folks – we’re just getting started.

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Opening the Door: The Argument for Talent Sharing in Edmonton

by Spencer Love
written by Spencer Love

Christmas came in early December for Alberta wrestling fans in the form of two match announcements for upcoming events outside of the Edmonton area. On January 11th, Michael Richard Blais will take on Pride in what’s being billed as an Alberta Indy Dream Match. The following night, former UFC fighter Mitch “Danger Zone” Clarke will face off with current RCW Heavyweight Champion Christian Strife for the first time ever. Both match announcements were cause for celebration in Alberta, not only due to the anticipation but due to the unique circumstances in which both matches will take place. Neither will take place in Edmonton; the Blais/Pride dream match will take place in Radway, Alberta with the aforementioned Clarke/Strife clash taking place in Bonnyville. Provincially, both matches are fantastic for the wrestling industry, but it does beg the question: why not Edmonton?

Well, the answer is simple.

Closed, Locked, and Bolted Shut

Exclusivity is everything in wrestling. At least, that’s the common line of reasoning, anyway.

It’s an understandable line of thinking, too, especially in the age of the internet.

With so many different avenues to consume wrestling, there’s very little tethering a casual fan to any singular promotion. If a fan can simply wait to see their favourite wrestler elsewhere, why wouldn’t they? Losing a top performer hurts any industry, but it’s perhaps no more prevalent than in the world of sports, and by default, sports entertainment. Look at it this way: it’s not as though Connor McDavid sods off to play a few games for the Toronto Maple Leafs, is it? Even if it was, it would be a catastrophe if he was to get injured or somehow otherwise impact his play while in another team’s silks; look no further than Dominik Hasek playing – and subsequently getting injured – for the Czech national team at the 2006 Olympics. Again, it’s an understandable concern; if a promotion was to suddenly lose its top star due to an injury sustained elsewhere, it would be severely impacted for the foreseeable future.

However, there does have to be the differentiation between traditional sports and sports entertainment, and that second word is a key factor in why an open door policy is what’s, ahem, best for business.

Building a Brand

While random, the Triple H reference isn’t unwarranted. Over the past few years, Haitch has been primarily responsible for the influx of independent talent to the WWE. Many of the top talents in the promotion today cut their teeth on the independent scene prior to signing with the former-WWF; however, something that’s been slightly overshadowed in his tenure as COO has been a greater willingness to allow WWE talent to perform elsewhere. While still not quite an open-door policy, there have been numerous examples of WWE and NXT talent appearing on shows for different brands. Recently, both Fabian Aichner and the Street Profits not only appeared for EVOLVE, but became champions for the brand. In coming weeks, both Roderick Strong and Johnny Gargano will appear for the brand. Noam Dar recently appeared for ICW at last year’s Fear and Loathing iPPV. The policy even has an Alberta connection in itself, as Samoa Joe made one of his final independent appearances for the Prairie Wrestling Alliance only weeks prior to debuting in NXT.

It’s a remarkably savvy business decision; by getting established talents competing in different promotions, WWE gets a unique opportunity to showcase its brand in an area that it would otherwise have absolutely no influence. If you’re to look at it on an Albertan level, would it not make sense to have an established star from your own promotion appear elsewhere? WWE is blessed with unlimited opportunities to expose itself to a wider audience; the same can’t be said about Albertan promotions.

Every opportunity to promote should be taken, and especially when it’s something as tangible as showing your best wrestlers off to the world.

The Talent Benefits:

While promotions themselves have a ton to gain from an open-door arrangement, the biggest beneficiaries are the talent’s themselves.

Like building any professional sports franchise, any promotion’s goal should be to develop and retain the most talented group of athletes and personalities to ensure long-term success. It seems simple, but fielding a better roster than your competitors automatically gives a huge advantage to your promotion or franchise. While it’s completely applicable to any professional sports team, the situation is exacerbated in professional wrestling. With storylines constantly fluctuating, injuries bound to occur and fans expecting a great performance every night, retaining your top stars is essential to any promotions success.it’s incredibly advantageous for a promoter to enforce a closed-door policy and essentially tie a wrestler to a singular promotion.

However, what’s the advantage for a wrestler?

pharmacy

 If one feels that it’s important for a brand to promote its talent, then it’s easy to argue it’s much more important for the talents themselves. After all, they’re the ones physically laying their bodies on the line each and every night; should they not benefit at least as much as a promoter?  Yes, long-term security with one promotion is terrific, but the benefits of talent sharing far outweigh those of exclusivity.

