5 standout Canadian pro wrestlers in the industry today

These are the top five names from Canada performing in major promotions today. 

Since the heyday of Bret Hart, Canadian wrestlers have been storming the scene and rising to popularity. Today we’ll be looking at 5 still in the trenches at major companies and essentially killing it.

What follows is a brief look at Canadian pro wrestlers that are in the industry right now, battling it out for supremacy at three of the major pro wrestling promotions, but trust me when I say that there are so many that are not on the list that definitely deserves to be—so many wrestlers working the indies and other promotions that more than deserve a shout out.

But for the sake of brevity, I’ve decided to shine a light on these here 5…pro wrestlers that have indeed made a name for themselves and Canadian pro wrestling in general…essentially giving Canadians in the industry a pretty good reputation overall, or doing their part at least.

Honorable mentions working in the indies—some of whom worked for the major companies over the course of their respective careers include The legendary Kowboy Mike Hughes, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Jeremy Prophet, and so many others.

Major company standouts that I chose not to go into here already have a name for themselves and are certainly considered standout Canadian pro wrestlers. Included here are perhaps the obvious: Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Edge, Christian, and I’m sure you catch my drift.

So without further ado…let’s get to it, shall we?

PCO (Ste-Catherine, Quebec, Canada)

This man is still at it, and yes at the age of 55. He is signed to Impact Wrestling right now, and that’s after a career in WWE (as part of the  Quebecers tag team with none other than Jacques Rougeau, as well as having other roles and gimmicks within the company while there).

Speaking with Nick Hausman of Wrestling Inc. back in 2022, PCO spoke about the condition his body is in…

"“I just love it. I just love the game. I just love doing what I do, and I’ve always been like that. I mean, it was always about anything for the fans, just to make them happy. Just, I don’t know. It’s such a drive when you do something, and it’s just something that you love to do…It’s hard to explain, basically, it’s just there. It’s there. So after all those years, for me, I feel like I got 10, 15 years in front of me, so it’s not that long that I want to go, but that’s how I feel. As far as my body feels, my body feels like 100%.”"

He had a battle with Bret Hart at WWF’s In Your House in 1995—an epic match. Back then he was going as Jean-Pierre Lafitte. That’s a match that has stayed etched in my memory for how great it actually was.

Since then he has had an exceptional career on the indies and at ROH and of course, now Impact, where at Under Siege he will be vying for the Impact World Title against Maclin.

Jinder Mahal (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

Mahal has not been on the main roster for quite some time in WWE. He was last seen on NXT as part of Indus Sher faction—an unnecessary demotion if you ask this writer and is a travesty if you ask me, as he shined on the main roster, was an epic heel, and deserves nothing more than to be in top contention for titles and involved in major storylines.

Maybe he will get a run at the new World title introduced by Triple H recently on Raw. We can only hope, dear readers.

Chelsea Green (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)

Thankfully Chelsea Green has returned to WWE. Chelsea, like Mahal above, deserves nothing more than to be in contention for major titles within the company. As she proved on the indies over the course of the last few years after her WWE release in 2021, she can more than carry a storyline, more than put on a great match, and deliver in every single way a pro wrestler should.

She was extremely impressive over at Impact Wrestling during that aforementioned time, and I hope to see her win a championship soon.

Kyle O’Reilly (Delta, British Columbia, Canada)

We haven’t seen O’Reilly for quite some time. He of course was heavily sought after over the course of his run in NXT—a top talent for sure—and when news of his contract expiration with the company broke, many wondered about the talented wrestler’s future.

He chose AEW and debuted to raucous reactions from the fans in AEW and online. As per a post on his Instagram early this year, fans got an insight into why we haven’t seen him on TV since his impeccable early run in AEW:

"“New year, new me. I hate how cheesy and cliché that sounds but in the case of Kyle O’Reilly and 2023 it rings very true. Dealing with a post-surgical issue (that I will disclose at a later date) has caused me a lot of frustration and I’ve spent the last few months of ‘22 with anger and confusion…In order for me to return to the ring I simply cannot come back as good as I was. I have to become better in every aspect of my athletic wellness. I have to train better, eat smarter and recover with intention. Many of you are aware of my battle with type-1 diabetes and that also puts me at a disadvantage in terms of healing and recovery…”"

Taya Valkyrie (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)

Valkyrie too was in NXT in 2021, and despite putting on great performances, and powerful ones at that, she was released from WWE, but landed in Impact Wrestling, where she dominated for sure. She has recently signed with AEW and has entered into a feud with the equally dominant Jade Cargill, who has gone undefeated in her streak with the TBS championship.

She was essentially swindled out of her possible win over Cargill this week on Dynamite, as she was legally forbidden to use her finisher which Cargill –in storyline—trademarked. Taya calls it: ‘Road To Valhalla,’ and Jade of course calls it ‘Jaded,’ but both are variations of the ever-powerful Beth Phoenix ‘Glam Slam.’

It can definitely make for a great storyline that can go for a few more matches that hopefully can end in Valkyrie taking the title ultimately, which would be poetic. The only move that could take Cargill out finally was her own, if Taya’s ever able to use it that is.

Food for thought.