AEW Calgary Collision all filler, no killer
CALGARY – Traditionally wrestling cards build up, with a big match at the start and a build up of matches to the main event. Whether a house show, a stadium event, a indy show, or a TV taping. After an excellent Dynamite taping in Calgary on Wednesday, July 10, AEW...
MLW Blood & Thunder delivers a storm
ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- My nephew and I packed up the car and headed to St. Petersburgh for a night of wrestling. Major League Wrestling (MLW) presented its event Blood and Thunder from The Coliseum, a beautiful venue in downtown St. Petersburgh. By the time the day...
Second Dynamite in Calgary sees a drop in attendance, not action
CALGARY – With over 100,000 people on the grounds for the world famous Calgary Stampede, it’s a sad sign that the July 10th AEW Dynamite and Collision taping drew approximately 5,000 people to the Scotiabank Saddledome, a significant drop from the company’s debut last...
More than just briefcases at WWE MITB pop-up store
TORONTO -- Tonight, a number of WWE Superstars will try to get their hands on the Money in the Bank briefcase in front of thousands of Toronto fans. Meanwhile, WWE will be hoping to get the money in the pockets of those same fans at the pop-up WWE Store that ran as...
To Chicago faithful, Ospreay rules, MJF has ‘nuclear heat’
CHICAGO – As AEW made its way back to its second home of Chicago, fresh off the heels of Forbidden Door, GM and CEO Tony Khan built up anticipation in media interviews and social media in the days leading up promising a big card. The show would be revealed as the...
Card Exam: Ontario Dominion Day shows
It wasn't always Canada Day, of course. Up until October 1982, Canada Day was called Dominion Day, and it's been a national statutory holiday since 1879 when it was really just called the anniversary of Confederation, which, in case you have forgotten your Canadian...
Young and veteran women shine at Divine
LIVONIA, Mich. -- On Friday, May 31, 2024, Divine Pro Wrestling, Michigan’s women’s pro wrestling company, returned to the Livonia Elk’s Lodge in suburban Detroit for its second show, Every Show Has Its Thorns. Brad McFarlin was in attendance to photograph Divine’s...
Everett crowd hot for Dynamite
EVERETT, Wash. -- The puzzle pieces for Double or Nothing were course corrected and seemed to fit more logically after a newsworthy edition of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite in Everett, Wash. on May 15. After a murky few weeks following Dynasty, it felt like AEW shifted...
AEW Collision & Rampage report: Big names, solid action highlight AEW’s Vancouver debut
The wrestling-starved market of Vancouver finally received its first-ever visit from All Elite Wrestling with a Collision and Rampage combo broadcast at Rogers Arena on Saturday (May 11) and it seems likely that a non-WWE attendance record was established for British...
Horror Slam: Crimson Mask paints the Elk’s Lodge red
On May 10, 2024, the Livonia, Michigan Elk’s Lodge hosted Horror Slam: Crimson Mask, and Brad McFarlin and I were in attendance among the bloodthirsty crowd, ready for some hot Friday night ultraviolence. While I've been in the Livonia Elk’s Lodge a number of times...
Divine Women’s Pro Wrestling Apr. 26, 2024 photo gallery
On Friday, April 26, 2024, Divine Women's Pro Wrestling returned after a hiatus of a few years, in Livonia, Michigan, with a show titled "A League of Their Own." As a veteran photographer, I was curious about the show, so headed out to document it. The show was...
Brad McFarlin’s WWE Smackdown Detroit Apr. 12, 2024 photo gallery
The first Smackdown after WrestleMania XL took place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday, April 12, 2024. SlamWrestling.net photographer Brad McFarlin was there to shoot the event, and Josh Olsen filed a few notes from the crowd. "It was a...
Christine Coons’ Battleground Championship Wrestling Born to Die Photo Gallery
SlamWrestling.net’s Christine Coons headed out to Battleground Championship Wrestling’s “Born to Die” on Friday, April 5, 2024, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Check out her gallery below, and for more about Battleground Championship Wrestling, including future...
Christine Coons’ Battleground Championship Wrestling Tribute to the Extreme 2 photo gallery
SlamWrestling.net's Christine Coons headed out to Battleground Championship Wrestling's "Tribute to the Extreme 2" on Friday, April 5, 2024, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Check out her gallery below, and for more about Battleground Championship Wrestling,...
Unaired Jimmy Lloyd-RackaRacka GCW deathmatch filmed for documentary?
After GCW Role Model went off the air Saturday night, fans in attendance at Harpo’s in Detroit were treated to a bonus deathmatch between Jimmy Lloyd and RackaRacka. Social media reactions to the match unanimously praised their battle, with Joey Janela posting, “That...
NXT house show has old-feel feel, a surprise in Carmelo Hayes
SANFORD, Florida - During the days of the territories, the different promotions had a regular circuit of towns that they would run shows. These were towns that they visit weekly. In-between these shows, they would occasionally run what they called Spot Shows. These...
The night Greektown went A-R-R-G-O-O-S for A.J.
