About This Quiz
Canada is home to an impressive roster of professional wrestlers thanks, in part, to the legacy of the Hart family dynasty (which stretches back multiple generations) and an enthusiasm for the amateur wrestling scene that can be found all across the country. Considering how much some of the wrestlers in the quiz work stateside, you may be surprised by a couple of the wrestlers found on this list. Or, if you consider yourself a master when it comes to Canadian wrestling trivia, you'll recognize many of the following names as fellow citizens of the Great White North.
This quiz contains over a century's worth of professional wrestling and all the fascinating stories that accompany the sport. Covering all of your favourite babyfaces and, of course, all of the sport's most memorable heels, you might recognize these wrestlers for their membership to large franchises such as the WWE — or you may have read about their contributions to the military or Canada's Olympic history during the earlier half of the 20th century. Some of the wrestlers you're about to encounter are deeply involved with complicated kayfabe plots while others are wrestling under their own names for small, family-owned franchises. Wherever your classic Canadian wrestling knowledge level lies, you'll learn plenty of interesting tidbits about the stories behind these famous — and infamous — faces.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Bret Hart holds dual citizenship in both Canada and the United States. He has held 32 wrestling championships and has earned the title of WWF World Champion on five separate occasions. Hart began raising awareness about cancer and stroke recovery after experiencing both health problems firsthand.
In Allie's relatively short time as a professional wrestler, Toronto-born Laura Dennis has demonstrated she's a force to be reckoned with. Among other wrestling accolades, Dennis held the CCW Women's Championship twice as well as holding the Impact Knockouts Championship on two different occasions.
The legendary Trish Stratus (née Patricia Anne Stratigeas) has not only held multiple wrestling championships, but she's also a savvy business owner. Her yoga studio, Stratusphere, has won numerous accolades for its eco-friendly theme — Stratus herself was named Top Choice Award's Business Woman of the Year in 2010.
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Harry Francis Smith, better known by his stage name "Davey Boy Smith Jr." comes from a long line (and large family) of professional wrestlers. His late father was famously known as "The British Bulldog" and his mother was Diana Hart, a member of the Hart family wrestling dynasty.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Tyson Kidd (real name Theodore James Wilson) began his WWE wrestling career in 2006. A match against Samoa Joe in June of 2015 resulted in a spinal injury comparable to that of Christopher Reeves', although Kidd's injuries did not result in quadriplegic paralysis.
Dwayne Johnson also known as "The Rock" received his Canadian citizenship in 2009 (he holds dual citizenship with the United States.) Johnson's father was originally from the province of Nova Scotia — Johnson himself briefly played for the CFL's Calgary Stampeders.
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Born in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, LuFisto (née Genevieve Goulet) put in a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission after she was banned from wrestling in Ontario (where it was illegal for men and women to fight one other.) Her complaint was heard and provincial legislature was subsequently changed due to her actions.
Natalie Katherine Neidhart-Wilson, who is better known by her stage name Natalya, stands alone as the only third-generation female wrestler in the entire world. A member of the prolific Hart wrestling family, Natalya has held both the Divas Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship during the span of her career.
Hailing from the Maritime province of Nova Scotia, Rocky Johnson (née Wayne Douglas Bowles) is a former professional wrestler — and father to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. A pioneer in the world of wrestling, Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas became the first black tag team to hold the World Tag Team Championship in the WWF.
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Val Venis — whose birth name is Sean Allen Morley — used to compete in Lucha Libre tournaments in Mexico, where he picked up conversational Spanish while wrestling in Consejo Mundial championships under the name Steele.
Born in WInnipeg, Alberta, Donald "Don" Callis has retired from professional wrestling and now works as an executive and on-screen commentator for Impact Wrestling. While he is now most commonly known as Don Callis, his other monikers have included Don Casablancas, The General and The Natural.
Yuvraj Singh Dhesi goes by the ring name Jinder Mahal when performing with the WWE (although he's currently recuperating from a knee injury.) Born in Calgary, Alberta, Jinder Mahal is trilingual — he speaks English, Punjabi and Hindi.
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Born in Montreal, Quebec in March of 1945, "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin retired from his wrestling career in 2011. Not one to bow out of adventure, Garvin took to the skies and is now licensed to fly single and multi-engine aircraft.
Born in Sainte-Catherine, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, PCO is the ring name for professional wrestler Carl Joseph Yvon Ouellet — an acronym that stands for Perfect Creation One and which is based on his former stage name Pierre Carl Ouellet.
Hailing from Florence, Ontario, WWE wrestler Eric Young was born Jeremy Fritz in 1979. Always on the prowl for thrills and excitement, Young hosted the Animal Planet show "Off the Hook: Extreme Catches" for two seasons between 2012 and 2013.
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Christopher Keith Irvine, more commonly known as Chris Jericho, is not only a legendary wrestler — he's also the lead singer of the band Fozzy (he even has a tattoo of their album artwork), host of the podcast "Talk is Jericho," co-owner of an athletic training gym and a former contestant on "Dancing With the Stars."
Although he was born Adam Joseph Copeland, fans of WWE wrestling will recognize this champion by the name Edge. Having taken home 31 WWE championships during his career, Edge is currently playing the reoccurring role of Kjetill Flatnose on the fifth season of "Vikings."
