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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The D'Amore Drop: In defense of the John Cena heel run
The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D'Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D'Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. I know it's fashionable online to rip on John Cena's heel run, but I think the man is doing fantastic work. Advertisement Before I go on, I get that people were expecting nothing less than the new nWo — with Cena and Rock and their own 'third man,' going on a generation-defining run as the most powerful heels in the game. The historical comparisons to Hulk Hogan were obvious and unavoidable — no heel turn in 30 years has been so long in the making and so unthinkable when it happened. The Hogan/nWo turn is still the gold standard. It's the bar every heel turn has been measured against for the past 30 years. (Though old-timers still shudder when they remember Larry Zbyszko turning on Bruno Sammartino in 1980.) That said, it's not the fans' fault that The Rock was a massive part of Cena's heel turn — literally directing him to take out Cody Rhodes at the Elimination Chamber — and then just vanished and was barely mentioned again. Whatever the reason, Rock was central to the setup but absent from the execution. But if we focus purely on Cena's work, he's been a revelation as a villain. I've loved it — and then came Cena's own 'pipe bomb.' Fourteen years almost to the day after Punk laid out Cena and delivered one of the best promos in WWE history, Cena returned the favor by putting Punk through a table and getting some things off his chest while Punk was left laying, 'as uncomfortably as possible.' Advertisement I loved the promo. It was dramatic, believable and, like you have to be these days, it worked on two levels. Cena stayed fully in heel character, so the fans willing to suspend disbelief could enjoy it in-story. But he also mixed in just enough 'inside baseball' for the smart marks … the fans who like their wrestling with a wink and a nod. One of the first names out of his mouth was Claudio Castagnoli — formerly Cesaro in WWE — who is now under contract with AEW. That got everyone's attention. It was like, 'Whoa — he's not supposed to say that.' Leading with Claudio was genius. I really don't think that promo hits the same if he doesn't lead with the AEW guy. That was the key. Claudio made it feel like a one-off name drop. But then, bang — he follows it up with two guys WWE could actually use: Nick Nemeth, who wrestles for TNA and, of course, TNA has a relationship with WWE; and then he mentioned Matt Cardona, who is the ultimate free agent and has made no secret he'd like to return to WWE before his career is up. Advertisement What Cena did there was offer fantasy matchmaking. He gave fans one name that's impossible, followed by two that are technically very possible. That's genius. It's a tightrope walk to be an effective heel and still give just enough reality for fans who won't fully suspend disbelief but still want to feel something real. Overall, I think Cena's been fantastic in this run. I know that's not a popular opinion in some circles — but too bad. I like what I've seen. Cena's doing excellent work. Cena defends his WWE Universal Title vs. Punk in Saudi Arabia at Night of Champions this Saturday. It is yet another "Cena retirement tour dream match" WWE is delivering … just think of all the crazy things that had to fall into place for this match to actually happen in the middle of 2025. Advertisement Cena should go over. He's holding this title for a while yet. Will John Cena beat CM Punk and retain his title this Saturday? (WWE via Getty Images) I expect Cody Rhodes will win the King of the Ring and challenge Cena at WWE SummerSlam … with the wild card of Seth Rollins holding the Money In The Bank briefcase over the head of the champion. The Queen of the Ring finale pits Asuka — who only just returned from a year out with a serious knee injury — against Jade Cargill in one of her biggest singles matches to date. No prediction on this one, I am just rooting for both women to put on the performances that will elevate them both. Around about this time last year I invited several friends to a Zoom call. Advertisement None of them are names you'd be expected to know, but all of them were vastly experienced pro-wrestling guys — not on-screen talent but award-winning television producers and behind-the-scenes talent who'd done incredible work for WWE, AEW, WCW and even the UFC. They were all close friends of mine, but I started the meeting proper by introducing myself. 