TORONTO -- It's not often you see a Grey Cup ring used as a weapon. Or a surefire Canadian Football Hall of Famer at ringside capturing the antics of a buddy on his cell phone. But both happened on Saturday night. The scene was the East End United Church on Toronto's...
Chelsea, returning AOP give Vancouver Smackdown local flavor
VANCOUVER, BC -- Vancouver fans had to wait almost three years in between WWE televised events and a sell-out crowd of over 13,000 at Rogers Arena on Friday, January 5 for Smackdown reaffirmed that wrestling fans continue to be ravenous on the west coast. Smackdown...
A fan gets a Christmas gift and Cody survives the cage at WWE Toronto show
TORONTO -- The WWE and its superstars spread some Christmas cheer with its third-to-last house show and final Canadian show of 2023. The stop in Toronto at the Coca-Cola Coliseum featured three matches which on their own could have main-evented any house show. They...
Brad McFarlin’s WWE Detroit Dec. 27, 2023 photo gallery
The WWE Holiday Tour rolled into the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, with a decided win, unlike the resident Detroit Pistons of the NBA, who are on a record losing streak. SlamWrestling.net photographer Brad McFarlin was...
Last Smoky Mountain Wrestling show unearthed 28 years later
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The final Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) event has been hiding, preserved and now re-discovered on YouTube. On Sunday, November 26, 1995, SMW’s Thanksgiving Thunder tour rolled into the Cookeville Community Center. The house show would serve as...
Border City Wrestling marks 30 years with a treat
WINDSOR, ON -- Saturday night, Border City Wrestling marked its 30th Anniversary with a capacity crowd at the St. Clair College Sportsplex in Windsor, the same venue where IMPACT Wrestling recently held this year's edition of Slammiversary. Originally founded in 1993...
WrestleDream shined spotlight on Pacific Northwest
SEATTLE - The first-ever AEW WrestleDream event on Sunday, October 1st, was billed as a tribute show to Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and while it did commemorate his legacy, it may ultimately be remembered as the day the Pacific Northwest finally got some...
Danielson hometown hero at Collision in Seattle
SEATTLE -- Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr. finally went face-to-face and that encounter was the closing image on Saturday’s AEW Collision – the final stop before WrestleDream on Sunday. Sabre Jr. joined the commentary team for Saturday’s main event, which featured...
SummerSlam: The 44 year-old pay-per-view virgin
DETROIT, Mich. -- My name is Josh Olsen and I have a somewhat embarrassing confession to make. I’m a 44 year-old, nearly lifelong wrestling fan, and I’ve never attended a pay-per-view. Sure, I’ve attended televised wrestling events, like Raw, Smackdown, and Dynamite....
SummerSlam Eve: A full menu of indy wrestling & wrestlers in Detroit
DETROIT -- When WWE announced that SummerSlam 2023 would be in Detroit, what I looked forward to most of all, possibly more so even than SummerSlam itself, was participating in the events and activities around SummerSlam weekend. As the subsequent announcements from...
Collison & Battle of the Belts Stampede into Calgary history
CALGARY - More incredible moments were added to the long history of professional wrestling in Calgary as AEW made its debut July 15th to a rambunctious crowd. Whether it was the instant classic 58-minute battle between FTR and Bullet Club Gold or celebrating the Owen...
Remembering Ginger the Bear on anniversary of her death
In southern Ontario, July 4th is always a day of reflection, as it marks the anniversary of the death of "Bearman" Dave McKigney, Adrian Adonis, and Pat Kelly in an accident in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Bearman had color and charisma to spare and is rightfully...
AEW’s Edmonton debut a memorable night
EDMONTON – It was clear before the first bell that fans at Edmonton’s Rogers Place were ready to be entertained and have fun at AEW Dynamite. When a disclaimer was aired over the in-house sound system advising that those on the floor were at risk of being in the path...
Cartwheel cartwheels over Vikingo and Speedball
TORONTO -- With so much hype over the young Mexican star El Hijo del Vikingo, the decision to head out to the Demand Lucha show in Toronto's west end was an easy one. It would be, after all, a very different vibe than his AEW debut in the large FirstOntario Centre in...
Musings from a first-time AEW attendee (includes Rampage spoilers)
HAMILTON, ON -- For a variety of circumstances, I had never been able to attend an AEW show in person until Wednesday night, when I went to the live Dynamite event in Hamilton, Ontario. Even though I've been watching AEW since the company started, I wouldn't say I'm a...
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door: Toronto crowd steals the show
TORONTO -- As someone who has been watching AEW since the beginning and a big fan of NJPW for about four years now, Forbidden Door was the show to be at. With Scotiabank Arena being the host to the second AEW x NJPW show ever, you know I made sure to be there. Toronto...
AEW returns to Detroit with high expectations
DETROIT - A commonly shared mindset of optimism suggests that All Elite Wrestling’s sole competition is the promotion in itself, and AEW encountered a challenge in returning to Detroit, Michigan on May 11; after a massively successful debut at Little Caesars Arena...
