THUNDER BAY – Beginning in Sault Ste. Marie and ending in Dryden, independent professional wrestling promotion Canadian Wrestling Elite (CWE) had another successful run of entertainment and athleticism.
With a stacked card of familiar faces such as "Hotshot" Danny Duggan, "The Headline” Shaun Martens and the current CWE Champion "The Zombie Killer" MENTALLO, people of all ages shared in the electrifying excitement and high-flying athletics of pro-wrestling.
When asked how the tour went overall, CWE promoter Danny Warren said: “Overwhelming. It went fantastic. It exceeded expectations. We did some great business in a lot of markets and we kickstarted some new ones. We are very excited about what's to come in 2024. We're going to keep on expanding and growing Ontario as we move forward.”
When Newswatch caught up with Warren in early December 2023, he said the CWE wanted to open up new markets in Northwestern Ontario because of the reception from audiences in such places as Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. This shows that professional wrestling in Northern Ontario is being recognized as a valid form of entertainment.
During the tour, CWE got to entertain Manitoulin Island for the first time and a return to Dryden after 14 years, which Warren said shows those events were a huge success.
However, starting in a new market has its growing pains. A lot of what professional wrestling is all about is working the crowd. Wrestlers need to tell a narrative of these larger-than-life characters battling it out for supremacy.
In wrestling terms, the Babyface, who is often the good guy, and the Heel, who is often the bad guy, need to establish who is who as soon as they walk out from behind the curtain.
If the wrestlers perform well, the crowd is their gauge. The cheers, boos, and gasps add to the show as the wrestlers perform. For those markets that are not familiar with the pageantry, the wrestler will have to work harder to win the crowd.
“That's something we discussed beforehand, before we went out. We talked to the wrestlers and, hey, this is the first time in 14 years. So they might need to be re-educated on pro wrestling. But they were electric from beginning to end. They were a very fun, lively crowd and we've already had our inboxes pouring in with messages from people asking when we're returning, which is great to see,” Warren said.
When asked what sort of tactic wrestlers employ to get a reaction from the crowd, Warren explained that there is no simple answer.
“Oh, that's a wide-open answer. There isn't one set answer for that. If you're good at this job and you're good at what you do, you go out and you feel that audience, you feel that energy in the room and you give the people what they want. You play a little bit and if they're not buying something, you give them something else.
“You know, so it's just a matter of connecting with your audience and seeing what they're excited about and what they're not excited about on a nightly basis. That's every crowd. That the magic of pro wrestling and the guys that are great at doing it, every crowd's going to be different, you have to be able to adjust,” Warren said.
The 15th-anniversary tour showcased two special matches.
The first saw two female wrestlers duke it out in the squared circle in five years.
Zondra Lee and Khaos put on a phenomenal match, which exhibited brute strength of Khaos and the agility of Zondra Lee.
With the rising popularity of women's wrestling, TBNewswatch asked Warren if they find it hard to acquire female talents to go on tour.
With the amount of dates we do, we're flooded with talent that's looking to come up here," Warren said.
"It's just more so a matter of what is economical to do in terms of travel and things of that nature. With the high overhead, there are these days, it's been a long time since we've had women on a tour in Ontario. And, that's more so just because the region doesn't have many women wrestlers whatsoever.”
He said both of those women started in the last year or two.
"They're just kind of getting their feet wet and getting their experience. They reached out and we're looking for opportunities to get on the road to be pro wrestlers. We were able to provide that format for them. But unfortunately, percentage-wise, there are a lot more men than there are women."
The second special match was the special attraction match which saw WWE, WCW, and ECW alumni 2 Cold Scorpio dust off his ring gear to perform.
Warren said, “he loved the tour. He didn't care for the cold weather as it progressed. I tell you that. But, at 58 years old and have been doing this for 36 years, it was incredible we had him for six days and you never know what you're going to get with guys who've been doing it that long. Because that’s the nature of the beast of what you do. Your body starts to break down. That's just the physical reality of pro wrestling.”
“We were watching him on night one and I was blown away at the acrobatics and the athleticism that was still on display because it was more impressive than some guy’s half his age and even younger. That's a credit to his ability and his talent because he was somebody who was not going to call it in like you'll get sometimes, unfortunately. He went in and he went full tilt and left a positive impression in every market he went to,” Warren added.
Warren said the CWE plans to return to Northwestern Ontario in the spring.