'Hello,' I began, 'my name is Scott D'Amore and I have an addiction — it is called pro-wrestling. You all know I am no longer with TNA … but I am not done with pro-wrestling.' In that meeting I told my friends I'd bought the rights to Maple Leaf Wrestling, the historic Canadian promotion, and planned to relaunch it in the modern era as Maple Leaf Pro-Wrestling. All of them wanted to join me, and I'm incredibly proud of the work we've done in the past 12 months — five sell-out shows, great results on pay-per-view and social media. Advertisement And our biggest event yet takes place July 5. After that Zoom call, one of my friends called me directly and asked me why I was prepared to spend (a lot) of my own money to get right back into the pro-wrestling business. At first, I deflected. I pointed out I was going to spend lots of my own money to buy TNA, only for its parent to decline. But the real, honest answer is that I love pro-wrestling and pro-wrestling people. I mean, in real life, what does someone like Don Callis — who's very educated — have to talk about with someone like Tommy Dreamer, a sweetheart who can barely count to five? And yet we are all the same in this one critical aspect: We love this crazy, so-called fake sport that most of the world can't imagine anyone being this interested in. Advertisement Wrestling came to me when I really needed it. In the early '80s my grandfather was in hospital for a while. I wanted to go see him, but hospitals are spooky to a kid, and seeing someone I loved looking so sick, hooked up to scary machines … it was tough. But there was a tiny — remember this was a public hospital in the '80s — TV in the corner, and my grandfather would put pro-wrestling on when I visited. We'd sit there and we'd be transported to a place with larger-than-life characters who weren't afraid, who overcame. It became our thing. Once he was discharged from the hospital, we'd watch wrestling together for the rest of his life. And that's part of what I love about pro wrestling — it brings people together. I always say, when we do what we do right in pro wrestling, we create moments. And moments are meant to be shared. It's parents and kids. Siblings. Best friends. The guy at work who you noticed wearing an nWo shirt. Wrestling creates this sense of community. You experience it together and for a little while, you just escape. Advertisement That's what got me hooked. That's what keeps me hooked. As I said on that Zoom: I am never, ever leaving this business. Have we really gone two whole months without naming Seth Rollins's faction? C'mon Trips, give 'em a name. (WWE via Getty Images) I am very excited to tune into AEW tonight, for Kota Ibushi's first AEW match since 2023 booked for "AEW Dynamite." He is a real-life and on-screen friend of Kenny Omega, and he takes on Don Callis Family member Trent Beretta. Speaking of Kenny Omega, he got a kick out of last week's column showing his uncle, the Golden Sheik, photographed next to Don Callis and his flowing mane of hair. It was interesting, booking-wise, that Jey Uso lost clean again on "WWE Raw," this time to Cody Rhodes. Advertisement Yes, Uso was protected in the loss — kicking out of three Cody Cutters and even giving Rhodes a Cross Rhodes for a near fall — but the fact is this is his second clean loss on the flagship show in two weeks, having lost his WWE World Title via submission to Gunther. You have to trust WWE has a plan for one of the most over performers on their roster. One direction they could go with Uso is for him to be the first major opponent for a heel Cody Rhodes. Cody himself said last week that he's 'coming to the end' of his run as a babyface. Talking to a reporter at the Fanatics Fest he said: 'There's only so much someone can like you. I would love to do it (be a face) until the end of my career but … at a certain point they want to cheer someone else. I get that and that's when you have to change as a character.' Pressed, Cody said he thinks the heel change is about a year or more away… Or maybe he turns heel in time to headline WrestleMania 42 against Jey Uso in Las Vegas next April?
