Pro Wrestling: What Is the Intangible That Makes Canadians Nuts for Wrestling?

     Hey fellow Bleachers!  I hope all has been well with all of you lately. First off, I would like to say that this article is in no way a put down to any other countries that have fans of pro wrestling, but as a Canadian, I can only speak for my fellow countrymen/women. 

     Now, while there are fans that are crazy for wrestling everywhere (I'm looking most recently at you, the Survivor Series crowd), there seems to be absolute insanity in Canada for wrestling shows. I have been to one live WWE event and it was one of the best times I've ever had at any show.

Jeff Hardy and CM Punk were deep in their feud, JeriShow were ruling the tag scene and I was ecstatic to see Matt Hardy do an about-face and save his brother from a beat down. I wasn't the only one marking out. I think the whole crowd went crazy for most of the show.

I also used to go to my high school gym when the Indy shows would come through town. The Cuban Assassin was everyone's most loved and hated and I look back on those with very fond memories as well. 

Now let's look at some of the factors I believe cause us Canucks to go haywire for wrestling. Theses are not in any particular order, just how they came into my head.

First is the amount of Canadian content in wrestling. I actually never knew how many just in the WWE alone were from Canada until I got the WWE Encyclopedia. There were the ones everybody knows such as Bret, Owen, Edge, Christian, Benoit, Jericho, Harry Smith (DH Smith for those that don't know), Nattie Neidhart, Tyson Kidd and so on.

The ones that jumped off the page when I saw them were Roddy Piper and Rocky Johnson. But there have been so many more. Dino Bravo, The Rougeau Brothers, Val Venis and Trish Stratus to name a few. 

If you look at other promotions right now as well, Canandian content is everywhere. TNA's current heavyweight champion, Robert Roode, is Canadian. Eric Young, Angelina Love and Gail Kim are all Canadian, too.

Many independent promotions also play host to Canadian wrestlers as well. Therefore, I guess this first reason all boils down to the pride of a nation. While we are not necessarily known for our patriotism, believe me, we have it in spades.

Nostalgia seems to be a large reason as well for being die-hard fans. When "Hollywood" Hogan faced The Rock in Toronto at WrestleMania 18, Hogan went in as a heel. Before the match even started, he was back to a face. I still get goosebumps to this day when I watch that match. I sometimes catch myself watching the crowd instead of the match.

Look it up and see what I mean if you haven't seen it, or forget how it went down. Hulk was a hero to thousands, if not millions of Canadians growing up, and we were not gonna see him as a bad guy, no matter what.

I can only speak for myself on this point, but I started watching wrestling back when I was five years old. To this day, I still get the excitement I had when I stared wide-eyed at the screen to see these behemoths battle each other.

I have always been vocal about my love of wrestling. Many of my friends and I used to put each other in submission holds and try moves on each other growing up. I think I may have been the only one to say in my yearbook that my future goal was to be WWE Champion.

Sadly, I never followed up on that dream as I'm sure I would have loved the business. Even now, my infatuation with wrestling has influenced others I work with to watch and become interested, or rediscover their love of wrestling. I tell everyone that I know that I believe everybody is a wrestling fan, whether they are open about it or not.

One thing I know of that includes both points I talked about so far in this article is this—Stampede Wrestling! The promotion founded by the legendary Stu Hart was a staple on Canadian television for years. Stampede Wrestling was a territory that Vince McMahon Sr. drew upon heavily for talent.

Many Canadian wrestlers were trained there as well as wrestlers from other nations. Obviously, anybody in the Hart family came through Stampede—Jericho, Benoit, Brian Pillman, Billy Graham, Greg Valentine and Lance Storm are just a few of the many stars produced there. Just look up the alumni from Stampede Wrestling and you will see what I mean.

So, whether it is national pride, nostalgia, something else altogether, or a combination of the aforementioned, there is one thing I know for sure. That is that I find Canadians to be some of the most rabid wrestling fans on the face of the planet. I am extremely proud to be one of them.

Thanks for reading. Please leave your comments and reasons why you are a rabid wrestling fan, Canadian or not.