Canuck Scam and Nazi Lucha? Oh Boy...

Gird your loins, this guy is writing lucha
Photo via Vince Russo's Facebook Group

Usually, a good shorthand rule to follow, especially in wrestling, is that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Take for example the cautionary tale of Canuck Pro Wrestling. The company sprung up out of seemingly nowhere to advertise shows across the great nation of Canada. Even though the advertising was for shows that were months ahead of time, it seemed like an interesting gambit. It was a promotion that running all across Canada, dates in Toronto and Vancouver and in places between. The talent it was advertising was off the charts: Dick Togo, Eddie Kingston, Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Dalton Castle, Moose, just to name a few wrestlers.

It was curious for a few reasons. One, it was advertising shows sometimes a whole year out. WWE rarely does that, and only for earth-shattering matches like John Cena vs. The Rock. Two, the roster seemed like it was all killer, no filler, at least in terms of notoriety. Each match announced felt like it was taken from a TEW game of a person with the most rudimentary knowledge of non-WWE wrestling. It was attempting to be Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in 2017 without realizing that PWG was built upon foundations of being a local indie promotion once upon a time.

Well, anyway, if it smells like a fraud and looks like a fraud and sounds like a fraud, it is a fraud. BJ Whitmer was the first to blow it open on Twitter:

So as it turns out @CanuckPro is nothing more than a fantasy fed. pic.twitter.com/o5bHPPqtAX

— BJ Whitmer (@BJ_Whitmer) October 5, 2017

Soon, the wrestlers who were booked started to catch wind of it, and a whole bunch of dates became open. Wannabe money mark promotions that soak up dates make everyone look bad, and are a plague on the wrestling industry for several reasons. They dilute trust between the ticket-buyer and new promotions on the whole. They artificially reserve dates for wrestlers and then put them in a lurch when the shows get cancelled, especially if they've already procured transportation. Oftentimes, the customer doesn't get refunds for their ticket purchases. The whole thing stinks, to be honest.

What stinks even worse, however, is the butchering and abusing of the good name of lucha libre in the name of profit. I covered Lucha Forever yesterday, but what The Cubs Fan reported yesterday makes that band of culturally appropriating cosplayers look damn innocent in comparison. Basically, Aroluxe, the production company that worked with TNA and sued Dixie Carter for owed money and that is run by literal Nazis Ron and Don Harris, is developing a lucha libre promotion for television to be written by Vince Russo. It will be based out of Nashville, TN. If you wanted a Yahtzee of bad ideas (non-Mexican lucha, funded by Nazis, written for TV by the man who got pro wrestling booted off Spike TV), this concept gives it to you. Given the political leanings of the Harris Bros. and Russo's lack of a filter for bad ideas, I wouldn't be surprised if the first main angle involved the babyfaces trying to send people back to Mexico and building a wall. Hopefully, this concept never sees the light of day, because holy shit, no, that evil doesn't need to befoul the wrestling world.

Honestly, yesterday was not a very good day for wrestling news, and it highlights why wrestlers with marginal chances to hit it big and make money in WWE take predatory, competition-squelching contracts. The indies are way too goddamn volatile and filled with Vince McMahon wannabes that you might as well take your chances with the real deal. At least he's got a track record of success, I guess.