Kevin Owens, née Kevin Steen, was born into a French-speaking family from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Owens credits WWE's "Monday Night Raw" for teaching him English and a WrestleMania match between Diesel and Shawn Michaels for inspiring his future career as a wrestler.
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Lance Storm, a former WWE professional wrestler, now owns and operates Storm Wrestling Academy, a pro wresting school in Calgary, Alberta. The gym is in good hands, Lance Storm attended Wilfred Laurier University School of Business back when he was known by his given name: Lance Timothy Evers.
The late, great "Rowdy" Roddy Piper guest-starred as "Da' Maniac" on "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" — an unhinged wrestler whose character was directly inspired by Mickey Rourke's Oscar-nominated role in the film "The Wrestler." He also had a thriving career in B movies, with "Hell Comes to Frogtown" and "They Live" two notables.
Calgary-born Owen Hart held many championships during his time as a professional wrestler, including a WWF European Championship and WWF King of the Ring in 1994. Tragically, Hart died at the age of 33 after falling from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri while performing in a WWF "Over the Edge" pay-per-view match.
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Stewart "Stu" Hart, left, was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1915, beginning his amateur wrestling career in the 1930s and 1940s before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Navy. The Hart dynasty has gone on to include many notable wrestlers, including Bret and Owen Hart.
Robert Roode was born in Peterborough, Ontario, where he grew up and would go on to train under Sean Morley and Shane Sewell — professional wrestlers who are also from Ontario (Oakville and Toronto, respectively.)
Professional wrestler and referee Shane Sewell — who was last seen wrestling under the moniker "Glamour Boy" Shane — won the IWA, WWC and WWL Heavyweight Championships in Puerto Rico, cementing his legacy in the Puerto Rican wrestling scene.
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Dino Bravo, an Italian-Canadian, was born Adolfo Bresciano in Campobasso, Italy. He grew up in Quebec and made his Québécois heritage part of his wrestling identity — his character could often be seen proudly wearing the Fleur-de-lis as part of his costume.
Born in 1905, Earl McCready represented Canada as a heavyweight wrestler at the 1928 Summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam where he placed sixth in his division. McCready would go on to win gold while competing in the 1930 British Empire Games.
Born in Saint-Saulpice, Quebec, Jacques Rougueau Jr.'s French-Canadian heritage was an integral part of his wrestling identity — in 1993 he was one half of the wrestling act "The Quebecers" with fellow Québécois wrestler Pierre Ouellet.
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The Missing Link, also known by his birth name Byron James John "Dewey" Robertson, was a WWF and NWA wrestler who was best known for his blue and green painted face and for his over-the-top (even for wrestling!) and crazed behaviour in the ring.
Part of Abdullah the Butcher's gimmick was that he spoke no English. In real life, Lawrence Robert Shreve — also known as Abdullah the Butcher — was born in Windsor, Ontario (where he grew up speaking English.)
A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Steve Corino is now a semi-retired professional wrestler who made his name holding heavyweight championships for the NWA, ECW and MLW (among others.) He's now co-host of the wrestling podcast "Extreme Odd Couple" with Rob Dimension.
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Mad Dog Vachon was born Joseph Maurice Régis Vachon in Montreal, Quebec in 1929. Before beginning his professional career, Vachon competed as a heavyweight in the 1948 Olympics and won gold at the 1950 British Empire Games.
Before Gene Kiniski became a professional wrestler, he played football for the Edmonton Eskimos prior to earning a sports scholarship to the University of Arizona. In 1952, Kiniski began his formal training as a wrestler, eventually competing under the names Gene Kelly, Mighty Canadian and Big Thunder.
"Bulldog" Bob Brown began his wrestling career in 1962 in Manitoba. Brown's character was known as being a heel, famous for taunting his adversaries in and out of the ring. After surviving a heart attack in the ring, Brown retired from wrestling and worked as a security guard until his death in 1997.
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Born in Varennes, Quebec, Sylvain Grenier spent a significant amount of time wrestling for the WWE until he was released from his contract in 2007. Grenier was involved in a class-action suit against the WWE in 2016, along with other wrestlers claiming to have suffered from traumatic brain injuries while working for the franchise.
A former professional wrestler for the WWE, Shawn Spears (née Ronnie William Arneill) is now signed to the All Elite Wrestling franchise, where he immediately set his character up as a heel after hitting Cody Rhodes with a steel chair.
You may know Robert Maillet for his time spent in the ring as Kurrgan, or you may know him for his roles in the movies "300," "Deadpool 2," "Sherlock Holmes," "Hercules" and "Pacific Rim."
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Born in Montreal, Quebec, Pat Patterson won the WWE 27/7 Championship when he was 78 years old, making him the oldest person to ever take home the title. Patterson is openly gay and was with his longtime partner, Louie Dondero, for 40 years.
Born Leonce Cormier, this wrestler spent their career using the moniker Leo Burke when they were in the ring. He has been semi-retired from wrestling since 2006 after undergoing eight separate operations on his knees.
You wouldn't have wanted to be underfoot in a wrestling match with Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie! Also known as The Mongolian Stomper, Gouldie wore black cowboy boots in the ring — and wasn't afraid to show off his stomping talents!
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Born in Montreal, Quebect, George "Crybaby" Cannon was known for his appearance during matches — he would get so sweaty that when he wiped his eyes with his hands it looked like he was crying.