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The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians
The Canucks worthy of a spot in the pro wrestling hall of fameBret Hart, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Chris Benoit… did you know they were Canadian? By population, no other country on Earth has sent as many top performers to the upper echelon of the squared circle. But to this day, the origins of these superstars have been hidden or played down by promoters ― Canada has been the dark secret of professional wrestling. But everything’s about to change as respected wrestling author Greg Oliver blows the lid off the Rowdy Roddy Piper was never from Scotland, he’s from Saskatchewan; Mad Dog Vachon, billed from Algeria, was from Quebec; Abdullah the Butcher learned to use a fork in Windsor, Ontario; Val Venis isn’t a porn star from Las Vegas but a wannabe helicopter pilot from Southern Ontario.The Pro Wrestling Hall of The Canadians details all of the top stars to come out of the Great White North. Top wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Whipper Watson, Chris Benoit, Gene Kiniski, Rick Martel, Killer Kowalski, Edge and Christian, Chris and John Tolos, Yvon Robert, and Sky Low Low are profiled. Plus, a special section features such famous fighting families as the Harts, the Cormiers, and the Rougeaus. Full of photos and fascinating stories and facts, The Canadians is a must-read for any wrestling fan ― whether they hide their country of origin or not!
- GenresNonfiction
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2002
6 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Greg Oliver
26 books20 followersA writer, editor, and stay-at-home dad, Greg Oliver has written extensively about hockey and professional wrestling. He's done two children's books, and, in December 2020, self-published the biography of Canadian comic genius Billy Van, titled Who's The Man? Billy Van!
He was co-awarded the 2008 James Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalist from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Cauliflower Alley Club awarded him its Melby Award for historical work in pro wrestling in 2021.
In the spring of 2023, the memoirs of former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons (Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer), and pro wrestler turned monster truck driver Madusa Miceli / Alundra Blayze (The Woman Who Would Be King: The MADUSA Story) hit shelves.
Run with the Bull: Three Generations of Sports and Entertainment, written with Eric Johnston and Joseph Casciaro, came out in February 2024, and is an interesting mix of pro wrestling, comedy and family.
He has another book on the go, though it has not been announced publicly. He’s always looking for the next project.
A member of the Society for International Hockey Research, and a recipient of SIHR's Bill Fitsell President’s Award in 2021, Greg lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and lives vicariously through his son, away at university.
He was co-awarded the 2008 James Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalist from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Cauliflower Alley Club awarded him its Melby Award for historical work in pro wrestling in 2021.
In the spring of 2023, the memoirs of former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons (Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer), and pro wrestler turned monster truck driver Madusa Miceli / Alundra Blayze (The Woman Who Would Be King: The MADUSA Story) hit shelves.
Run with the Bull: Three Generations of Sports and Entertainment, written with Eric Johnston and Joseph Casciaro, came out in February 2024, and is an interesting mix of pro wrestling, comedy and family.
He has another book on the go, though it has not been announced publicly. He’s always looking for the next project.
A member of the Society for International Hockey Research, and a recipient of SIHR's Bill Fitsell President’s Award in 2021, Greg lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and lives vicariously through his son, away at university.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 31, 2020
What do Waldo von Erich, Abdullah the Butcher and Pat Patterson have in common, besides all having been heels as wrestlers. The answer is all of them are actually from Canada. And there are a lot more like them, as you will learn from this book. The book starts off with the top twenty wrestlers who came from Canad, even if the don't always admit it. Number one on that list is Whipper Billy Watson, while number tenty was the aformentioned Waldo von Erich. Many of the names were familiar to me but not all. I remember posting this list on a wrestling forum site that no longer exists. There were a lot of howls of anger that not only was Brett Hart ranked number fourteen, but a pair of midgets, Little Beaver and Sky Low Low, were ranked ahead of him. For that matter so was Stu Hart but that was okay it seemed.
This is followed by some short sections on announcers, managers and families of wrestlers. This followed by a section listing in alphabetical order of Canadian wrestlers not already covered. Some go back a bit while others are more recent. Of course not all of them admitted to be Canadian during their career. One picks up some interesting stories along the way. For instance the wrestler who went under the name Killer Karl Krupp was in fact Jewish. Thus while most wrestlers who used a German gimmck used the symbols of Naziism to generate heat. Krupp went back to the WWI era and used the personna of the arrogant Prussian officer. Anyone who has followed wrestling for as long, or long, as I have should recognize many of the names in this section.
Finally two small sections close out this volume. One is on adopted Canadians. These are wrestlers who came from elsewhere but eneded up making Canada their home. Examples of this are [Lord] Athol Layton, Don Leo Johnathon and Angelo Mosca. The other section is on up and coming wrestlers who may have an impact on the sport. Since this book was published in the early 200o's most of the names, ifnot all, did go on to have major careers. One warning, there is a biography of Chris Benoit in here that is positive and has no mention of the events of his death, This was written and published before those events happened.
One final note, okay two. The book is heavily illustrated with photos of those mentioned. Some are family shots, some probably posed publicity shots and some are in ring action, though there fewer of these than of the others. Finally this part of a five volume series. The other volumes cover tag teams, heels, iconc (babyfaces) and storytellers. I have read the volumes on tag teams and heels and have reviewed the first one.
In conclusion let me state that if you are a fan of pro wrestling then this book should be in your library. As well if your interests is in Canadian athletes then this book will be of interest to you as well.
This is followed by some short sections on announcers, managers and families of wrestlers. This followed by a section listing in alphabetical order of Canadian wrestlers not already covered. Some go back a bit while others are more recent. Of course not all of them admitted to be Canadian during their career. One picks up some interesting stories along the way. For instance the wrestler who went under the name Killer Karl Krupp was in fact Jewish. Thus while most wrestlers who used a German gimmck used the symbols of Naziism to generate heat. Krupp went back to the WWI era and used the personna of the arrogant Prussian officer. Anyone who has followed wrestling for as long, or long, as I have should recognize many of the names in this section.
Finally two small sections close out this volume. One is on adopted Canadians. These are wrestlers who came from elsewhere but eneded up making Canada their home. Examples of this are [Lord] Athol Layton, Don Leo Johnathon and Angelo Mosca. The other section is on up and coming wrestlers who may have an impact on the sport. Since this book was published in the early 200o's most of the names, ifnot all, did go on to have major careers. One warning, there is a biography of Chris Benoit in here that is positive and has no mention of the events of his death, This was written and published before those events happened.
One final note, okay two. The book is heavily illustrated with photos of those mentioned. Some are family shots, some probably posed publicity shots and some are in ring action, though there fewer of these than of the others. Finally this part of a five volume series. The other volumes cover tag teams, heels, iconc (babyfaces) and storytellers. I have read the volumes on tag teams and heels and have reviewed the first one.
In conclusion let me state that if you are a fan of pro wrestling then this book should be in your library. As well if your interests is in Canadian athletes then this book will be of interest to you as well.
February 18, 2015
More great stuff from Greg Oliver. An extremely valuable resource, and the book that launched a series.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews