The Great White North has always strongly influenced WWE. The proximity to the United States, alone, means that there will be an influx of talent into the company, but their influence was more than just showing up. Throughout the past 60 years of WWE programming, there have been some fantastic Canadian wrestlers to make their names known.
Men and women have become integral parts of the company and have held every major WWE championship. The Canadian contingent has been part of some of the best matches in WWE history.
They have done their country proud and etched their legacy into the halls of wrestling history. Below are the best WWE matches from Canadian wrestlers.
Bret Hart vs ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin (WrestleMania 13)
Bret Hart has a laundry list of 5-star matches, some that will even show up again on this list, but the one against Steve Austin is the best of his career. It was a match born of a fantastic feud that lasted well over a year.
It became an intensely personal rivalry that saw both men getting the upper hand. As far as matches go, this one had it all.
It started with some great technical wrestling but soon became a brawl that took the two men all over the arena. The match became a gritty test of endurance as Austin and Hart beat each other with anything that wasn’t tied down.
Of course, we cannot talk about this match without mentioning the finish that took it from a great match to one of the best. Austin’s refusal to submit to Hart’s sharpshooter makes him look like a stud.
It also made Hart lose his cool and attack Austin post-match. It was a finish that pulled off the fabled double-turn perfectly. Both men switched and entered into a new era of their careers.
Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 19)
Chris Jericho has been everywhere and done everything. He has been a champion in every promotion he has wrestled and has become one of the most famous Canadian wrestlers in history.
Jericho has competed in some great matches, but taking on his boyhood idol at the Grandest Stage tops the list. Leading up to the contest built of the relationship between the two men and made it mean that much more.
Jericho looked up to Shawn Michaels and wanted to be him, and now he wanted to deface his idol. There aren’t many matches that get close to perfect, this is one of them.
Jericho and Michaels were masters of their styles and put on an incredibly exciting contest. They wrestled at a breakneck pace and Jericho was just as explosive as Michaels.
It was Michael’s return to WrestleMania, but many believed that Jericho was going to walk away the victor. That is how great of a story they told. It was the best of the night and the best from Chris Jericho.
Edge vs The Undertaker (WrestleMania 24)
Edge’s career was unlikely. He broke in as a tag team wrestler who achieved great heights with his “brother” Christian.
There was much thought that this was as far as the man would go but he was able to carve out an amazing singles career. The highlight of which was an amazing main event at WrestleMania 24.
Edge and The Undertaker put together one of the best feuds of the Ruthless Aggression Era. They had fantastic matches any time they stepped in the ring, especially this one.
They were the perfect contrast in styles. Edge, the ultimate opportunist, did everything he could to get one over on The Undertaker.
His desperation to retain the title helped to create urgency with everything he did. This was a match indicative of an era. The finish was an overbooked mess, but an entertaining one.
It sold the story that Edge was on the cusp of breaking The Undertaker’s iconic streak. He fell short, obviously, but in defeat, Edge proved that he could put on an amazing match.
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs Bret Hart (WrestleMania 7)
Roddy Piper is billed as being from Scotland, but it is a well-known fact that he was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan so he will fit into this list nicely. Piper is one of the reasons the Golden Era took off.
Hulk Hogan needed a foil, and he provided the perfect one for the fans to rally against. As great as he was opposite Hogan, and throughout his early run, he was never one to have great matches.
That is until he faced off with Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship. Piper was technically a baby face going into the match but had no problem reverting to his heel role.
It helped to create some fabulous tension as we knew that Piper was going to take a shortcut at some point. They built this throughout and when it came time to cheat Piper balked, giving a great sense of satisfaction to the match.
This was more of a brawl than a wrestling match, but that worked in Piper’s favour. He and Bret were great in their roles and produced an underrated match that was the best of Piper’s career.
Trish Stratus vs Becky Lynch (Payback 2023)
Trish Stratus is a Mount Rushmore piece of the women’s division. Back when women’s wrestling wasn’t taken seriously, Stratus worked her butt off to become a fantastic wrestler and produce compelling matches.