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The D'Amore Drop: Why wrestling fans get what they need, rather than what they think they want
The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D'Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D'Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. I'm really enjoying what WWE's doing right now with Ron Killings — and not just because I've known Ronnie for well over two decades. Advertisement The dramatic, fourth-wall-breaking storyline that is unfolding right now wasn't even thought of two weeks ago. As you know, WWE decided not to renew Ronnie's contract, and the fans basically said, 'You made a mistake.' Loud and clear. To their credit, WWE listened, and now we are getting this gripping narrative that weaves reality into story. THIS is why I love professional wrestling! This business is a living, breathing beast. It's not a movie that gets written, rewritten, shot, edited, maybe reshot, maybe reedited and then released a year later. Wrestling happens in real time, every time. That instant feedback — cheers, boos, ticket sales, pay-per-view sales, merch, reactions online — you get it all as you are telling your story. You can't fall into fan-service — you have to give fans what they 'need' rather than what they think they 'want.' Otherwise, the most popular babyfaces would all be champions, fan-favorite tag teams would never break up, there'd be no real changes and the whole thing would die. Advertisement You have to trust the process and believe in your story enough to not panic and abandon it (which was the knock on Vince McMahon, especially later on), but also be humble enough to pivot. One example that comes to mind is when Eric Young went out and had an amazing performance to show the TNA powers that be that he shouldn't be let go from TNA's roster 20 years ago. To be clear — I wasn't in charge at this time, but what was supposed to be his final match was a tag match with "EY" and Bobby Roode vs. America's Most Wanted. But Eric went out there and stole the damn show. (And truthfully, the other three guys knew what was at stake and worked their asses off to put "EY" in a position to shine.) Advertisement After that performance — one of the best in company history — there was no way TNA could let him go. Eric didn't just save his job, he showed TNA that he should never have been in a position where we were even considering not having him part of our show. That's why I've always loved this business. Because it's unpredictable. Because it's alive. Because Ron Killings, at age 53, can go from being cut to being the most entertaining guy on the show — just like that. Seth Rollins is so awesome that the fans don't want to boo him. And that would be a big problem, considering he is clearly being positioned as WWE's top villain, but … Seth Rollins is *so* awesome he can make the fans boo him anyway. The whole main event on this past Monday's "WWE Raw," where Jey Uso won a Fatal 4-Way to set up a King of the Ring match vs. Cody Rhodes next week, clicked so well. Everyone in the match — Jey, Sheamus, Rusev and Bronson Reed — were given big moments, but so were LA Knight, Penta and Bron Breakker, who interfered throughout. Advertisement Then Seth Rollins came out — and everyone cheered and sang his song. He was about to attack Uso, who'd wrecked his plan for teammate Reed to be in the King of the Ring, when Cody Rhodes stepped between them. Seth sold it like he was enraged. He hyperventilated. Spittle flew out both corners of his mouth. The hatred he had his eyes for Cody … and then with just one look he told us that he'd decided: 'No, not here. Not one-on-one.' And he backed down from a fight with Cody — and the fans rained down boos. A masterclass! Seth's timing — knowing exactly the right moment to back down from a fight to lose the respect of the audience — reminded me of Bret Hart's heel turn at WrestleMania 13 all those years ago. Advertisement For younger fans, Bret had just beat Steve Austin in a match that set 'Stone Cold' up as the WWF's top babyface and, at the same time, was supposed to turn Bret up as the company's top villain. Only, the fans weren't booing Bret as he continued to attack Austin even after he'd won the match. Special referee Ken Shamrock pushed Bret off of Austin … and Bret made as if he was going to fight 'The World's Most Dangerous Man' … the fans thought they were going to see it … and then Bret ducked out of the ring, prompting the fans to boo him all the way back to the locker room. I'd already filed last week's column before I saw "AEW Dynamite," but what happened on June 11 — with Don Callis setting up Okada to attack Kenny Omega — was absolutely astonishing television. It was shocking on so many levels. Casual fans know Don was Kenny's manager, then