Flags, Fists & Fallout: Trump and Carney Called to U.S. Versus Canada Wrestling Smackdown
Zone·ify turns up the heat with full-page ads in The New York Post and The Toronto Star challenging the U.S. and Canadian leaders to attend May 25 'Border Brawl' wrestling supershow in Niagara Falls, Canada.
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Held at the Niagara Falls Convention Centre – on the Canadian side of the Falls – 'The Border Brawl' will pit Team USA against Team Canada in a high-impact, suplex-filled showdown. With politicians stuck in a stalemate over trade, softwood lumber, steel, and maple syrup bragging rights, Zone·ify is settling the score in a more sophisticated way: in the wrestling ring.
'With politicians on both sides of the border stuck in a deadlock, we decided to go big — with full-page invites in two of the most patriotic tabloids on the continent,' said Doug Edwards, President of Zone·tv. 'It's time for the leaders of the free world to tag in and witness what real international conflict resolution looks like: sweat, smack talk, and steel chairs.'
Zone·ify and TNA Wrestling put together two teams of elite wrestling warriors and coaches. Team America to battle on behalf of Mr. Trump and Team Canada to throw their elbows up for Mr. Carney.
The star-studded lineup for 'The Border Brawl' includes:
Flag Match: Nic Nemeth (USA) vs. Santino Marella (Canada)
Matt Hardy (USA) vs. Eric Young (Canada)
Tessa Blanchard (USA) vs. Jody Threat (Canada)
Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards (w/ Alisha Edwards) (USA) vs. Judas Icarus and Travis Williams (Canada)
Hardcore Match: Tommy Dreamer (USA) vs. Champagne Singh (Canada)
Victoria Crawford (USA) vs. Courtney Rush (Canada)
Moose and JDC (USA) vs. Channing Decker and Jesse Bieber (Canada)
Frankie Kazarian (USA) vs. Cody Deaner (Canada)
Sami Callihan (USA) vs. William Trudeau (w/ The Personal Concierge) (Canada)
The Border Brawl also features powerhouse coaches for both nations:
USA Coaches
Former UFC star Rampage Jackson
Former WWE star Kelly Kelly
With special guest Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake
CANADA Coaches
Former WWE star Jacques 'The Mountie' Rougeau
Former TNA star Allie
Tickets are available now through Tickets.com and Zone.tv. The main event streams live and free, exclusively on Zone·ify at 5:00 pm ET, followed by a fan meet-and-greet.
A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit veterans and wounded warrior organizations across both nations. So, whether you're waving stars and stripes or repping the maple leaf, this night is for warriors past and present.
Will Trump and Carney appear ringside? Or will they dodge the body slams like another trade negotiation? Will Canada become the 51 st State or will America join the Monarchy again? Discover on May 25, exclusively on Zone·ify!
Zone·ify, available on over 422 million devices and in 16 million Pay TV households, delivers curated live content, FAST channels, and events like nothing else on the digital landscape. Partnering with TNA Wrestling, this event brings together decades of ring drama, nationalist tension, and a shared love of over-the-top theatrics.
ABOUT ZONE·IFY
Zone·ify is a free, ad-supported streaming platform delivering live events, FAST channels, movies, short-form content, and exclusive programming to audiences across the U.S. and Canada. Available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Comcast, DIRECTV, Cox, Rogers, Bell, mobile devices, and the web, Zone·ify reaches over 422 million consumer devices and 16 million Pay TV households. With 75+ curated channels, a growing slate of live ring sports, and bold original content, Zone·ify is where niche meets mainstream — all in one place, always free. Learn more at www.zoneify.tv.
A subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc. and a division of Anthem Sports Group, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling ® is one of the world's top wrestling brands, producing over 200 hours of original content annually and televised in 200 countries including AXS TV in the United States. Founded in 2002, TNA Wrestling's deep library of premium content is streamed across the world on key OTT platforms including Pluto TV, Roku Samsung TV Plus and its own on-demand subscription service TNA+©. TNA Wrestling has a powerful social media presence with over 10 million engaged followers across all major services. Ancillary businesses include live events, merchandise, licensing, and sponsorship.
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Ironically enough, while many college leaders fight against employment, some of them believe collective bargaining is the only solution for the industry. Limited liability protection: This is another issue the NCAA and conferences have spent millions of dollars and six years lobbying for. They want to be protected from legal challenges so they can enforce their rules over things such as transfers, roster limits, booster pay — many of which have been deemed illegal by courts. Trump clearly disagrees with these court rulings, as he notes in the preamble. The order directs the attorney general and the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to create policies to protect the 'long-term availability of college athletic scholarship and opportunities' when such is 'unreasonably challenged under antitrust' law. The attorney general and the FTC have 60 days to create such a plan, the order says. What are the immediate impacts of the executive order? The answer here is potentially … nothing. Trump's cabinet members — many of whom are quite busy with other more pressing matters — will need to make policy around these subjects. The specifics of that policy will dictate exactly how pivotal, if at all, this order is. What is a certainty is that whatever policies are created are not law and will likely be subject to legal scrutiny. Congressional action and court rulings are law in this country — not executive orders, legal experts tell Yahoo Sports. Baker even suggested this during his talk Thursday morning. 'You can't fix this stuff from executive order,' he said. 'Our focus for now really needs to be trying to get stuff dealt with through the legislative process.' As it turns out, Wednesday was a historic day for college sports with regard to congressional legislation. An all-encompassing federal college sports bill made its way out of committee for the first time since the NCAA's lobbying efforts began nearly six years ago. The SCORE Act, bipartisan but pro-Republican and NCAA-friendly legislation that many Democrats are against, received the necessary votes to advance out of committees and is eligible for debate on the House floor when members return in September from their traditional summer break. In many ways, the Score Act grants the NCAA and conferences similar protections as Trump's order. Above anything, Trump's executive order may get Congress to more urgently and swiftly push the bill across the goal line. However, if it does advance out of the House, the SCORE Act faces stiff pushback in a divided U.S. Senate, where at least seven Democrats are needed to overcome the filibuster and reach the 60-vote margin for any bill passage. The Senate, though, has been working toward the introduction of its own legislation, led by Sen. Ted Cruz, who, much like Trump, has made college sports regulation a priority. 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