Adam Copeland Comes Home as Josh Alexander Reclaims His Place at MLP Northern Rising
Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling brought Northern Rising to Toronto on Saturday night, and for a promotion intent on helping rebuild Canadian professional wrestling, bringing it to the spotlight it deserves, there probably wasn't a more fitting way to close the show.
Adam Copeland stood victorious inside the former Maple Leaf Gardens.
Copeland defeated Steve Maclin in the main event, completing something that felt less like another booking on an already Hall of Fame-worthy résumé and more like coming full circle.
This was Copeland's first match outside WWE or AEW since 2001. But the location made it mean even more...
Maple Leaf Gardens is woven into Canadian wrestling history, and Copeland has spoken about what wrestling inside that building meant to him. Decades after being the kid watching wrestling and dreaming about making it himself, he got to walk into that building as Adam Copeland.
That's wrestling.
Maclin wasn't simply there to participate in someone else's homecoming, either. The former TNA World Champion gave Copeland a fight before Copeland ultimately put him away with the spear.
But Copeland wasn't the only Canadian wrestler whose night carried a little extra weight.
Josh Alexander defeated Stu Grayson to become the undisputed MLP Canadian Champion — and considering what Alexander went through just to get there, the result means considerably more than another championship for his résumé.
Alexander suffered a serious knee injury earlier this year, tearing his meniscus away from the bone behind his kneecap. Following surgery, his original recovery timetable reportedly had him returning around November or December.
Alexander had another date in mind.
October 3.
Northern Rising.
He made it.
Then he won.
For someone whose career has been defined by repeatedly proving what he's capable of, Alexander beating the timetable and then leaving Toronto as undisputed Canadian Champion feels incredibly appropriate.
Northern Rising had plenty happening beyond the two headline matches. Priscilla Kelly successfully defended the MLP Women’s Canadian Championship against Nikki Storm, continuing the first reign she began by dethroning inaugural champion Gisele Shaw in September. I'll say this and I'll regret NOTHING about it: I LOVE Priscilla Kelly. You could see how much she loved what she was doing in the ring tonight. That's what makes wrestling so interesting...
The Grizzled Young Veterans — Zack Gibson and James Drake — had championship success of their own, defeating 1st Faction and Sinner & Saint in a three-way to become the new MLP Canadian Tag Team Champions. The victory ended 1st Faction's 190-day reign after eight successful defenses. Andrade El Idolo picked up a victory over Rohan Raja, while Psycho Mike emerged victorious from Monster’s Mayhem against Crazzy Steve and Dan Maff. I popped huge seeing Psycho Mike, I always loved his work as far back as when we were both trying out for ROH at the same time.
Jody Threat and Alice Crowley also defeated Alexia Nicole and Kingsley, giving the women's division another spot on a card that wasn't relying solely on one championship match to showcase its talent. It was also nice seeing Alexia Nicole working in front of a crowd that appreciates how unique she actually is in an industry like Pro Wrestling. I give MLP major kudos for having more than one women's match on the card. It's becoming more common, however, they aren't always done with purpose and meaning.
Tonight, they were purposeful and they stood on their own. I'm all for it!
Elsewhere, Máscara Dorada teamed with Subculture's Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews to defeat Johnny TV, TJP and Gabriel Fuerza. Jonathan Gresham defeated Tarik and Vaughn Vertigo in three-way action, while Rudra picked up a victory over Jonny DeLuca. From established international names to wrestlers getting an opportunity on a bigger stage, Northern Rising felt like more than a card built around Copeland's homecoming — MLP gave the rest of the roster plenty of room to make the night matter, too.
Northern Rising also featured talent from several corners of professional wrestling, reinforcing what Scott D'Amore appears to be trying to build with Maple Leaf Pro: a Canadian promotion capable of standing on its own while simultaneously becoming a place where wrestlers from different companies, countries and stages of their careers can meet.
That's important.
Independent wrestling doesn't need to pretend WWE and AEW don't exist in order to matter. It needs its own identity, its own reasons for fans to care and moments that couldn't happen quite the same way anywhere else.
On Saturday night, one Canadian wrestling legend finally got to wrestle inside a building that helped inspire him.
Another fought his way back from an injury ahead of schedule and walked out a champion.
For a show called Northern Rising, that's pretty damn fitting.