Canadian Wrestling’s Elite returns to Prince Albert on Thursday with a packed card full of local and international talent.
The featured guest is former Impact Champion Tessa Blanchard, but the organizers also added Ring of Honor Legend “Zombie Princess” Jimmy Jacobs to an already full event. Jacobs is no stranger to the promotion, having worked with CWE many times.
“I have done tours for (owner) Danny (Warren) since 2010, anytime I wasn’t working for WWE,” Jacobs said.
“Other than that, I have been coming up here for Danny for that entire time on and off. Whenever he can have me I have loved to do it.”
Jacobs said he always enjoys touring with independent promotions.
“If I could do this for a living I would. I mean, there’s nothing I like more than (being) in the car right now, the three of us, we’ve got bags crammed in the cars on the road, talking about the rest of the things I’ve been talking about. Life, things that, and performing and breaking and doing it all again the next day. It’s what I live for,” Jacobs said during a phone call from Manitoba last week.
Jacobs place on the card was recently announced. He said it was a last-minute invitation. When he was invited, he couldn’t wait to join the tour.
“Dan is a buddy of mine. (We) worked something out for me to come up to the last minute,” he said.
Jacobs was supposed to wrestle in Prince Albert back in 2020, but that tour was cancelled due to COVID-19. Jacobs said he’s eager to wrestle in Prince Albert ever since.
“I’ve been itching to come back. Last time I was up there was that this whole tour, the autumn tour, 2019. We did like 30 days off around Canada, and I didn’t come back,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs broke into the business because his older brother found a local wrestling school in Michigan. He wanted to check it out, and began tagging along with his brother.
He would hang around promotions, doing whatever odd jobs the local indies needed.
“Then, in early 1998 to early 1999, they needed a referee because one of the referees was going to be there and I did that,” Jacobs explained. “Then I just slowly started, you know, putting my toe in the door of the wrestling business and that was a 24 years ago.”
After working in Michigan, he started working for International Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South in 2000 to 2003. The independent was big with tape traders around that time and had smart fans.
“The smart wrestling fans, you know, that’s what you had to do back in back in those days, back in that era with tape trading. Getting hooked up to be in-person at the end of 2002, I was 18- years old, I just graduated high school, and I was just I was hustling,” Jacobs said.
When he was in IWA Mid-South he developed a good relationship with owner Ian Rotten because he was able to work anytime he was needed. He did a show on Thanksgiving 2002 and started working regularly after a couple months later, pairing with Alex Shelley, and anyone else from Michigan who would get in the car and make the trip.
“We’d drive the six hours down to the southernmost part of Indiana and we’d work at that” Jacobs said.
“That’s how Shelley and I really got paired up and started making a name for ourselves. That later leads to things like Ring of Honor.”
Jacobs stayed with Ring of Honor for the rest of his career. He was a regular with the promotion from 2003 until 2015. He returned to ROH in 2017.
“I spent a lot of time there,” he said. “It was certainly, especially in those early days in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, a hot era of Ring of Honor. We had a rabid fan base, and it really filled a void. When ECW closed in 2001 Ring of Honor filled the void, but in a completely different fashion, where this is a place for the smart fans to see new up-and-coming talent guys, but it wasn’t hardcore.”
His time in Ring of Honor made Jacobs a more proficient technical wrestler and helped him find his identity with storytelling.
“That’s what really what’s helped solidify my name,” he said.
After leaving ROH in 2015 Jacobs took a job backstage at WWE and got to know the creative side more.
“I always had a proclivity and an aptitude for the creative aspect—wrestling for the storytelling and the psychology and just understanding what pro wrestling is from that perspective,” he said. “That was an intuitive ability.”
Jacobs become known on the independent circuit for his creative mind.He would have a hand in the booking and collaborating on a lot of matches in the Independents, and later collaborating with Gene Sapolsky at Ring of Honor.
“I had grown that reputation throughout the years,” Jacob said.
“When I had made the choice to go from in front of the camera to behind the camera to get a job and to be on the creative team, I had a lot of support from people who I knew throughout the years that believed in me and knew my creative capability would be an asset,” he added.
The card on May 11 includes a Special Attraction Match Former IMPACT! Wrestling World Champion Tessa Blanchard against Riea Von Slasher, a CWE Championship Match with CWE Champion “The Zombie Killer” MENTALLO against CWE Champion “Hotshot” Danny Duggan. Jacobs will be facing Tony Novak in a Junior Heavyweight Division Match. “The Human Terminator” Marcellus Prime faces 2023 King of Transcona “The Real Deal” James Roth. “Country Boy Killer” Mike Miller faces “The Headline” Shaun Martens and Adrien “Bam Bam” Burton faces Canadian Wrestling Legend EZ Ryder.
The VIP/Meet & Greet is at 6 p.m., doors open 6:30 p.m. and Bell time is 7 p.m.
Tickets: VIP First Priority Access & Meet & Greet $28, General Admission $23 in advance, $26 at the door
Advance Tickets Available at: Colette Portamedic Services (#3-496 Marquis Rd.) Tickets are also available online at cwetickets.com.
The event will be held at the Carlton Park Community Club on Thursday.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca