TagStruggle is back.

It’s been a smooth transition to Real Canadian Wrestling for both Chris Perish and Meniac since debuting for the promotion in January. Since leaving their long-term promotion of Monster Pro Wrestling, the multi-time champions have found new life with RCW since their debuts.

“One word – opportunity,” said Perish when asked about the move in a recent interview with the WCSN. “We’ve got the opportunity to do some more tag wrestling, with some fresh matchups.”

“RCW means a fresh start, new tag teams, and another chance to prove we are the best” echoes Meniac.

Since making the jump just under four months ago, tagSTRUGGLE have looked revitalized – both figuratively and literally. Both Perish and Meniac simply look happier with their new promotion, with a large part of that attributed to the ability to wrestle together once again.

Frankly, for one of the most dominant tag teams in Albertan wrestling history, it was long overdue.

Early Days

The origins of tagSTRUGGLE are well-documented in Albertan wrestling lore. Initially consisting of both Perish and current Dirty, Inc member Sydney Steele, the now-legendary faction ran roughshod over MPW and Pure Power Wrestling through the early parts of 2015. Only months into their tenure, the pair recruited Meniac, and the rest is history.

“I joined the oWe back in 2015, and Perish and I started tagging from that,” said Meniac.

While the faction did eventually disband, the chemistry between Perish and Meniac was palpable, and the two-man unit of tagSTRUGGLE was born.

It was a move that paid immediate dividends.

Frankly, the pairing was nothing short of dominant. Within months, Perish and Meniac had firmly established themselves as not only one of the most influential teams in not only Monster Pro Wrestling, but the entirety of Alberta.
The duo wasn’t reinventing the wheel, they explain, but that’s one of the major reasons for their success.

“tagSTRUGGLE isn’t unique,” states Perish. “(In wrestling), it’s not unique to see two people come together and essentially become brothers.

What makes us stand out is our chemistry together.”

“We are a TAG(STRUGGLE) TEAM,” says Meniac bluntly. “There are very few who would rather tag than do singles matches, but we are them. We pride ourselves in our tag prowess and ring psychology. In my humble opinion, we are unmatched. We are sports AND entertainment.”

“We are from the people, by the people, for the people… and we look like the people.”

“Again, it isn’t unique, but it’s relatable and entertaining,” finishes Perish. “It’s something that allows us to remain active – regardless of how many times we have tag matches.”

Unfortunately, Perish’s words would prove eerily prophetic. Despite the duo’s success, it wasn’t long before the two found themselves placed in singles competition more often than not. tagSTRUGGLE soon found themselves relegated to the sidelines in the tag division, despite the team neither breaking up nor wanting to.

Singles…Glory?

“In short? Yes, I wish there were more than one 8-man tagSTRUGGLE match and one 6-man tagSTRUGGLE match in 2018.”

Meniac’s words were a common sentiment among Albertan wrestling fans last year. While both members of tagSTRUGGLE found solo success, the pair failed to wrestle together more than once in a traditional tag-team matchup throughout 2018. It’s something that both admit was frustrating, both personally and as a team.

“With MPW, yes, there was disappointment with not tagging,” states Perish. “Yes, we did have individual success – which was great – but in an era where tag wrestling isn’t getting the exposure and appreciation (it deserves), we’re two people who want to not only tag but change that stigma moving forward.”

Despite their frustration, neither Perish nor Meniac let it show in the ring. Meniac became a two-time MPW Heavyweight Championship, with Perish winning the Leo Burke Cup and the MPW Provincial Championship. Perish also appeared on the PWI500 each year as one of the top professional wrestlers worldwide. Despite the accolades, states Meniac, it’s something the pair would have gladly traded for the opportunity to wrestle together once again.

“I like wrestling singles,” he explains, “but I’m a tag(STRUGGLE) guy. It’s my passion, and while having the recognition of a singles title – THE singles title at that – is humbling and an honour, to me the harder titles to defend are always the tag(STRUGGLE) titles.”

Unfortunately, despite a number of opportunities, a true tagSTRUGGLE reunion never came to pass in Monster Pro Wrestling.

Meniac finishes: “As fun as it was to have two separate runs as a Heavyweight champion, I would have traded that second one in for more tag(STRUGGLE) matches.”

A Change of Scenery

The first sign of a potential move came on January 11th, 2019. In the midst of a match between Michael Richard Blais and Pride, Perish shockingly appeared out of the crowd and attacked both men. It was the first appearance in RCW for the former MPW Provincial Champion, and shortly after speculation started flying about not only his future with the promotion but a potential tagSTRUGGLE reunion.

Those rumours were all but confirmed in late January when Meniac made his official debut for RCW. With Perish announced to have signed with the company in early February, it all but ensured that tagSTRUGGLE was back.

On February 9th, the team wrestled their first traditional tag match in over a year. The response, to be blunt, was overwhelming.

“I think it’s validation that we’re doing it right,” Meniac says of the pair’s well-received move to RCW.

Ironically, both Meniac and Perish have found themselves embroiled in a feud with former friend Sydney Steele and his stablemates in Dirty, Inc. Tonight, the duo becomes a trio once again with the addition of Kayla Jaye. Could this be the first sign of tag(EXPANSION)?

“In almost a year”, mused Meniac “we’ve spoken about adding people before, and if we find the right person, I don’t see why not.”

