Ontario Women’s Wrestling: A Status Report

Editor's Note: The following is an article by the newest member of Tha O Show. Gordo, The Wizard Of Id is known as one of the top aficionados of pro wrestling in Ontario. He is a great promoter and defender of the local scene. We are honored to have Gordo join us as a regular contributor to the site.

Ontario’s reputation as one of the hottest Indy wrestling scenes in North America continues to grow; and with good reason. No less than 16 different feds have already run shows this year and more are on the way.

The choices for fans are staggering and promoters are pulling out all the stops to set their product above the rest. This bodes well for workers and fans but there is one group of people who have yet to fully benefit from this boom… the women of wrestling.

Don’t get me wrong, the women’s wrestling scene is Ontario is vibrant, alive and compared to most places, thriving. But it could be better. There are still promotions who don’t use the women at all or consign them to peripheral (read: eye candy) roles when they do. Considering the caliber and number of women wrestlers in the area and the positive reaction their performances garner from fans, it’s a mystery why more promoters don’t use them more often.

As of this writing there have been 200 matches in Ontario this year. Of those, 20 involved women actively wrestling. 10%. That’s a pretty dismal number and it drops to 5% if you don’t count inter-gender bouts. Why is that? Some people attribute it to an “old school” mentality but I find that hard to believe since a lot of these promoters are younger than my last bowel movement. Fans certainly dig the women’s action and the ladies themselves go balls out (metaphorically speaking) to provide top quality matches. Just ask the fans of PWX, PWA or NWX.


Those three feds are the top promoters of women’s wrestling in Ontario. PWA has a thriving women’s division and their title, the Elite Championship, is generally regarded as the top prize in Canadian women’s wrestling. Aside from regularly featuring women’s bouts on their cards, PWA also runs all-women shows. Last year's Pure Women's Action show (August) ranks as one of the best Indy wrestling shows I’ve ever seen.

Headlined by a match between Aurora and 21st Century Fox that had fans on their feet chanting “This is awesome” the show pitted local stars against top women from across the U.S. Northeast. In just a few days (Feb 24) they are presenting the Women’s Elite 8 tournament; sure to provide as many thrills and top quality matches as any “real” card. PWA gets an A grade for their efforts.

So too, does PWX deserve top honors for their treatment of Women’s wrestling. Not only do they have women’s matches on almost every show, they give them semi-main event status. Promoter Jay McDonald knows talent and how to use it. Just ask anyone who witnessed January’s Indy match of the month in St Thomas between Ontario’s own Tiana Ringer and international superstar April Hunter. 25 minutes of solid wrestling action that by anyone’s standards deserves recognition as a potential match of the year. With every PWX appearance Ringer, Jaime D, Danyah, Cherry Bomb and others prove they are among the finest workers Ontario has to offer.

And what about NWX? That quiet little fed running small towns under most people’s radar also gives women’s wrestling its proper place to shine. Their last two shows (Feb 10 & 11) showcased women’s matches as the main event!

Say what you want about the management of that company and their relationship with other promoters; you can’t deny that was a bold move on their part and they deserve kudos for it. From all accounts the matches rocked and the women proved worthy of headlining the shows. They get an A too.

Aside from those 3 feds the offerings for women (and their fans) get a little shaky. GCW promoted the W.I.L.D. Tournament last year but aside from that, their use of women is spotty at best. Prior to that show GCW ceased even having women’s matches which I thought was counter productive promotion at best. Cherry Bomb was relegated to a non wrestling role as commissioner and no one else was even booked. Promoter David Wyldstar looks to be changing that this year but the likelihood of a woman’s match being on every show seems a distant dream. I’d give GCW a B but only on the strength of their tournament show. If they don’t step it up this year then they get a C like most of the rest.

Many Ontario promotions use women on a sporadic basis and not even as a special attraction; burying them in meaningless inter-gender matches or placing them low on the card with only 7 minutes of ring time. I can’t help but wonder why.

Would you bring Cody Deaner, Johnny Devine or Ruffy Silverstein to your promotion and give them less than 10 minutes on the undercard? Of course not. (unless you’re an idiot) So why bring talent like Danyah, Misty Haven or Cherry Bomb to your show and waste them in that fashion? It doesn’t make any sense! How anyone could book these incredibly talented performers in a 7 minute meaningless match and put skinny fucking twigs wearing shiny pants in major angles at the top of the card is beyond me.

But hey, at least these promotions are booking the women Ontario has at hand. Many others don’t use them at all; or if they do, it’s as valets or commissioners. (Or… they show how “progressive” and “cutting edge” they are by having a women’s battle royal like that’s gonna bring fans back.) Utilize your talent!

What kind of moron buys a Ferrari and never takes it out of first gear? Imagine the ridicule and fan outrage if you brought Hayden Avery or Michael Elgin to your card and had them stand around at ringside looking handsome while a couple of jobbers went through the paces. Yet somehow it’s okay to do that with women whose in-ring skills far eclipse those of the men they’re accompanying? Bullshit.

I know some promoters have a personal distaste for women’s wrestling but that shouldn’t keep them from using the women to elevate their overall product. It should be about providing fans what they want; not booking a show that you the promoter will mark out for.

Give Danyah and Tiana Ringer 20 minutes and let your fans tell you what they think. Or Cherry, Misty, Fox, Jaime etc. Don’t sabotage it with bullshit angles or crap finishes. These women are competent professionals.

Give them 20 minutes and let them make the magic. In other words, get your head out of your ass, quit staring at their asses and do the right thing. You might discover that the women of Ontario Indy can put asses where it counts; in the seats!

I’m Gordo, the wizard of id, and that’s my take on the current women’s scene in Ontario. Don’t even get me started on “ass spots” and “horsy rides.”

You can visit Gordo online, by clicking here.

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