turned on him and has been a thorn in his side since. Hardcores know that Don and Kenny are basically family in real life; Don's first manager when he wrestled was Kenny's uncle, the Golden Sheik, and Don has known Kenny since he was a boy. Don Callis (left) with Kenny Omega's uncle, The Golden Sheik. Don skipped chest day even in the '70s. (Photo via Scott D'Amore) Don sticking his nose in Kenny's business — the Okada match — made perfect sense, but it was the execution of it that was next level. Omega initially being all, 'You again? I am wise to your tricks,' and Don, the mastermind, smirking back, 'Well, you didn't see this coming,' with Okada attacking him from behind — it was gripping stuff. Advertisement You don't see blood much in modern wrestling, and you sure as hell don't see someone choking on it like they're suffering horrific internal injuries. But that's what AEW showed us: Kenny Omega coughing and gasping, looking seriously, dangerously hurt. The visual alone was enough to jolt fans into silence. Don Callis is the most effective heel manager of this era. As multi-talented as Paul Heyman is, when it comes to lighting a fire of hatred in fans' guts, no one stokes that inferno quite like Don. (Of course, he has a great head start, being very, very, very unlikable in real life.) Fans were already excited for another Omega vs. Okada match. Now? There's a whole new emotional charge baked into it. It's personal, it's venomous, it's heart-wrenching — and that's exactly what wrestling should be at its best. I can't wait for their match at AEW All In next month. No one gets the reaction that Bill Goldberg got on "WWE Raw" this week without being a very special performer. I am not here to put over his work rate, but anyone who denies the man's 'it' factor doesn't understand charisma. Advertisement It's been 28 years (!) since Goldberg's legendary 'streak' in WCW … and the fans still believe in him. I worked with Bill back in 1997 at WCW's Power Plant in Atlanta. The Power Plant was a training facility decades ahead of its time and I got a nice check for going down there and basically taking bumps for Bill in the practice ring. In typical WCW fashion, though, I only worked out with Bill a few times and I got paid for two weeks of sitting around drinking coffee. Bill's athleticism — especially his raw power — was incredible. And he had that focus of a real athlete who knew he had a great opportunity in front of him. I'll echo Bret Hart, though, in saying I'm not sure Bill knew how to control his raw power. Advertisement I was supposed to be an early number opponent for Bill, maybe No. 15, I can't remember, and be part of his legendary streak. But I had to go back to Canada for business and the match didn't happen, which was too bad. As WCW began to inflate the streak, claiming it grew to 170-0 when the real number was closer to 120-0, I joked with Mike Tenay that I was one of the phantom 50 matches Goldberg was supposed to have had. Bill turns 59 later this year and all signs are his match in Atlanta against Gunther will be his last. Gunther will shoulder much of the load, but whatever they do, I know Bill will go out with a bang. Inflating the streak was a real WCW misstep. Even casual fans realized they were cooking the books. A genuine 80-0 works far better than a fake 100-0. Advertisement In TNA, Mike Tenay had the idea to replicate Goldberg's streak for Samoa Joe … and he made sure it was 100% accurate. Staying with WCW, I've heard great things about Marc Raimondi's book on the nWo. Entitled 'Say Hello To The Bad Guys,' it covers the legendary WCW faction and their massive impact on pop culture. There have been many attempts to replicate the magic of the nWo, but it is impossible. The shockwave of Hulk Hogan's 1996 heel turn is something that is never going to be replicated — just look at how much bigger it was than even John Cena's heel turn. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were so effortlessly, uniquely cool … the nWo formula will never be replicated. And then Eric Bischoff and team were innovating at a crazy place — backstage segments, fights in the parking lot, breaking the fourth wall. Wrestling had never seen anything like it and no one will ever forget it. Advertisement As Marc mentions at the start of the book, if you wear a nWo hoodie or t-shirt, you're likely to get a complete stranger throwing up the 'Wolfpac' hand sign at you. The nWo captured the imagination of a generation — and never let go. For those fans, nWo is truly FOR LIFE! Congrats to my friends Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson — the iconic tag-team known as the Good Brothers — who signed a deal with Hulu (!) to stream their Lariato pro-wrestling promotion. Check out the Good Brothers taking on the Bullet Club War Dogs above.