Whatever tagSTRUGGLE’s next move may be, it’s only a matter of time before they reclaim their rightful place back on top.

Michael Richard Blais and Brandon Van Danielson are no strangers to speculation. The duo best known as the Western Lions have earned their reputations as the two top talents on the Albertan independent scene today, both as singles competitors and as their formidable tag team. The pair has held every championship across the Prairie Wrestling Alliance; truly, it’s a matter of when, not if, the Western Lions will be making their way to the major promotion of their choice.

Frankly, something along those lines was what many expected when Blais announced he’d be given free rein to speak his mind at PWA Hysteria on Saturday, April 20th. However, with Van Danielson absent, “God’s Gift to Wrestling” took to the ring far more sombre than his usual charismatic self. After exchanging a handshake with long-time rival Marky, Blais was handed the mic.

The emotion that filled Blais was obvious from the onset. A hush fell over the Northgate Lions Centre, with seemingly every fan on the edge of their seat as they prepared for the Western Lions’ announcement.

However, no one could have expected the series of events that Blais words would trigger.

As the former champion measuredly spoke, the PWA faithful hung on to every word. Beginning his promo by thanking the fans, “God’s Gift to Wrestling” spoke at length about the Western Lion’s journey to the top of the Alberta independent scene. Despite the havoc the duo has caused, Blais said, the support from the fans have caused the two to reflect on their actions of the previous years.

That’s where the bombshell was dropped.

While not officially decided upon, Blais declared that the Western Lions could be taking a break from the PWA, with the exception of June’s PWA Night of Champions.

“Honestly, we legit aren’t 100% sure what we are doing in PWA right now, other than my match with Ted (Hart) being on for sure,” said Blais in a quote obtained by the WCSN. “All the fan support lately despite failing to get the PWA Title kind of making us question our actions the last couple years to kinda step aside a bit see if some of the guys (in the locker room) could step up maybe.”

Unfortunately, stepping up is exactly what Kenneth Anthony and Colton Kelly of the Millennial Rebels had planned.

Ever the opportunists, the pair entered the ring with Anthony taking exception to Blais’ words. The Millennial Rebels verbally lambasted God’s Gift to Wrestling, calling not only he but Van Danielson as well a pair of “broken down 30-year-old failures.” It wasn’t long before a match was set for later in the evening, with Blais set to take on Anthony.

“Once Kenneth interrupted me and said what he said, (respect) kinda went out the window,” Blais commented. “Don’t disrespect us – we’ll remind you that you still aren’t on our level.”

It’s said often, but there’s a reason Blais is considered one of, if not the, best wrestlers in Western Canada; however, Anthony has quietly worked his way up the ranks over the past number of years to become one of the savviest wrestlers on the independent scene today. Where years ago this may have been considered an easy victory for Blais, it was Anthony who dominated the majority of the match. While a pre-match attack during Blais’ entrance was responsible for a portion of Anthony’s dominance, it was still jarring to see MRB dominated as thoroughly as he was from the onset of the match.

However, as is so often the case, Blais was able to find a way to win. His trademark kick combo followed by a Code Red seemingly out of nowhere led to the Western Lions’ hand being raised in victory.

It wasn’t the match that had people talking, however, but the gutless post-match attack from the Millennial Rebels.

Immediately following the Blais/Anthony tilt, the Rebels launched their assault, with both Kelly and Anthony ruthlessly beating down their exhausted opponent. While Blais valiantly fought, he was unable to overcome the numbers advantage of the duo at hand. An audible gasp was heard from the crowd as Anthony procured a pair of scissors and stared menacingly at a prone MRB, his intentions immediately clear. Grabbing Blais by the hair, Anthony cut off a formidable piece of Blais signature blonde locks.

At Hysteria, The Millennial Rebels crossed the line in a big way. What is the mindset of @GodsGiftMRB? Where do we go from here? #YEG #Wrestling #PWA #Edmonton pic.twitter.com/onNzddyq41

— PWA Wrestling (@PWAwrestlingca) April 22, 2019

It’s been years since this sentence was said in Albertan wrestling, but as his assailants walked away, Blais was left laying in the middle of the ring. There was no Brandon Van Danielson charging in to save the day. Unfortunately, the numbers advantage fell in the favour of the Millennial Rebels this time.

For the first time in recent memory, the Western Lions were broken.

Less than 24 hours after the brutal post-match assault, Blais broke his silence on Twitter.

My head won’t stop spinning, my mind is a mess. I’m broken. I’m angry. I’m defeated. I want revenge. I want to forget. I want to fight. I’m done.

I really don’t know what comes next… @PWAwrestlingca thank you for the support… pic.twitter.com/328HI1wyhG

— Michael R. Blais (@GodsGiftMRB) April 22, 2019

Thus far, Van Danielson has been unavailable for comment.

With a broken Blais and an absent BVD, the landscape of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance has truly shifted. Even with Blais confirmed to return in June, speculation has run rampant around the future of the Lions. Will we see Brandon Van Danielson in a PWA ring again? How will MRB respond to the heinous attack at the hands of the Rebels?

Could this truly be the end of the most dominant duo in PWA history?

“BVD and I are back to square one,” stated Blais. “On one hand, we want to just walk away if this is how it’s gonna be. On the other hand, we’ve never been about giving in. Part of our talks has been wanting revenge. Part of them has been that it’s not worth it at this point.”

“We really don’t know.”

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?

 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.