DRYDEN — For the last 15 years, Canadian Wrestling's Elite has been touring from venue to venue across Canada to give wrestling fans of all ages a ring-side spectacle of athleticism and entertainment.
To kick off their 15th anniversary, general manager Danny Warren has announced a series of six events in six nights, which includes a stop in Thunder Bay on Jan. 6, 2024 and ends the next night in Dryden on Jan. 7, 2024.
The Winnipeg-based company has made a big name for itself before the pandemic, which interrupted their momentum and caused the company to reverse their tours to shorter dates in different provinces.
CWE will bring their locker room of stars to large venues in Thunder Bay, Sudbury, and Sault Ste. Marie and then move on to Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta markets. But Warren would like to ensure that every community between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay and beyond gets a chance to see the action.
“Canadian wrestling is something that's very well received across the entire country. People love coming to live professional wrestling. It’s something for people of all ages from children to grandparents and everybody in between,” said Warren
“So, it’s good, especially when we're coming into smaller markets because some larger brands such as WWE and AEW come to some of the major cities. But, if you're not in one of those directly, sometimes it's not always economical to get out to them. With CWE, we're going to the big cities, but we're also stopping at all the small towns in between.”
Although there is a wealth of talent within the CWE locker room, the company often signs well-known free-agent celebrities to accompany them on their tours. Throughout 2023, wrestling legends like WWE’s Eric Rowan, Ultimo Dragon, and The Mountie joined the promotion as headliners to provide an extra allure to the event card. The 15 Anniversary Tour will see WWE, WCW, ECW, and international wrestling legend 2 Cold Scorpio as the headliner.
Having celebrity headliners benefits the organization in many ways. Not only do they add that star attraction, Warren said the amount of knowledge sharing is worth championship gold.
“It's a positive experience and it's really helped our brand in multiple ways. We're going into some of these having that celebrity attached to the brand brings immediate awareness and credibility to casual wrestling fans. So, it's really kind of broadened the horizons and gotten us media that otherwise might not be possible just being a local wrestling organization,” said Warren.
“It brings out new fans and then on top of it, especially over the last 15 years, I think we are well over 100 now for there to be or TV type headliners that have come in and headline our events, just the amount of knowledge that has been passed on to me as a general manager, and specifically to our locker room that's allowed them to grow and become wrestlers on another level that might not be possible has been just invaluable. So, it's something that's really been beneficial across the board for the fans and for the organization and the wrestlers continue to try to progress.”
His passion for bringing professional wrestling to those markets that otherwise are restricted to travelling to big cities or experiencing the squared circle on television is predominantly the reason why Warren has decided to promote CWE in Dryden.
However, with Warren's excitement, he also feels nervous. In 2010, one year after starting CWE in Winnipeg, Warren tried to bring the promotion to the smaller venues of Northwestern Ontario. He said that during those earlier years, CWE went to Dryden, Fort Frances, and Sioux Lookout but could not find any traction.
“I don't know if we didn't have the right foot on the ground or so the right feet on the ground or if we just can have the right advertising pitch at the time but we were really struggling to get wrestling to, to take off in those market,” said Warren.
After 14 years, Warren is seeing an interest in professional wrestling in the region, particularly in Thunder Bay, where Warren claims has some of the biggest crowds he has ever seen. It is this kind of interest that has convinced him to try again.
“With us continuing to grow in Ontario, we figured let's give it another try. It's on the way. We're going from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay and out east and then we're coming back finishing the Thunder Bay going back to Winnipeg. So, we're doing that drive. It's been long enough. Let's see if the market reset itself and if some eager fans are willing to support the product hopefully, we can put it back on the schedule,” said Warren.
“If you're a person in Dryden or the surrounding area and you're into professional wrestling or you're not sure if it's something for you come on down and give it one try. I promise we'll get you back in that door. Every time we come through town professional wrestling is a live entertainment experience like no other. If we get in that door just once, even if you don't become a WWE fan or an AEW fan, I'm positive we'll turn you into a CWE fan and it's something we can bring back to the community regularly for everyone to enjoy.”
