By Étienne Thevou
Morinville – There will be plenty of top rope entertainment Aug. 20 when Force Pro wrestling comes to Morinville with an evening of high-energy sports entertainment for the whole family. A Show of Force will take place at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre and promises two-hours of high-flying wrestling action from more than a dozen performers. The event is being brought to town by Art of Conversation, publishers of Monday Morning News.
“When I was a kid, it was a big deal to go and see the travelling wrestling shows that would come to our local hockey arena once a month,” said Stephen Dafoe, one of the Morinville event’s organizers. “That’s what we are trying to recreate here with the upcoming show, a Saturday night where everyone can come out, sit in the comfy theatre at the cultural centre, eat some popcorn and cheer on the good guys.”
Dafoe said Art of Conversation’s goal is to bring something entertaining to Morinville to cap off the summer and to do so at an affordable price. Tickets are $10 per person for general admission bleacher seating or $20 for a ringside spot. Everyone who attends gets a souvenir program included with their admission.
But while the program will tell you who the wrestlers are, Dafoe believes the performers will be hard to forget without or without the playbook. Art of Conversation has booked Force Pro Wrestling, who has assembled 16 wrestling performers well-known in Alberta’s wrestling scene and beyond. More than a dozen athletes will combine their talents into one larger than life Saturday night show.
“People can expect a lot of fun,” said Jay Bardyla, one of Force Pro Wrestling’s principals. “That’s what we were asked to bring to the show in Morinville. Bring something that’s going to be entertaining for six-to-sixty kind of crowds, that’s just going to be a great couple hours of enjoyment. Things that people can get involved in. They can cheer, they can boo and just really get engaged in the performance, and not have to worry about whether little Bobby or Suzy should see this.”
Force Pro Wrestling are looking to supply an evening of colourful good guys, bad guys and some pretty big contenders for the main event: Hot Shot Johnny Devine and Cam-ikaze.
“Hot Shot Johnny Devine – he’s got some cred,” Bardyla said of the veteran wrestler. “He’s been in Alberta a very long time. He’s made it up to the big leagues. He’s performed with WWE and TNA Wrestling, which are the two major televised promotions worldwide.” The wrestling promoter said Devine, who has held a few belts, is a fantastic performer who he regards as a delightful heel. “He really knows how to work a crowd and I think that we’ll see that,” Bardyla said, adding Devine’s opponent, Camikaze, is what people pay to see. A wrestling performer Bardyla compares to Evil Knieval. “You don’t want to see anyone get hurt, but you want to see people do things that are absolutely insane – that human beings are not supposed to be doing. This is what Camikaze does. He goes out there and does the flips and the flying, and all sorts of crazy stuff. This is the stuff you just sit back in your chair and go, ‘Wow, did a human being just do that? That’s insane.’”
Bardlya said the Morinville’s show’s main event will combine the two performers’ different styles and attitudes into what he believes will be an incredibly explosive match.
A Show of Force is brought to Morinville by Art of Conversation, Monday Morning News and Morinvillenews.com, and is sponsored by Noah’s Ark Pets and Supplies and Sobeys. Tickets are $10 advance, $15 at the door for general admission. A limited number of VIP Ringside seats are available at $20 each ($25 at the door). Tickets are available at Noah’s Ark Pets and Supplies and Sobeys in Morinville.
