Toronto’s Smash Wrestling has become Canada’s premier indie promotion, through hard work, fan interaction, and the combination of cutting edge international talent and emerging (and established) local and Canadian indie stars. One thing Smash has been a leader in is the use of women’s wrestling as a feature rather than a novelty, going back to their very show, which saw Vanessa Kraven defeat Leah Von Dutch. The CANUSA Classic is an all-women’s event that has been around since 2013, that pitted the top indie talent from the USA vs Canada in a top tier women’s battle. This Saturday, the 2018 edition returns with two stacked rosters and a card that features some absolute classics. If you’re in the London, Ontario area, it’s a great way to kick off an amazing weekend for women’s wrestling, including Women’s Wrestling Revolution (WWR, Beyond Wresting‘s sister promotion) and WWE Evolution. Here’s a look at the card.
Violet Lee Open Challenge
Violet Lee isn’t well known but she will be. A student of Tyson Dux‘s new wrestling school in London, Ontario, this new wrestler is looking to make her statement now. She’s opening the show with a dark match, where she’ll to an Open Challenge to any wrestler who will answer the call, so it will be interesting to see who answers.
Nevaeh (USA) vs. Jody Threat (Canada)
Nevaeh is part of the Ohio Is For Killers stable, where she runs alongside her husband Jake Crist, as well as Sami Callihan, Dave Crist and Jessicka Havok. A 13-year veteran of the likes of SHIMMER (where she won tag titles with Madison Rayne), Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) and Rockstar Pro, she’ll be taking on a new face emerging on the Canadian indie scene in hard hitting Jody Threat. Threat will be looking to make a name for herself as one of the young stars of the Canadian squad, and taking out a veteran like Neveah will go a long way for her confidence.
Veda Scott (USA) vs. Xandra Bale (Canada)
Former Ring of Honor star Veda Scott has spent the past year or so working mostly in Europe, but she’s still got time to come back and lay the smackdown in North America when needed. She’s facing a tough Canadian veteran of the indie scene in Xandra Bale, who has competed for SHIMMER and Shine amongst others.
Allysin Kay (USA) vs. Cat Power (Canada)
The Pugilist Formerly Known as Sienna, Allysin Kay is back to her old nom de pummel and the former 2x IMPACT Knockouts Champion is gaining momentum. She recently competed in the WWE Mae Young Classic and recently won her first Shine Championship. But her opponent is no slouch either – Cat Power is a regular on Canada’s West Coast with Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) where she’s a 2x ECCW Women’s Champion, as well as the US Pacific Northwest, working with 3-2-1 Battle and DEFY Wrestling. Trained by Scott D’Amore at the Can-Am Wrestling School, she also spent time in Japan with Diana, Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling Project (JWP), Stardom and REINA.
Jessicka Havok (USA) vs. Nicole Matthews (Canada)
Solid match up featuring two veterans of both sides of the border. Jessicka Havok is a Death Machine and has been terrorizing promotions like SHIMMER, All American Wrestling (AAW), Rockstar Pro, RISE, Queens of Combat (QOC), WSU and anywhere else she feels like it, including a stint with IMPACT Wrestling where she won the Knockouts Championship. She’s facing tough as nails Canadian Nicole Matthews, another ECCW regular who has also spent a fair amount of time with SHIMMER (where she’s a former SHIMMER Champion and 2x SHIMMER Tag Team Champion with Portia Perez in the Canadian Ninjas), DEFY Wrestling, Shine and Pro Wrestling EVE, not to mention a strong showing in this year’s WWE Mae Young Classic. This is the first time these two have fought since 2015, when Matthews defended her SHIMMER title against Havok.
Tessa Blanchard (USA) vs. KC Spinelli (Canada)
A battle between two IMPACT Knockouts. Reigning Knockouts Champion Tessa Blanchard is the most decorated wrestler on the planet right now with SIX different companies’ belts in her collection and she has been one of 2018’s most dominant stars. Her opponent, Canadian indie vet KC Spinelli, joined IMPACT in 2017 and has yet to find the same success. A big win over Tessa at CANUSA could open some doors for her when they both return to the IMPACT Zone.
Jordynne Grace (USA) vs. LuFisto (Canada)
Team PAWG explodes! One of the top tag teams of the past year, Team PAWG features indie wrestling icon LuFisto and one of the fasting rising stars of the past year in Jordynne Grace, and on Saturday the two go head to head for the first time Beyond C5 in 2016. They first locked horns in IWA Mid South in 2014 (when Grace was only 18) at Queen of the Death Matches and since then, the two have become an unstoppable unit. A dream match as the master and the student collide in what could be the match of the night.
Su Yung (USA) vs. Allie (Canada)
One of the year’s best storylines, direct from IMPACT Wrestling, spills into the cross border classic, as Su Yung and Allie continue to battle, this time for the honor of their countries instead of the Undead Realm. It was in Smash Wrestling where Allie first became The Slayer in her earliest battles against Rosemary, so it’s only fitting that The Slayer once again returns to her home town to battle another monster.