CTV News
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘We smashed it': Downtown Windsor block party kicks off summer season in style
A crowd seen gathered at downtown Windsor's Motown block party in Windsor, Ont. on June 14, 2025. (Source: Renaldo Agostino) Downtown Windsor was buzzing Saturday night as the first of several planned summer block parties took over Pitt Street. Hosted by the Downtown Windsor BIA, the kickoff event featured The Soul Delegation, who kept the crowd dancing in the streets for three solid hours with Motown classics, until the music wrapped up at 11 p.m. City Councillor Renaldo Agostino beamed at the turnout. He estimated to be about 1,000 people during the seven-hour event. 'I must have had 20 people come up to me and say they didn't feel like they were in downtown Windsor,' he told CTV News. 'You know what my response to them was? Remember that you are.' Agostino said the BIA hopes to host two or three block parties each month. The next one is set to bring a different kind of energy — Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling will take over the core with an event outside Lefty/'s. 'Scott [D'Amore, MLP president] is bringing in some heavy hitters on this one,' Agostino teased. Stay tuned.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The D'Amore Drop: WWE, AEW look the way they do in 2025 because of Sabu
The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D'Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D'Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. On Saturday night I went from the dizzying heights that you can only reach when months of hard work pay off, to the pits of depression that you can only find yourself in when someone you love suddenly dies. Advertisement I'll get to the amazing Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling event in Toronto, but first let me tell you about my friend, the legendary Sabu. None of the tributes to Sabu have come close to summing up Sabu, and I won't either. He is a mythical figure in an industry that creates and packages mythology. He was a force of nature, a swirling tornado of contradictions. Sabu was a man so tough-minded that he chased down the assailant who just shot him in the face and beat him half to death with the same gun. Sabu was also so kind-hearted he'd quietly pay for lunch for broke young wrestlers who were struggling to stay in the business. To me, Sabu was a teacher and dear friend. Advertisement I first saw Sabu the same way many fans in their 30s to 50s did — on a VHS tape I'd anxiously awaited in the mail. On that grainy, sputtering roll of red, purple and orange footage, I saw a performer unlike any the industry had ever seen — a man performing mind-blowing spots through an unholy combination of psychopathic bravery and inhuman toughness. A few years later, a friend of mine — Mad Max Anthony — said he was driving to Lansing, Michigan, to train with Sabu. I jumped in the car, excited but also kind of terrified about how this would go. The gym was in a three-story unit at the edge of town that had — as you could smell — spent much of its life as a car repair shop. Advertisement Sabu arrived, larger than life. He announced he'd forgotten his keys (we suspected he'd actually forgotten the rent), and before we could say a word, he began scaling the building until he reached an open window on the third floor. Again, I was astonished that this task was accomplished with sheer toughness and insanity, rather than any cat-like athleticism. Within an hour of warming up, Sabu pointed at me, a petrified kid who'd barely found the stones to say hi thus far, and told me to do a top rope Frankensteiner. I'd never even tried a Frankensteiner before, much less one off the top rope, but I was more intimidated by Sabu than the thought of landing on my skull. I did it — or something very like it — and Sabu said: 'Good job, Steve.' 'Thank you,' I managed to squeak, 'but my ... my name's Scott.' Advertisement Sabu fixed his eyes on mine and said: 'Eff you! You don't deserve your own name!' For the next year, I answered to 'Steve.' But along the way, Sabu would show his appreciation of my hard work in other ways. When he figured out I was broke, he began buying my lunch every day. Then one day Sabu said something like, 'Hey, Scott.' No ceremony, no apology, no fanfare at all — I'd somehow crossed an invisible border and entered a place where I had Sabu's respect. I've cried this week because I lost the first person in this business who ever believed in me. Sabu fought for me when no one else would. He got me bookings in places where I had no business being on the card, and he insisted on working with me. I wrestled Sabu — a living legend — perhaps 100 times. And every single one of them was like going through a bar fight. Advertisement Sabu pushed me, challenged me, and yeah, sometimes berated me — but he made me better. In one match — I forget exactly where we were — he kept telling me to hit him harder. I did. He said, 'No, not like that — harder!' And I lumped him so hard, it busted his mouth open. Backstage, I apologized. I was horrified I'd torn his lip up. Sabu literally laughed at me for saying sorry. That was Sabu. There will never be another like him. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images) (WWE via Getty Images) He wasn't afraid to tell you to get lost, but he wasn't afraid to have your back either. I saw it firsthand. One night at a TNN taping, I found out Sabu and Paul Heyman were arguing. Paul wanted us to go four minutes. Sabu told him we were going 20. Paul said no one knew who I was. Advertisement Sabu's reply? 