First and foremost: competition breeds excellence. It’s a subject in the wrestling world that’s subject to some controversy, and rightfully so. Recently, the Edmonton Combat Sports Commission exempted professional wrestling from its ranks, making access to the Edmonton area easier than ever before for a fledgeling promoter. Many believe that opening the door to more talent and promotions in the Edmonton area would allow less-than-stellar individuals to open their doors in the area and, to quote the Young Bucks, “kill the business”. It’s a risk that even this writer must concede; new promotions are already starting to bubble in the area, and with any new business comes the chance of failure. It’s something that Edmonton can’t afford; admittedly, professional wrestling is something that many already look at with a slight amount of hesitation, and it doesn’t take much to lose faith in an entire industry. The promotions across Alberta all do excellent work, and I say that without any hyperbole whatsoever; however, all it takes is one proverbial rotten apple to spoil the whole bunch for everyone.

To this writer, however, it’s an essential step to ensure the long-term success of the industry in Alberta. Call me an optimist, but I prefer to look at the glass in this situation to be far, far more than half full. While there’s always the chance of rotten competition, one has to look no further than the Monday Night Wars to realize that competition can not only be necessary, but beneficial. In the late ’90s, both WCW and the then-WWF reached new heights, born in part due to the two promotions ruthless competition.

Perhaps most of all, it provided an environment where talent could flourish. The WWE was no longer the end all, be all of wrestling. Now, talent had a chance to not only select where they would work but actively have these promotions bidding for their services. While obviously not on as large a scale, wrestlers in Alberta would only benefit from increased demand for their services. Better compensation and an opportunity to showcase the high level of Albertan talent more often would only raise the profile of the individual wrestlers, but the entire independent wrestling scene in the province.

Wrestling is experiencing a boom period right now, and the Albertan wrestling scene has never been better. That being said, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. If the province – and Edmonton specifically – wants to truly develop into a powerhouse on the worldwide independent scene, an open-door policy is a major step forward.

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Western Bred: How Alberta Wrestling Has Thrived Post-Stampede Era

by Spencer Love
written by Spencer Love

Since the inception of Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling, Alberta has never been at a loss for quality professional wrestling. It goes without saying that the industry owes an incredible debt to the Hart Family; without Stu Hart’s inventive booking, the star power of his sons Bret and Owen Hart and his entire family’s involvement in the business the wrestling world today would surely be much different.

An excellent article from Mike Malowany details some of the talents that have passed through Alberta over the years. In fact, some of the finest wrestlers in history have graced our province; legends like Gene Kiniski and Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie put Alberta on the wrestling map in the sports early days, with The Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, and the aforementioned Owen & Bret Hart carrying on the promotion in the wrestling boom of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Even today, the world is feeling the Alberta influence, with wrestlers like late-generation Stampeders Tyson Kidd, Natalya Neidhardt, and Davey Boy Smith Jr reaching the upper echelon of worldwide wrestling talent.

Unfortunately, Stampede formally closed its doors in 2008 after struggling in its later years. While a number of revitalizations have been attempted in subsequent years, Stampede has never returned to the heights of its glory days despite a number of talented wrestlers passing through the organization. These wrestlers, however, have helped lift wrestling in Alberta to the highest peak since the glory days of Stampede.

Continued Development

Since Stampede’s closure, Alberta has continued to produce high-quality talent at an incredible rate. Michael Richard Blais, one of the most highly-regarded wrestlers in Western Canada, sees it as a natural development in the industry. “Thirteen years ago,” he says, “you had TJ Wilson, Apocalypse, Duke Durrango, Johnny Devine, Juggernaut, (etc) all here in the upper echelon of talent, with a bunch of hungry young guys wanting to get to their level. Now it’s just changed to different people; basically, the guys that stuck around moved up into those (veteran) roles and now there is a new group of hungry young guys.”

Not only is Alberta’s talent being recognized provincially, but it’s more visible on a worldwide platform. In 2017, Calgary saw its first WWE Champion in 20 years crowned when Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton for the title. Seven Alberta-bred female wrestlers were featured on this year’s PWI100, an independent list ranking the top wrestlers in the world. Countless Alberta-trained wrestlers like Taya Valkyrie, Rachael Evers, and the now-signed Rohan Raja consistently feature in promotions like Ring of Honor, IMPACT!, and NXT: UK.

A major reason for the continued success of Alberta’s wrestling scene is the Storm Wrestling Acadamy in Calgary, founded by former WWE and WCW wrestler Lance Storm. His stellar reputation as a trainer has drawn many raw talents to Alberta, with a wide variety of graduates going on to experience success both in Alberta and abroad.

“Maybe the biggest change is the sheer amount of young guys that come around every so often through Lance’s classes,” continues Blais. “Training at SWA is like the Harvard of wrestling schools,” says Mo Jabari, a graduate of the school. “I think it attracts wrestlers and people striving to be wrestlers from all over the world to come to Alberta and experience it. You want to go to the best school to get the best education from the best professor.” As a testament to the quality of the training, names like Chelsea Green, Oney Lorcan, and Tyler Breeze are all SWA graduates making major names for themselves in the WWE, with countless others continuing to impress locally.

