KENTVILLE, NS - It was a match that Kentville area wrestling fans won’t soon forget.
The Centennial Arena hosted Victory Championship Wrestling (VCW) Can-Am on May 30. The main event featured Kentville’s own second-generation wrestling star, Zack Doyle, against third-generation star Teddy Hart.
Trained by Maritime wrestling legend “Kowboy” Mike Hughes, 26-year-old Doyle grew up in Kentville and currently resides in Charlottetown, PEI. He is the son of Kentville’s Rick Doyle, a professional wrestler better known to fans as Trash Canyon.
Among many other accomplishments, Canyon was among the wrestlers to star in Fight Network’s Wrestling Reality. Doyle is also a mixed-martial artist who was one of the stars of the reality TV show Cubicle to the Cage.
Hart, who is now 38, became the youngest person ever to be signed to a developmental contract by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 1998. The son of wrestler B.J. Annis and Georgia Hart, the Edmonton resident is the eldest grandson of Order of Canada recipient the late Stu Hart. His uncles include WWE Hall of Fame inductee Bret “The Hitman” Hart and the late Owen Hart.
Hart was trained in the legendary Hart “dungeon” by several of his famous wrestling relatives and Maritime legend Leo Burke.
READ A STORY FEATURING PRE-MATCH INTERVIEWS WITH DOYLE AND HART HERE.
The match was hard-fought by both contestants. Doyle survived several pile driver and DDT maneuvers and withstood several submission holds from Hart. Doyle wouldn’t stay down for a three count and scored a couple of near falls on Hart during the course of the battle.
With his father shouting encouragement from ringside, Doyle wouldn’t submit to a cross-face hold from Hart but he became unresponsive to the referee, who ended up calling the match and awarding the victory to Hart.
Following the match, Hart expressed respect for Doyle as an opponent, raising Doyle’s hand much to the delight of the fans in attendance.