'After he goes 20 with me, they will.' That match has never seen the light of day — it wasn't what Paul wanted. But Sabu didn't care. He loved this business too much. He fought for what he believed in, even when it hurt him. I was honored to bring him to TNA Wrestling, first at the Nashville Fairgrounds, later in Orlando. It was my small way of giving him something back. I don't know if he ever got the flowers or the money he deserved, but I do know this — every high flyer, every daredevil, every hardcore legend owes something to Sabu. Whether it is WWE, AEW, Maple Leaf, TNA, or the local indie that sells tickets to family and friends — pro wrestling in 2025 looks the way it does because of Sabu. Advertisement And now, every time I point that finger to the sky, it's not just for Sabu, but for Super Genie too. I hope they're up there, together, pain-free, finally at peace. John Cena defended his title for the first time at WWE Backlash. (Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images) (WWE via Getty Images) The levels of character complexity John Cena is giving us this year is something to behold. Now he's added even more layers — regret for turning on the fans and for the way he's cheated to beat both Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton at WWE Backlash last weekend. This final year of Cena's career will be remembered for decades to come. We are watching a master at work. I saw a few takes on Gunther vs. Pat McAfee that said, 'What was the point?' Advertisement Well, Gunther got to beat a big name, was booked like a monster, and was kept red-hot for his World Title rematch vs. Jey Uso at WWE Money In The Back. Meanwhile, Pat (and Michael Cole, to a degree) were also put over as babyfaces. Pat was the tough guy who took a beating and, like Rocky in the first movie, went in and fought without any realistic chance of actually winning because he's a proud man. Not every match should be 50/50. Some can be 80/20, like Gunther vs. Pat, and still accomplish so much. AEW continues to know the magic recipe for sprinkling in guest appearances from past stars. From Rhino blowing the roof off the Masonic Temple with his surprise appearance to Zach Gowen having a very entertaining performance against Ricochet this week. Both guys — with the help of great placement by AEW — turned back the hands of time and looked great. Shout out to Ricochet for coming out of nowhere and being a tremendous heel. Advertisement He is at his all-time best right now and I am loving his work. Before I got the news about Sabu, I was riding high on the success of Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling's best event yet — a 2,500-person sellout at Maple Leaf Gardens for Northern Rising. I tried not to, but from the second we went on sale, I had a Ticketmaster browser open day and night, and kept refreshing over and over to see how many tickets — if any — had been sold in the previous few minutes. It is torture. But, we did sell out, and the pay-per-view did well on FITE too. More than that, we took a major step in reestablishing Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling as once again a major player in the sport. Advertisement It was magical to bring wrestling back to the Mecca of Canadian wrestling, the Maple Leaf Gardens. It might be the Mattamy Athletic Center now, and have a grocery store on the ground floor and a gym and basketball court on the second floor … but when you get out on the third floor, that magnificent white domed roof looks exactly the same as it did when Andre The Giant, Harley Race and Ric Flair tangled ... you can feel the echoes of The Greats, just like when you visit Madison Square Garden in New York. But a packed house means nothing if the show doesn't deliver. And brother, did we deliver. We honored our past, with an alumni section so big we had to split it into two — over 70 legends and families. We honored the Tunneys, with a video package by the legendary Kevin Sullivan (the branding genius, not the Taskmaster). Jackie Tunney accepted on behalf of her family. It was emotional. It was right. And the matches? Outstanding! Advertisement We had it all — Josh Alexander, Speedball Bailey, Sheldon Jean—standing shoulder to shoulder with stars from AEW, New Japan, NWA and TNA. Zack Sabre Jr. and Jonathan Gresham delivered a clinic. Serena Deeb and Miyu Yamashita tore the house down. Then the Gauntlet for the Gold. Twenty men. Royal Rumble style. Came down to the villain, Matt Cardona, against our Canadian hero, Josh Alexander. And as it should be, Josh hit the C4 Spike, won the match, and hoisted the Canadian Championship. A Canadian hero, hand in hand with the legendary Angelo Mosca Jr. and that original NWA Canadian title belt. That's history. And we ain't done. July 5th, Laval, QC — we're back for Maple Leaf Pro: Resurrection. Dan Maff made his statement, torching PCO, with Jimmy Jacobs by his side. Might be time for PCO to bring Destro to even the odds… So yeah, I'm proud. I'm tired. But I'm fired up. This was a special night. And the best is yet to come.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
The long-awaited return of Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling
Social Sharing Maple Leaf Wrestling was a major and historic player in Canada's pro wrestling industry for over half a century, until it folded in the '80s. Recently, the brand was bought and renamed Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, and this Saturday marks the return of the franchise to its original home base, the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto (formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens). Today on Commotion, guest host Ali Hassan speaks with wrestling fan Sarah Kurchak about the history of the Maple Leaf wrestling brand, and what its return might signal for the future of wrestling in Canada. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube (this segment begins at 11:00):