During her first run, some of these matches stole the show, but those paled in comparison to her latest match against Becky Lynch. Stratus and Lynch developed quite the feud during Stratus’ latest run.
In the heel role, Stratus worked well as the cocky veteran. Her swagger was perfect, and it helped to intensify things to the point that she and Lynch were locked in a Steel Cage.
Their cage match, at Payback 2023, was a brutal car wreck. There weren’t many who thought it was going to get as violent as it did, but we were all glad.
Both women personified exactly what a cage match is about by using the steel as a weapon and for leverage. It was a match that left us all wanting more from Stratus.
Pat Patterson vs Sgt. Slaughter (Madison Square Garden, 1981)
Pat Patterson is a name that is synonymous with WWE. He was a heavy part of both the on-screen product and behind-the-scenes dealings.
Patterson was the first Intercontinental Champion, was the referee for the first WrestleMania, and was an entertainment stooge to Vince McMahon. He has been all these things but has also put on some great matches, an Alley Fight against Sgt. Slaughter being the greatest.
Madison Square Garden was home to some of the best bouts in WWE history and this contest was no different. Slaughter had become one of the most detestable heels in the company, and Patterson was the man to put him in his place.
This match may not have had the flare of later WWE years, but its gritty realistic nature made it fantastic. You felt like this was two men who hated one another trying to break the other down.
It was violent and bloody and everything you would want in a street fight. Plus, the “I Love New York” shirt Pat Patterson was wearing was a perfect fit for the gimmick. If you watch only one match from the career of Patterson, this should be it.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs The Uso’s (WrestleMania 39)
The best friends from Montreal make it easy to include their greatest match on this list. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have had many battles against each other, but nothing holds a candle to their tag team triumph on night one of WrestleMania 39.
Owens and Zayn were at odds for months, but the reign of terror The Bloodline was enjoying prompted the two to rejoin forces and take on the tag champs at WrestleMania. Not only was it a featured match but it was the first time that the tag team championship main evented the Grandest Stage.
There was pressure to deliver a great match, and not one of the four men folded under the pressure. This was one of the best tag matches in WWE history.
The crowd was white hot throughout the 24-minute run time. It is hard to keep a crowd engaged for that long, but the 4 men had no problem.
This was a sprint of a match that lacked any downtime. Not something usually seen for an epic main event. It was the perfect cap on a great night of wrestling and the sight of Zayn and Owens embracing with the straps was beautiful.
Natalya vs Charlotte Flair (NXT Takeover 2014)
The NXT Takeover match between Charlotte Flair and Natalya is reaching a decade old, but it remains one of the best of Flair’s career, and the best of Natalya’s. This match was a tournament final to fill the vacant NXT Women’s Championship
With the family pedigree enjoyed by both women, it made sense to have them face off in the finals. It may not have been their fathers in the match, but it sure did look like it.
Flair and Natalya worked a brilliant match. It was one of the best wrestled matches of 2014, across both brands.
They put most of the men’s matches of that year to shame. There weren’t any gimmicks or run-ins needed, this was a match that showcased the pure skill of both women.
It was a contest that would rival any that Ric Flair or Jim Neidhart was a part of. It was a shame that Natalya wasn’t given this type of shine on the main roster. She showed the world how great she was on that night.
Owen Hart vs Bret Hart (WrestleMania 10)
Owen Hart, part of the fabled Hart wrestling family, was always living in the shadow of his younger brother. When he broke into the company the comparisons were there, but once he broke away from Bret, his true greatness shined.
Throughout his career, he had fantastic matches but the one that stands out is the night he stepped out from under his brother’s shadow. The opener of WrestleMania 10 is by far the greatest in company history.
There was oodles of animosity between the brothers that made the contest mean more than others on the card. They constantly tried to one-up another for the delight of the crowd.
As far as wrestling goes few measure up to this match. The chain wrestling was spot on as Bret and Owen continued to try and best one another.
This was also a match that showed the viability of Owen as a main event star. He was no longer in his brother’s shadow, he was the measuring stick for the locker room.
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