All Elite Wrestling will be coming to Canada.
On a recent visit to Toronto, AEW president Tony Khan said that the wrestling company is anticipating a trip to the Great White North and, when they arrive, they’ll be bringing along their strong roster of Canadian talent.
“AEW is in 130 countries around the world now and a lot of the top stars are international, especially here in Canada,” Khan recently told Sportsnet.
Indeed, the burgeoning pro wrestling company does possess a slew of top Canadians including Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega (Winnipeg), Christian Cage and The Bunny (Toronto), Ethan Page (Hamilton), Shawn Spears (Niagara Falls) and Kyle O’Reilly (Vancouver).
Despite a strong collection of wrestlers and a rabid fanbase, AEW has yet to make a trip outside of the U.S. for any of its events. However, there were plans to come to Toronto before the pandemic hit, with Khan confirming that there were “advanced negotiations before the shutdown.”
“I’d love to get up to Canada,” Khan said. “We had planned to come to Toronto, we’re going back to a lot of these cities we were looking at now, and I think it makes a lot of sense to come up here.
“I don’t have the exact dates yet, but I’d like to come (to Canada) soon, very soon.”
AEW has made a habit of highlighting wrestlers in their hometowns, so several Canadians can expect a hero’s welcome when the company finally makes its way up north. For instance, Dr. Britt Baker is regularly portrayed as a conquering hero when she returns to her hometown of Pittsburgh.
“We want the fans to have a great experience at the show and a lot of times that means seeing the hometown hero showcased,” Khan noted. “We absolutely try to do things that will make the fans happy — the fans on TV and also the fans at the live events watching the wrestling matches in person because it’s the most important thing in pro wrestling that keeps the business so strong around the world.”
Meanwhile, several American wrestlers in AEW have also endeared themselves to fans north of the border by showing their appreciation for Canadian wrestling icon Bret Hart. Khan also holds The Hitman in high regard.
“I’m a fan of his. I admire him. I think he’s on the Mount Rushmore of the all-time great pro wrestlers,” Khan gushed. “I think the world of him. I admire him and I think many wrestlers in AEW feel the same way.”
Hart, meanwhile, has taken notice of the number of AEW wrestlers paying tribute to him.
“(CM) Punk, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler and all that they’ve been doing with the Sharpshooter, and different nods of respect to me for things I did in my matches … I’m quite honoured and flattered that young wrestlers are paying attention to what I did 20 years ago,” Hart told Sportsnet in a recent interview.
Khan and the rest of AEW also recently paid tribute to the Hart family with the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, honouring the late wrestler. The idea was born in 2020 when Jericho introduced Khan to Owen’s widow, Dr. Martha Hart. The parties then collaborated to come up with the tournament to honour Owen. The multi-week event culminated at the Double or Nothing PPV on May 29 with Adam Cole and Baker crowned as the men’s and women’s winners, respectively.
“It was a great competition and I was very proud to be able to get to know Dr. Martha Hart,” Khan recollected. “She really vetted AEW and wanted to make sure this was the right place to pay tribute to the late, great Owen Hart, who’s a great legend here in Canada and considered a great legend all over the world, as a great pro wrestler.”
Canadian Jericho, while also helping navigate the introduction between Khan and Dr. Hart, has been instrumental in assisting with AEW’s rise to prominence. The 30-year wrestling veteran — known worldwide from his stints in WWE, WCW and ECW — was crowned as the inaugural AEW World Heavyweight Champion in 2019, and continues to demonstrate why he is, according to Khan, “one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time.”
“He looks better than he has in years,” Khan added. “He is such a knowledgeable, smart pro wrestler. With his body now in this kind of condition, Chris is probably at the top of the wrestling world, not just in AEW, but around the world right now, one of the major players in pro wrestling.”
The question now is: how soon before wrestling fans in Canada get to see Jericho and the rest of the AEW roster in the flesh?