Baker rocked, jagoff Jericho and long lines mark AEW’s Pittsburgh return
PITTSBURGH – On Wednesday night at AEW Dynamite, construction around the 12,508-seat Petersen Event Center forced each and every patron to enter through two doors on the concourse area. Half of the line consisted on young men in black t-shirts. A yellow-shirted...
Windsor welcomes back Impact Wrestling
WINDSOR, ON -- 1,246 days. That’s how long it’s been since Impact Wrestling last came to Windsor, Ontario. It was on March 16, 2020 that Impact announced the cancellation of its Lockdown show which was to take place in Windsor, Ontario March 28 of that year due to the...
Winnipeg AEW show indeed Dynamite for those in attendance
If you've watched All Elite Wrestling over the last couple weeks, you heard "Winnipeg" come up several times during broadcasts, and with good cause. Wednesday's airing of Dynamite, along with tapings for Friday's episode of Rampage, emanated from the Canada Life...
Remembering Nick Steel with a unique celebration of life
When someone is taken too soon, why, is always the obvious question to ask. When Nick Castanhinha passed away, it was a front-and-center prime example. He was a loving husband and father. His two young sons, Jacob and Joshua, saw their dad as a superhero. Nick and his...
Kitchener fans go in-Zayn for Sami
For WWE fans today, Sami Zayn can seemingly do no wrong. Even when he mistakenly thanks the name of a different city, as he did during a post-match promo at the Road to WrestleMania house show in Kitchener, Ontario on Sunday night. But even after he heard the...
Road to WrestleMania Toronto: Roman has Sami’s number
Sami Zayn would be your new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion but Lady Luck just wasn't on his side. At the Road to WrestleMania tour's stop at Toronto's Coca-Cola Coliseum Zayn would pin Roman clean but there was no official to make the count. This main event was far...
AEW announces house shows starting in March
AEW fans will get the chance to see their favourite stars on the road starting in March, as the company announced the launch of non-televised live events called “AEW House Rules.” A press release sent out on Wednesday noted that the shows will be “taking place on...
AEW’s Kentucky debut brought tears and joy
LEXINGTON, KY – Show of hands: who would believe me if I told you AEW would deliver one of the most emotional, memorable shows in its brief history with no Bucks, no Moxley, and no Kenny Omega? Hands down, Cult of Cornette fans, I see you. I’m talking to the die...
Mat Matters: My first WWE show in 28 years
WWE - now for over 70 years the revolutionary force in sports entertainment -- is back in touring mode, with the Thunderdome Era, thankfully now in the distant past. Last week, WWE rolled into the Magic City for a doubleheader of events at Miami's FTX Arena. Being...
Rollins, Lynch share special moment at Toronto WWE Live Holiday show
2023 may have been more than a day away but real-life husband and wife Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch had lots to celebrate at the WWE Live Holiday Tour at Toronto's Coca-Cola Coliseum. Lynch came to Rollins' rescue during his steel cage match against the Judgment Day's...
Mat Matters: Fresh fans fun at Demand Lucha
TORONTO - I'm old and jaded, and have no problem admitting that. I have been to so many wrestling shows through the years, met so many fans, wrestlers, referees, promoters, hucksters that I can be a bit blasé when I'm at an actual show. That's why the Demand Lucha...
Rampage: An emotional homecoming for Spears and lots (and lots) of wrestling
A lively crowd, many still buzzing from last night's Dynamite, showed up for the taping of Rampage and many, many Dark matches. From the listed showtime of 7:00 until just minutes before 9:00, it was all Dark matches -- but nobody seemed to care. Even when QT Marshall...
AEW Rampage Spoilers from Toronto
Here are your spoilers for this week's Rampage broadcast filmed on Thursday night but airing Friday night. Tony Khan greeted the crowd and thanked them for supporting AEW in Canada. Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley defeated The Butcher & The Blade The hometown...
AEW’s Dynamite debut in the north: A night of scissoring, patriotism, and overall good fun
TORONTO — Since its debut in 2019, All Elite Wrestling has only run live events across the United States. However, earlier this summer, AEW announced its first wave of international events as Dynamite and Rampage shows became set for October at the Coca-Cola Coliseum...
AEW Rampage Spoilers
Here are your spoilers for this week's Rampage broadcast. The Butcher and Blade vs. Private Party vs. The Acclaimed w/Billy Gunn - AEW World Tag Team Title Match Anthony Bowens pins the Butcher to retain the AEW tag team titles. Feugo del Sol vs. Lee Moriarty w/ W...
Hungry Vancouver crowd eats up WWE action
VANCOUVER, BC - The WWE brand flexed its muscles big time in Vancouver on Saturday, September 24, with a Saturday Night’s Main Event card at the Pacific Coliseum. According to Wrestletix, with close to 8,000 tickets sold the show was essentially a sellout for the...
Buffalo crowd experiences the fall out from All Out
BUFFALO -- The "Dynamite after All Out" might have gone in any number of directions. With the in-ring events of the 2022 edition of AEW's spectacle being shoved aside in the news cycle to make room for coverage of new champion CM Punk using his post-event media scrum...
