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Canada has produced a long list of all time great wrestlers who forever changed the industry for the better.
For generations, the sports entertainment world has enjoyed watching the likes of The Hart Family, Edge, Chris Jericho, Christian Cage, Trish Stratus, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens take the pro wrestling scene to new heights.
Back in April, the province of Ontario launched mobile sports betting apps, allowing customers to place wagers on their favorite sports leagues and teams.
One of the top available sportsbooks in Ontario is BetMGM, allows customers to place a variety of wagers — including moneylines, totals, parlays, futures and more. Fans in Ontario can even bet on their favorite wrestlers like Zayn and Owens to win the upcoming 2023 Royal Rumble event.
With that all said, let’s dive into a list of the five greatest Canadian wrestlers of all time.
Bret Hart
Not only is Hart the consensus choice for the greatest Canadian wrestler ever, but you can make a strong case that he’s the most decorated superstar in WWE history.
A member of the legendary Hart wrestling family, “The Hitman” was trained by his father, Stu Hart. The latter trained many other all-time greats in wrestling, including one of his other sons, Owen Hart.
In the early ‘90s, Vince McMahon began to move away from the Hulk Hogan and ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage as the company’s co-faces. He largely began to focus on younger talents like The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Hart and Scott Hall/Razor Ramon.
The infamous Montreal Screwjob incident doesn’t take away anything Hart accomplished in WWE. Hart and Michaels brought the fans to their feet night in and night out with jaw-dropping in-ring performances.
Hart and Lex Luger were the co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble. The Hitman headlined three WrestleMania events and won five WWE Championships during his Hall of Fame career.
Edge
Perhaps there was no better heel in the latter half of the Ruthless Aggression Era nor the early stages of the PG Era. The Rated-R Superstar, simply put, was in his own class of WWE villains during his first run with WWE.
Edge and close friend Christian revolutionized the WWE tag team division in the early 2000s alongside The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz. But once Edge won the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21, it set the stage for an even greater run as a singles performer.
The Ultimate Opportunist cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat John Cena for the WWE Championship at New Year’s Revolution 2006, marking the first of 11 World Championship runs.
Edge had to retire at the age of 37 in 2011 because of a life-threatening neck injury. Nine years later, however, he made a thrilling return at Royal Rumble 2020 and has since enjoyed a thrilling second go with WWE – highlighted by a Royal Rumble 2021 victory.
Trish Stratus
It’s very easy to argue that Stratus is the greatest and most influential women’s wrestler of all time. There is no shortage of active women’s wrestling stars who have cited Stratus as their wrestling idol, and for good reason.
The 2013 Hall of Fame inductee debuted for WWE in 2000 and, together with Lita, helped revolutionize the women’s wrestling division. It’s no wonder that WWE has brought back Stratus and Lita for occasional matches since their respective retirements, and it was only fitting for Stratus to be the final entry in the inaugural women’s Battle Royal in 2018.
Stratus retired as a seven-time WWE Women’s Champion.
Chris Jericho
Jericho was born in Manhasset, New York and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
He was born with athletic genes, too, as his father Ted Irvine played professional ice hockey in the NHL. Jericho worked for a variety of promotions in the early and mid ‘90s before getting his first big break in ECW.
Jericho eventually landed with WWE’s rival promotion, WCW, becoming an integral part of the cruiserweight division with other future legends like Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko. Despite incredible in-ring work and savvy microphone skills, Jericho never got his chance to fully shine in WCW.
Jericho signed with WWE in 1999, and the rest is history. He quickly won over the fans with his slick promos and trash talking ways and became one of the most influential wrestlers of the 21st century, winning six World Championships in WWE.
Of course, Jericho also enjoyed great success in other promotions like New Japan Pro-Wrestling and AEW, which he joined in 2019. Jericho was the first ever holder of the AEW World Championship, and at age 52, he remains a driving force behind the company’s success.
‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper
Ask a wrestling journalist or longtime fan who their pick is for the greatest WWE heel ever, and many of them will instantly state Roddy Piper.
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan product stole the show alone with his top-level villainous promos and unforgiving character. Piper was supposed to be resented by the fans, but oftentimes, they couldn’t help but love his mouthy and obnoxious wrestling persona.
Piper’s success as a wrestler led to him starring in John Carpenter’s 1988 hit film, They Live. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.