Professional wrestling is coming to this weekend’s Capreol Days, with several wrestlers from throughout North America poised to body-slam jabronis at the Capreol Arena on Saturday.
“Greater Sudbury as a whole has always had a long history of professional wrestling and has a pretty rich legacy here,” Capreol Days organizing committee member Derek Young told Sudbury.com.
“We wanted to return to some of our roots, celebrate that legacy and the history behind it.”
The show, put on by Great Canadian Wrestling as part of this weekend’s Capreol Days festivities, is all about “quality family entertainment,” despite the smashing and bashing that will go on in the ring.
“You’ll quickly discover who the bad-guy heels are, who the baby faces are. It’s classic wrestling, and a lot of these guys will go on to take contracts with larger sports entertainment companies.”
One of the bad guys to be featured is local performer Magnum McLaren (his wrestling name), who we interviewed in character.
“I played AAA hockey for 10 years, and the problem was, I’m a loose cannon, so coaches; they can’t control me,” the 18-year-old said. “It’s fun going out there and chasing a little nugget around the ice, but I think it’s a lot funner to go out there and sell 100,000-seat stadiums, being in video games, having your own action figure and travelling the world.”
During the phone interview earlier this week, McLaren said he was wearing a $20,000 Rolex watch and his “luxurious hair” is insured for $10 million.
“I am a showman,” he said. “I am the show; the GCW superstars coming to Capreol are phenomenal, but the Magnum is the show.”
McLaren comes from a family of wrestlers, including his great-grandfather, Frank Fozo (who passed away in 2007), who performed as the original Great Malenko – a name he handed down to tag team partner and renowned pro wrestler Boris Malenko (father of wrestlers Joe and Dean Malenko), who brought it greater fame in the United States.
McLaren’s father, Dave Knapman, performed as Big Daddy Diamond until he sustained injuries as a result of being t-boned by a transport truck.
“It’s in our blood,” McLaren said of wrestling, adding he trained in the “Malenko fighting system,” which he cautions is “not for the faint of heart.”
Saturday’s show is the “hottest ticket in town,” he said.
“If you want to come and see the Manum up close and personal before he blasts off to the moon, here’s your chance. … It’s going to be a really good Sudbury Saturday night.”
While the Capreol Arena hosts the wrestling show Saturday evening, the centre will play host to the Pop Culture Canada Comic-Con show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This show, also new to Capreol Days, will include 60 vendors and a character named Dadpool – a play on the Marvel comic book character Deadpool. Local talents will also be featured, including a local roboticist who constructed a replica of R2-D2, a robot from Star Wars.
Tickets for the wrestling show are available online by clicking here, and cost between $11.62 and $27.54. Most other events, such as the comic convention, will be available to anyone who purchases a $5 button, which are available on site and at various merchants in Capreol.
Various other family-friendly events will fill out Capreol this weekend. This is the first Capreol Days the community has hosted since 2019, with the last two years of in-person events cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re seeing that people are wanting to get out and do family activities again,” Young said, adding that he expects a greater than usual turnout for this year’s events. “There’s a theme of reconnecting and family and just enjoying being out with family and friends. … It’s a bit of a homecoming, so people tend to come back to Capreol to be with family and friends.”
For more information on Capreol Days and a full schedule of events, visit capreoldays.ca.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
