KENTVILLE, NS - The owner of Spryfield-based Ultimate Championship Wrestling (UCW) says that Kentville has become like a second home for the promotion and it’s all because of the fans.
UCW owner, promoter and CEO Chuck Martin said he aims to present the best wrestling stars and matches possible to thank the Annapolis Valley fans for their enduring interest.
“The Kentville crowd, the Valley crowd, is good and loyal to UCW,” Martin said. “I get good support out of there, so if there’s a town I like to bring it to, Kentville is always on the list.”
He said the excitement demonstrated by Valley wrestling fans is contagious and it tends to bring out the best in the wrestlers who compete there.
Martin said he’s been working on putting together the lineup for the so-called “Road to Call Back” tour since October and he has “a superstar line-up” heading to Kentville for the April 28 show.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame inductees Bushwhacker Luke and Tony Atlas will be on hand. Former WWE Superstar James Ellsworth is scheduled to square-off against one of the fastest rising female wrestling stars in Canada, Maddison Miles. Former WWE and Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA) star Sinn Bodhi will also see in-ring action.
Midget wrestling stars Short Sleeve Sampson and Prince Akeem, who competed on last July’s UCW show in Kentville, will be back by popular demand.
Martin said the “best of the best” from the Maritimes will be at the Kentville show, including former UCW champion “The Vegan Warrior” Markus Burke, “Badness Personified” J.P. Simms, Riddick Stone and the Maritime Menace.
Menace is a long-time “heel” or “bad guy” in Maritime wrestling rings but he seemed to strike a chord with the Kentville crowd last July and he’s looking forward to returning.
“For some reason, they’re all asking for him,” Martin said, pointing out that the Kentville show will be the only appearance for Menace on the upcoming tour.
READ A STORY ABOUT UCW’S 2008 DEBUT IN BERWICK HERE.
READ A STORY ABOUT UCW’S 2009 LEGENDS TOUR SHOW IN BERWICK HERE.
READ ABOUT A WWE HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE HEADLING A 2010 UCW SHOW in CANNING HERE.
The other stops include Moncton on April 26 and Spryfield on April 27. Martin said it had been rumored that the WWE was going to bring a show to Halifax on April 28, so he had to scramble to change his scheduling. UCW’s Spryfield show had originally been scheduled for April 28 and the Kentville show had originally been scheduled for April 27.
Martin said he worked with facility managers in both communities and switched the dates in an attempt to avoid the conflict, although it later became apparent that the WWE is not coming to Nova Scotia this April.
Martin said he cancelled a Halifax show last August under similar circumstances but he decided to stand his ground this time and, if necessary, put his product up against the world’s largest pro wrestling organization.
Martin said the April 27 show in Spryfield would celebrate UCW’s eleventh season and would feature a two-ring, double steel cage “War Games” match, the first of its kind at a Maritime wrestling show. He said this is perhaps what he is looking forward to the most.
The Spryfield show will also feature a rematch of the NXT wrestling 2017 match of the year as WWE United Kingdom champion Pete Dunne takes on Tyler Bate.
