Let’s get ready to rumble!
Wrestlers from Inuvik and Alberta will descend on Yellowknife next month for an “unforgettable night” of professional wrestling.
Dez Loreen, co-founder of Totally Arctic Wrestling, says Carnage in the Capital will be a high-calibre, all-ages wrestling spectacular. Five “awesome” matches are planned for the evening of October 23.
“Expect drama, expect action and expect to be entertained,” Loreen said.
“I hope the people in Yellowknife are ready for the biggest show they’ve ever seen because we’re going to be bigger than Giant Mine.”
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Loreen said Totally Arctic Wrestling, which is Inuvialuit-owned and based in Inuvik, is the world’s most northerly wrestling promoter. It has held matches in the Arctic with wrestlers from across North America.
“To have pro wrestling normalized for a generation of youth in the territory now is just incredible,” Loreen said, adding he is thankful for the support of people and organizations in the North.
“I cannot stress enough how much it means to me that pro wrestling as an art form is a thing now in the lives of these kids and families.”
Next month’s event will be Totally Arctic Wrestling’s first in Yellowknife. Videos of previous matches posted online give viewers a taste of what to expect.
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“If you’re not aware of what Totally Arctic Wrestling is yet, you definitely will be after October 23,” Loreen said.
‘The bad guy of the North’
Loreen wrestles under the persona Deztro the Eskimofo, who he described as “a heel” or “the bad guy of the North.”
“I think being a local bad guy is really good because it teaches the kids the performance of it, like ‘boo Dez,’ but also I get high fives downtown,” he said.
“I like to get booed,” he added. “It fuels my engines, you know, it puts gas in the tank to hear people boo me and tease me and laugh at me.”
Another “bad guy” set to perform at next month’s event is Massive Damage the Tattooed Terminator, otherwise known as Sean Dunster, a longtime professional wrestler and co-founder of Edmonton-based wrestling promoter Monster Pro Wrestling.
“The boos keep me going, because I know I’m doing my job,” he said. “Wrestling is ultimately good versus evil. You can’t have a good guy without having a really good bad guy, so I embrace that.”
The Matriach, Mighty KC and the Noler Bear
Dunster, who recently performed in Inuvik, said he previously travelled to Yellowknife and other NWT communities in the early 2000s to put on shows and speak to kids.
“I’m excited to be a part of bringing it back up and hopefully maybe make it something that lasts up there,” he said, highlighting the work Totally Arctic Wrestling has done to promote professional wrestling in the North.
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“We really want to bring a great show up and give you guys a heck of a show, something you wouldn’t probably get to see unless you’re spending a lot of money to get to Edmonton, Vancouver etc.”
Dunster said other wrestlers performing in Yellowknife next month include The Matriach, otherwise known as Sage Morin, a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation; Mighty KC, Monster Pro Wrestling’s heavyweight champion; and the Noler Bear, Totally Arctic Wrestling’s heavyweight champion.
Loreen, Dunster and Morin are among those featured in The Death Tour, a documentary that follows a group of professional wrestlers as they tour through Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba.
Resilience in recreation
Carnage in the Capital is being hosted by the NWT Recreation and Parks Association during its three-day annual conference, which brings together recreational leaders, students, youth, Elders and volunteers from across the territory.
This year’s conference will focus on the role recreation programs can play in building resilience.
“We just thought it was a good opportunity to showcase something unique and exciting, and celebrate something that’s kind-of special, and kind-of expose Yellowknife to that possibility as well,” Adam Woogh, NWTRPA’s director of professional development, said of the professional wrestling event.
Carnage in the Capital will take place on October 23 at 7:30pm at the Explorer Hotel. Tickets, including general admission and VIP tickets with backstage passes, are available on the NWTRPA’s website.
