An Alberta promotion is bringing old-school wrestling with a new-school feel to Okotoks this week.
Calgary-based CanAm Wrestling slams into Big Rock Country for a Jan. 27 show at the Foothills Centennial Centre with the goal of building a new generation of professional wrestling fans one event at a time.
“When we started this, it was a 20-year dream of mine just to have a school,” said Otto Gentile, CanAm Wrestling Chief Executive Officer. “And from the school we started partnering up with different promotions and the kids got on my back and said, ‘Come on coach, why don’t you bring CanAm back? Then we can work just for you.’
“I thought, ‘Why not?’ so we brought CanAm Wrestling back.”
The CanAm promotion dates back to 1996, originally out of the CanAm arena which later became the Back Alley Nightclub in southwest Calgary.
It’s once again the home of the promotion with future stars on the map developed at the Alberta Wrestling Academy, with legendary wrestling figure Bruce Hart serving as head coach.
“What we do is train our own wrestlers to become superstars in the CanAm Wrestling that we offer now,” Gentile said. “We have two rings, an 18-foot ring and 16-foot ring that we train people in and then once they’ve graduate from trainee to wrestler then we take them on the road with us.”
Currently, the promotion is putting on seven to eight show per month in southern Alberta with stops in Calgary, Airdrie, Strathmore and Medicine Hat.
“We started slowly because we weren’t sure what was going to work,” Gentile said. “We’re in a pandemic so that makes it a little more tough with all the mandates we have to follow, but we have to follow them otherwise we can’t perform.
“So we’re doing everything by the book and everything’s costing a bit more due to the pandemic, but one day at a time, we’ll build it up and one brick at a time we’ll make another building that people can come and enjoy the old school wrestling with a new school feel.”
The CanAm crew often sees top performers brought in, with the cast including former WWE superstars the Bollywood Boys last month.
The Okotoks show will feature ‘The Walking Weapon’ Josh Alexander, former IMPACT world champion and x-division champion, along with CanAm world heavyweight champions ‘The Cheetahbear’, world junior heavyweight champion ‘Mentallo’, CanAm women’s world champion ‘Kat Von Heez’ and ASW Women’s World Champion ‘Angelica’.
“We’ve got the stars from all over Canada, guys that have been wrestling 30-years plus,” Gentile said. “A lot of these guys have great credentials, a lot of them have been international superstars and they’re working for us and we’re just trying to make it grow in Okotoks itself.
“We’re having fun doing it because we’re not just a promotion that puts on wrestling matches, we’re a promotion that tells stories.”
CanAm documents its stories online so wrestling enthusiasts can keep up-to-date on their favourite heroes and heels and get more invested in the character arcs.
“It’s kind of neat to see the fan-base we’re reaching,” Gentile said. “And it’s starting to grow through the stories we’re telling.”
Michael Pete, CanAm Chief Operating Officer, described the product as ‘Old School Stampede Wrestling with new people.’
“We have CanAm originals that were there when it first started and now we’re bringing a new generation of stars out of CanAm,” he said.
CanAm had an Okotoks show in early-December, amid inclement weather, and is expecting to see larger crowds with more and more shows in southern Alberta and the wrestling community growing.
“The venue is incredible, the Foothills,” Gentile said. “The staff there has been treating us almost like we’re family and we really want to make this a good event.”
Tickets for the show are $30 for ringside/VIP, $25 for door tickets, $20 for general admission and $10 for youth aged five to 15. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the show kicking off an hour later.
“What are people going to get? They’re going see incredible artistry in the ring in the moves these guys can do, they’re going to see hard-hitting action and comedy,” Gentile said. “You’re going to get a full-package entertainment deal from start to finish, where we tell you a story from the start of the show to the end of the show.”
Go to showpass.com and search CanAm Wrestling or call 403-369-3677 for more information.
