On Friday night, March 23rd, Vern May aka Vance Nevada became the new NWA champion.
For some reason, the win set off a chain of events that no one saw coming. People all over the world wanted to know about it. Seriously, the news of the victory went overseas. It seemed everyone wanted to know about the new NWA champion.
“It was really overwhelming the response, because we were eating at Boston Pizza after the matches and it was within two hours of the decision someone had already posted the results on Wikipedia,” said May. “I was getting emails and media inquiries from Toronto and Germany as early as the next morning.”
After fluctuating between crowds as low as 78 people and as high as 350, it looks like this is a great time for grass roots wrestling. “It really shows there is a lot of interest in Canadian Wrestling,” said May. “We’ve noticed a significant increase in the CNWA facebook group, the web site got an explosion of hits over the weekend. All eyes are on Alberta right now, which is really good for not only myself, but the CNWA and Canadian wrestling a whole.”
The fanfare was unexpected. “I think that in most cases, people are generally cynical about professional wrestling so we don’t usually get a lot of attention.”
By cynical, May is referring to the old argument wrestling is not real it’s rehearsed. Or that it’s not a sport. “If it’s not a sport then these sports regulating bodies owe us a lot of money in back taxes for the different licensing fees, event fees and promoter licenses that they have doled out over the years to regulate us as sport,” said May.
In truth, many former athletes including football players, hockey players, and amateur wrestlers take up professional wrestling, so May makes no apologies. In fact, many people argue it’s not a sport like boxing.
“Wrestling is not a sport like boxing,” said May. “But if you’re going to tell me we’re not a sport because any of the routines are predetermined well so is figure skating. And pairs figure skating is an Olympic sport.”
Of course in true pro-wrestling fashion, Vance Nevada was stripped of the NWA championship the next day.
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