With more than 17,000 live events in the past century plus, and thousands of wrestlers appearing in this part of the world, it's no surprise that there is a TON of notable events in Canadian wrestling. Here's a sampling for the week of February 1-7th, a week in western Canadian wrestling history:
FEBRUARY 2:
1959 - Lethbridge, AB: A heated tag team match pitting Maurice (Mad Dog) Vachon & Paul (Butcher) Vachon against George & Sandy Scott is abruptly halted when the top rope snaps. These two teams battled across the Stampede territory, with the Vachons later upsetting the Scotts for the International tag team titles in a Regina match.
1966 - Saskatoon, SK: A Stampede card features Stu Hart wrestling to a draw with future WWE Hall of Famer (and father of wrestler/movie star Duane "The Rock" Johnson), Rocky Johnson.
1989 - Winnipeg, MB: In the American Wrestling Association's final appearance in Winnipeg, Larry Zbyszko defends the AWA world title against Greg Gagne. The main event for the card pitted Wahoo McDaniel against Manny Fernandez in a cage match, with Verne Gagne as the guest referee.
2001 - Vancouver, BC: Chris Jericho, recognized as the first "Unified" (WWE/WCW) World champion successfully defends his title in a match against Triple H, losing the bout by disqualification.
FEBRUARY 3:
1933 - Vancouver, BC: Vancouver firefighter Jack Forsgren defeated Saskatoon's Jack Taylor. This bout was historically significant as both Forsgren and Taylor were hailed as the Canadian champion in different parts of the country. Taylor had been acknowledged as Canadian champion for the better part of the decade leading up to this match in the prairie provinces, while Forsgren had won a tournament on the Pacific Coast for the same honors. Taylor lost his version of the Canadian title a short time later to Earl McCready in a Calgary bout.
1961 - Chilliwack, BC: One of the biggest stars of the television era of wrestling in the 1950's, Gorgeous George appears on a card at the Agricultural Hall, besting Danno McDonald.
1953 - Winnipeg, MB: Running opposition to the established promoter Alex Turk, and protesting a ban against himself by the Manitoba Boxing and Wrestling Commission from competing in the ring, Winnipeg wrestler Steve Kozak promotes a four match card at the Winnipeg Auditorium. The card is poorly attended.
1977 - Winnipeg, MB: On an American Wrestling Association card, Canadian Moose Morowski scores an upset victory over future WWE World champion, the Iron Sheik.
1982 - Winnipeg, MB: Chris Pepper & Big Daddy Splash defeated the Golden Messiah (uncle of current wrestling superstar Kenny Omega) & Dave Petro to win the New Brand Wrestling tag team titles.
2007 - Edmonton, AB: Steve Rivers wins a handicap match against Camikazee & Eclipse to win the Monster Pro Wrestling tag team titles.
FEBRUARY 4:
1904 - Vancouver, BC: On a card held at the Vancouver Opera House, Two Feathers defeats Duncan MacMillan and John Berg in a handicap match. MacMillan, was actually Vancouver's first regular wrestling promoter at the turn of the century and was the promoter for this match.
1990 - Florida: One of Canada's greatest all time fan favorites, "Whipper" Billy Watson dies at the age of 74.
2000 - Calgary, AB: Johnny Devine & Greg Pawluk defeated Dick Raines (aka Duke Durrango) & Tiger Khan to win the vacant Stampede International tag team titles.
FEBRUARY 5:
1935 - Regina, SK: To combat failing attendances, the Olympic wrestling club (an amateur club) holds matches between amateur grapplers contested under "pro rules". One local reporter later wrote that wrestling should look at innovations like this to save the dying sport.
FEBRUARY 6:
1968 - Chilliwack, BC: The main event of a card at the Evergreen Hall features a Sudanese strap match between Abdullah the Butcher and Rocky Johnson.
1997 - Kansas City, KS: Legendary Canadian wrestler, and one of the greatest villains to ever grace the ring, "Bulldog" Bob Brown dies of a heart attack.
2004 - New Westminster, BC: In a match which pitted old school wrestling vs. hardcore, Vance Nevada defeated Michelle Starr in a match at the Carpenter's Hall which included a melee in the street. During the match, the crowd erupted in a "holy shit" chant in response to a headlock takedown. Headlocks ARE Hardcore!
FEBRUARY 7:
1936 - Vancouver, BC: Promoter George Fitch presents a card featuring a rare appearance by pioneering world champion, Ed "Strangler" Lewis.
1948 - Victoria, BC: The feature bout on a card promoted by Victoria wrestler/promoter Rocky Brooks sees veteran journeyman Tuffy Truesdale wrestling an alligator.
A thorough history of wrestling in western Canada is covered in the upcoming book "WRESTLING IN THE CANADIAN WEST" slated for release this spring.
Vance Nevada