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In the unique universe of professional wrestling, nothing ever goes as planned.
Border City Wrestling presented Can-Am Rising in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on Feb 8 at the Giovanni Caboto Club with an advertised main event involving the BCW heavyweight champion, Phil Atlas.
Unfortunately, Atlas injured himself at a previous show and was unable to compete. Former heavyweight champion Tyson Dux proclaimed he should be given the title since Atlas was unable to defend it.
Enter Jerry Lynn.
Lynn, a 25-year-veteran of the wrestling circuit, was making one of his final rounds in the business by appearing at Can-Am Rising. At the suggestion of BCW owner Scott D’Amore, Lynn would defend the BCW heavyweight championship for Phil Atlas against Dux in the main event.
“For this one, you can throw preparation out the window,” said Tyson Moody, promoter of Can Am Rising. “I’m blessed with an amazing staff. When things are falling apart with wrestlers cancelling or taking other bookings, you end up changing the card several times. As frustrating as it is, my staff was right behind me to the last minute.”
“We dug in our heels and made it happen.”
Missing out on Atlas wasn’t the only issue for the BCW affiliate. Due to the snowstorms in the Greater Toronto Area, some of the roster was unable to make it for the event. Luckily, talent from just across the border in Michigan was able to fill in the empty spots on the card. Michigan wrestlers “Big Bear” Benjamin Boone and Kid Hybrid made their debuts in Windsor with Boone losing to Caleb Stills and Hybrid picking up a win over John Greed.
Mike Legacy was able to get some retribution from the last show by defeating BCW alumni Jamie D. Leah Von Dutch defeated the biting machete wielder “AK-47” Allysin Kay in a women’s wrestling bout.
With a 25-year veteran and a 16-year veteran in the main event, it was only fitting that the future of Can-Am Rising nearly stole the show as Abe “Action” Jackson and Aiden Prince defeated “Lawless” Bryan Sullivan and their co-trainer at the Can-Am Wrestling School John E. Bravo. Prince was able to gain some revenge for the debut show in August by pinning Bravo for the win. The high-flying acrobatics of Prince and Jackson endeared the crowd with some of the loudest reactions.
Lynn and Dux turned the clocks back in the main event. With over 40 years of in ring experience combined, Lynn and Dux played it fast and smart in the ring. Quick transitions and hard shots abound. Dux’s obsession with becoming BCW heavyweight champion again was his undoing as he kicked Atlas in the face and stole his steel chair to smash Lynn with it, only to be stopped by Atlas from behind. Dux attempted to finish the match with Lynn’s signature cradle piledriver, only to be reversed by Lynn into a jackknife pin for the three count for the win.
But for Lynn, professional wrestling is already in his rear view mirror. With only a hand full of matches to go before his retirement match in Minnesota, Lynn is already looking forward to life outside of the ring. “I’m working in the same warehouse my wife works,” Lynn said before his match. “It will be the first time in 20 years I’ve worked with medical benefits.” Lynn stayed humble throughout the entire show. No private locker room, no entourage, no gimmicks.
Lynn endeared himself to an audience that featured a lot of children who did not know who he was by revealing his biological parents were Canadian. Telling them at the end of the match wasn’t necessary because Lynn proved even at 49 he was still one of the most underrated wrestlers of the last quarter century. For young superstars like Prince and Jackson, and even BCW heavyweight champion Atlas, Lynn blazed the trail that they will walk as they pursue professional wrestling careers.
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