With so many talented individuals departing Alberta, however, how does the scene continue to stay relevant?

Alberta’s Independent Scene

Like any sport, the key to success for many Alberta-based wrestling promotions is its continued development of quality stars. Alberta’s own Prairie Wrestling Alliance – of whom, coincidentally, Storm is a former booker – is one of the largest providers of professional wrestling talent worldwide, with no less than ten wrestlers that could be considered Alberta-based littered throughout the WWE roster today. More and more talent from promotions such as Monster Pro Wrestling and Real Canadian Wrestling are starting to make waves on the international scene, too; RCW Women’s Champion Angelica recently toured both Mexico and British Columbia, with a number of others making inaugural excursions abroad to fine-tune their wrestling skills.

Despite many of the province’s stars graduating to bigger promotions in recent years, many of the top independent talents in the world still reside in Alberta. There’s no lack of talent in any of the major promotions in Edmonton; The Western Lions, the Millennial Rebels, and Sheik Akbar Shabaz have been staples at the top of the PWA card for years. Headline Shawn Martens, “Nasty” Nate Nixon, and Mitch Clarke are internationally recognized wrestlers coming out of Monster Pro Wrestling. Chris Perish, Dirty, Inc, and the duo of Top Talent (Heavy Metal & Big Jess Youngblood) of RCW are all regarded as some of the top names outside of WWE today plying their trade in Alberta. That’s just in Edmonton, too; the list could go on and on if you include talents like Dylon Stone, Pride and Jude Dawkins of the Canadian Wrestling Coalition, Kyle Sebastian and Sydney Steele of Pure Power Wrestling, and a number of other names poised to make an impact on the worldwide wrestling scene.

The talent in Alberta is truly at an all-time high; however, has it reached the peak?

What’s Next?

While wrestling in Alberta may be of the highest quality it’s ever been, many still feel as though the Great White North doesn’t get the recognition it deserves compared to its worldwide counterparts. “I think you could put a lot of the wrestling that happens here against anywhere else in the world and it would hold up, if not surpass some places, ” Blais remarked early in our conversation, “but most of the wrestling community doesn’t know about it. My biggest example is always this: I was Samoa Joe’s second last indy match before he was officially in WWE. Most people outside of here don’t know that unless I tell them. Not to mention some of the other amazing matches we’ve had here over the years, with “names” and even just our guys. There is so much that deserves to be seen and recognized by a wider audience.

But how does the province not only continue to succeed but eclipse its past success?

“The big thing is needing to find ways to appeal to the outside wrestling community,” Blais remarked. “I also think the more our own guys get themselves out there the better it’ll be here. I know from experience that it is easier said than done, but it can be done as I’ve shown at times and keep pushing for more.”

While a WWE contract is always the goal, said MRB, there’s simply something about wrestling in Alberta.

“There are people here who have seen the ups and downs all of us have gone through. There are people here who made the comparison between me and TJ Wilson before I ever saw it myself which is one of the highest compliments I’ve ever gotten.”

“More than anything I want to travel the world & be a superstar, but this will always be home.”

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‘Dynamite Kid’ Tommy Billington Passes Away at 60

by Spencer Love
written by Spencer Love

Wrestling icon Tommy Billington, best known as the Dynamite Kid, has passed away on what would have been his 60th birthday.

Billington was renowned worldwide for his influence on professional wrestling.

 Bret Hart, who wrestled Billington in both Stampede Wrestling and the WWF, said of the Dynamite Kid “pound-for-pound, (he’s) the greatest wrestler who ever lived.”

Since his debut in 1975, the Dynamite Kid wowed audiences with his innovative style and incredible athleticism. In 1978, Billington moved to Calgary to train with wrestling legend Stu Hart, where he established himself as one of the most exciting wrestlers in the world. His time with Stampede was legendary; feuds with both Bruce and Bret Hart brought worldwide recognition to the promotion and allowed the Dynamite Kid to wrestle some of the finest talents in the industry, including a legendary feud with Tiger Mask in the mid-’80s brought about due to Stampede’s partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

In 1984, Billington officially signed with the WWE, where both he and Davey Boy Smith would establish themselves as one of the top tag teams in the WWF, the British Bulldogs. At WrestleMania II, the Bulldogs captured the WWF Tag Team Championships, giving Billington his only championship gold in the promotion.

Unfortunately, health issues plagued the Dynamite Kid throughout his career, eventually necessitating the use of a wheelchair. Billington’s final match came in 1996.

Win Column Sports send their condolences to the family of the Dynamite Kid.

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