Live professional wrestling is back in Saskatchewan and Prince Albert for the first time in almost two years as Canadian Wrestling’s Elite (CWE) returns on Wednesday at Carlton Park Community Club.
The CWE 12th Anniversary Spectacular tour will open their Saskatchewan leg after returning to the road in Alberta.
CWE President Danny Warren explained that it was a grind to return to the road after so many months off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Physically it is quite painful because after all of that time off the body is getting used to normal life so it has been a bit of an adjustment to being on the road and beating the body up every day. But mentally and from a business standpoint it has been absolutely fantastic,” Warren said.
He said that they completed their first tour of Alberta almost two weeks ago and it was a success.
“We were a little unsure how things were going to be post pandemic and if people were going to be reluctant to get out and see live pro wrestling but those buildings were packed full and people couldn’t be more excited. So we are really hopeful that same excitement carries over to Saskatchewan this week,” Warren said.
“We didn’t know whether this was going to go one way or the other, if people were going to be excited to get out and do things again or there was going to be a little bit of hesitancy to see how things played out the first little while. But just like the wrestlers and the company ourselves people were just excited to be back at it and enjoy some normalcy again,” he added.
Before the pandemic in 2020 CWE absorbed High Impact Wrestling based out of Regina.
“They were closing up shop so we got to absorb their roster and we agreed to take over their schedule. Not only being a Winnipeg based company who were going to be running our weekly events here in Manitoba, we were going to be taking on running monthly events in Saskatchewan,” Warren said.
They had done that in January and February 2020.
“Saskatchewan was about to be one of the most busiest places for pro wrestling in all of Canada before everything closed down. So we are excited to pick back up where we left off and get that going again,” Warren said.
Warren explained that Saskatchewan was hosting more live events before they added the HIW dates and roster.
“It was very quickly becoming a Canadian wrestling hotspot and one of our biggest places of support so we are really hopeful we can get those fans back in the building and get people excited about pro wrestling the same way we did before everything closed down,” he said.
Warren said that the talent is excited to return to the road in Saskatchewan in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina and Weyburn this week.
“We have got four action packed cards coming throughout Saskatchewan, Prince Albert is getting the first one on Wednesday and that includes a no disqualification match main event,” Warren said.
That main event was featured on the Alberta leg and Warren said it is something people have not seen before as CWE Champion “Hotshot” Danny Duggan faces CWE Icon International Lucha Libre Superstar “The Zombie Killer” Mentallo.
Another contest will see the HIW vs. CWE Grudge Match as HIW Legend “The Canadian Rottweiler” KASH goes against CWE Tag Team Champion “The Canadian Crusher” AJ Sanchez. The tag team match features Mike Fever and Levi Night vs. HIW Alumni Dice Steele and The Big Chief.
Jacob Creed, who was originally scheduled to face Fil Deadly has been replaced by EZ Ryder. There is also a battle of the Tylers in a Junior Heavyweight Division Match where Tyler Adams faces Tyler James of The Degenerates.
”As well as a good mix and blend of the Canadian Wrestling Elite Alberta and Manitoba talent coming together with that High Impact Wrestling talent that have merged with the company. So you are going to get a melting pot of all prairie wrestling on one card, something that you can’t see anywhere else and it is going to be a night of entertainment you don’t want to miss,” Warren said.
The show is on Wednesday at Carlton Park Community Club, located at 3100 Dunn Dr. The VIP/Meet & Greet is at 6 p.m., doors open at 6:30 p.m. and bell time is 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $25 for VIP access, general admission $20 in advance and $23 at the door.
Advance tickets are available at Dr. Java’s Coffee House and you can also purchase tickets online at cwetickets.com.
Warren thanked the fans for their patience during the pandemic and how they adapted to whatever the promotion did from livestreams to Internet television and pay per views.
“ Our fans specifically in Saskatchewan have stood by us and they have supported us and the company. They have supported the wrestlers purchasing merchandise and being interactive online and just keeping Canadian Wrestling’s Elite and Canadian wrestling visible. So I want to say thank you for that and we are excited to pay it back and come back and bring wrestling into your lives again,” Warren said.
