While in town for SummerSlam week, WWE held their first-ever WWE Canadian tryouts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada this past week. WWE Performance Center Head Coach Matt Bloom and William Regal, WWE’s Director of Talent Development, Head of Global Recruiting and NXT General Manager, was joined by PC trainer Serena Deeb, NXT’s Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel and Aliyah, and NXT referee Darryl Sharma. The Performance Center posted a video on their YouTube channel documenting the tryout.
WWE Canadian Tryouts: Several Notable Names Attend
Here’s a closer look at some of the notable Canadian indie names who attended this week’s WWE Canadian tryout.
“The Relentless” John Atlas
A veteran of the Ontario indies, John Atlas has worked for Greektown Pro Wrestling, Smash Wrestling, Barrie Wrestling, Demand Lucha and was the Greektown Champion for 518 days.
Michael Blais
A 14-year pro, Calgary, Alberta’s Michael Richard Blais is a student of WWE Producer TJ Wilson (aka Tyson Kidd). He began his career with Stampede Wrestling and has gone on to become a regular in Western Canada with Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA), Real Canadian Wrestling (RCW) and High Impact Wrestling (HIW). He’s had a few glimpses in the US indies, working for EVOLVE Wrestling in 2017 and with Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) this past WrestleMania week, appearing in the Greatest Clusterf**k Match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3.
Tony Cage
Originally from West Sussex, England, Tony Cage moved to Canada to train with Lance Storm in Calgary. Starting out with PWA, RCW, and HIW, he relocated to Toronto and began to work with Ontario indies like Destiny Wrestling, Smash Wrestling and Border City Wrestling (BCW). He signed with IMPACT Wrestling and for much of 2018 was a member of the Desi Hit Squad, where he competed as Gursinder Singh. He was granted his release earlier this year.
Bianca Carelli
Bianca Carelli is only a year into her wrestling training, but as the daughter of former WWE Superstar Santino Marella, she’s been training with her father at his BattleArts Academy in Mississauga, Ontario.
Kaitlin Diemond
A 14-year pro, Kaitlin Diemond from Brantford, Ontario has traveled the world to perfect her craft. She’s worked the Canadian indies from coast to coast, as well as tours with Japan’s Stardom in 2016, Pro Wrestling EVE in the UK last year, as well as runs in Mexico and Germany.
The Fraternity (Channing Decker & Trent Gibson)
The Fraternity is the current reigning Demand Lucha Royal Canadian Tag Team Champions in Toronto and International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) Tag Team Champions out of Montreal, but the Canadian duo has found some success in the US indies – they’re 3x International Wrestling Cartel (IWC) Tag Team Champions out of Pennsylvania. The duo are also solid singles competitors as well, as Channing Decker has seen his stock on the rise the past year solo.
Ad Hutchinson
“The British Brawler” Ad Hutchinson is another UK grappler who relocated to Canada, working with BattleArts, as well as Destiny, Courage Pro Wrestling (CPW), and Great North Wrestling.
Rylee Jade
Rylee Jade comes from the West Coast scene, where she’s worked with Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW), All-Star Wrestling (ASW), and Big West Wrestling.
Sheldon Jean
Trained at the Can-Am Wrestling School by IMPACT Wrestling VP Scott D’Amore, Ottawa’s Sheldon Jean is having a break out year. A regular in the Ontario and Quebec indies, he’s branched out into the US indies lately with AAW and Glory Pro, and has appeared on several IMPACT broadcasts. He also spent time training and working with Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan in 2017.
Vanessa Marie
Another graduate of the BattleArts Academy, Vanessa Marie is a 22-year old indie wrestler working Ontario.
Maddison Miles
A product of Canada’s East Coast, Halifax’s Maddison Miles only 19 years old, but she’s been wrestling professionally since 2015. A product of Ultimate Championship Wrestling (UCW) in her hometown, she’s worked various Canadian indies, as well as working in Europe with World Association of Wrestling (WAW), German Wrestling Federation (GWF), and others.
Meave O’Farrell
Quebec’s indie scene is represented once again, as reigning Federation Canadienne de Lutte (FCL) Women’s Champion Meave O’Farrell from Montreal was at the tryout. O’Farrell is a top indie star in the Quebec and Maritime indies.
Sam Osborne
A native of Australia, Sam Osborne is now competing out of Toronto working with BattleArts Academy, after working the Aussie scene with Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA Black Label), Newcastle Pro and others.
Cat Power
Cat Power is another student of Scott D’Amore and the Can-Am Wrestling School, who has had several runs with SHIMMER as well as touring Japan with REINA, Sendai Girls, and Diana. She relocated to the West Coast and now works with ECCW, DEFY and 3-2-1 BATTLE.
Randy Reign
Toronto’s Randy Reign is a 5-year pro who has worked extensively with Destiny and BCW. At 6’6″ and 255 lbs, he’s a solid big man who’s had a previous look by the WWE before, fighting Mark Henry in a dark match back in 2016.
Justin Sane
A 14-year pro of the Ontario indies, Justin Sane is a regular for Ethan Page‘s promotion Alpha-1 (A1), based out of Hamilton, Ontario. A former A1 Alpha Male Champion, A1 Zero Gravity Champion, and A1 Tag Team Champion, he’s also the reigning A1 Outer Limits Champion.
KC Spinelli
KC Spinelli spent parts of the past two years as part of IMPACT Wrestling, competing as herself and under make-up as Su Yung‘s Bridesmaid of Honor. The veteran Canadian grappler began on the West Coast with ECCW after training with Lance Storm, and has had runs with SHIMMER, Smash Wrestling, Bar Wrestling and more.
TARIK
Former Smash Champion TARIK relocated from Calgary to Toronto and has been one of the faces of Smash Wrestling since its launch in 2012.
Jody Threat
Another Smash regular, Jody Threat is breaking out this year, debuting in the UK with PROGRESS and Fight Club: PRO as well as working for Sendai Girls in their England debut.
The Voros Twins (Chris & Patrick Voros)
Another West Coast connection, real-life twins brothers Chris and Patrick Voros are staples of ECCW, as well as the Pacific Northwest US indies, like DEFY, DOA and 3-2-1 BATTLE, where they’re former ECCW and DOA Tag Team Champions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spm9zMtjdKk
Freedom Wallace
Freedom Wallace is another student of BattleArts Academy and competes for Destiny, Pro Wrestling Eclipse, and other Ontario indies. Last year he competed on an episode of 205 Live, losing to Buddy Murphy under the name Liam Louie.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
