After a tumultuous year for independent professional wrestling, Ontario based wrestler Holden Albright (Brendone Caulfield) is ending the year with the launch of Go Hard Professional Wrestling.
Initially pegged for a November kickoff, the card was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic and numbers scaling upward in the province. Instead, the group will host a taped event featuring talent from across the Southern Ontario scene engaging in holiday-themed matches with a variety of stipulations. The special was recently taped including Ethan Page, Alexia Nicole, Jody Threat, Kobe Durst, Steve Brown, Scotty O’Shea, and many others.
We caught up with promoter Holden Albright to reflect on a rough year for performers, the future for the independent scene, and the #IndieHolidaySpecial event taking place Christmas Eve at 7 pm Eastern on YouTube.
First off, how difficult a year has 2020 been for you as an independent performer?
Holden Albright: It’s been pretty hard, to be honest. Wrestling was a creative outlet that I got to escape to about 2-5 times a week & not being able to do it has definitely led to some feelings of being down.
But it helps in knowing that it’s affected all 7.5 billion people in the world & not just our little slice of society. I’ve been very fortunate that my day job has kept going through it so I haven’t had the stress of bills.
As a performer and a promoter, what are the main concerns for the Ontario independent wrestling scene post-COVID?
Albright: In all of wrestling, there’s been a surge or boom period happening in the last decade (first Japan, then America & the UK), I feel Ontario was on that path in the last two years. The crowds & number of shows were increasing every month.
I really hope that the fans will be back before you know it and we can continue that upwards momentum.
You’ve gained a lot of buzz throughout the province, how would you assess the year 2019 in terms of career growth, and who are some of the performers that have assisted in your improvement?
Albright: I’ve been doing wrestling for about five years (driving veteran talent, going to seminars, setting up rings anywhere within 15 hours of Toronto) but in February 2019, I made the conscious decision to focus exclusively on Ontario, almost to use it as my personal developmental system. That plan worked, I wrestled 114 matches last year alone with only one happening outside the province.
I do believe the more you wrestle & the variety of talents (new to world-traveled) makes you better but I can pinpoint the series of matches I’ve had with Josh Alexander for Crossbody Pro Wrestling, Union Wrestling, No Limits, Rock Solid, Destiny & others all over the province on making me better.
Josh is one of the best wrestlers in the country & I was very lucky to have the opportunities to learn firsthand from him in the ring including a 60-minute iron man match.
What led to the launch of Go Hard Professional Wrestling and why the decision to air your first show on Christmas Eve this week?
Albright: So, I did have an actual show penciled in for November 22nd including booking Super Crazy in the main event but then March happened. I totally thought it was a write-off, even though running a show has been a goal of mine for a couple of years.
But then during the summer another local wrestler Vaughn Vertigo (who has extensive experience in video production) came up with a weird idea called “Backyard Pro”, which was real local pro wrestlers parodying backyard wrestling. Vertigo posted a series of shows on YouTube for free & used GoFundMe as a way to recoup costs including paying talent.
Then I randomly tweeted in September “who would be interested in a Holiday Special themed wrestling show?” That got a bunch of people interested, so I started an Indiegogo that was successfully funded.
The last time I tweeted a random idea, I ended up with a highly successful Toy Drive in 2019 which I saw as a sign of how strong the Ontario Pro Wrestling audience’s commitment was.
Tell us about the #IndieHolidaySpecial and what the wrestling audience will be in store for this Thursday, as well as how they can participate/watch?
Albright: It will be a real wrestling show with a twist. Almost every match will have a stipulation based on holiday movies; The Grinch, Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, etc.
It was filmed at the Ontario Performance Centre (aka Battle Arts Academy) in front of no audience with such talent as Impact Wrestling’s Ethan Page, Alexia Nicole, Hacker Scotty O’Shea, Alessandro Del Bruno, Jody Threat, and more.
To watch it’s super simple, it’ll be free on Crossbody Pro Wrestling’s YouTube Channel at 7 pm Eastern. And visit @GoHardPW on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook.
Providing things get back on track in the new year, what are some goals for yourself?
Albright: To be honest, I just want to continue to get better and wrestle a lot. I want to travel all over the world eventually but when things start getting on track my main goal is to become known Canada-wide because I don’t know what international travel will be allowed. So, my main priority is to wrestle at least one weekend in a different province every month.
Thank you very much for your time & content. I’ve been a huge fan since 2006 including Bite TV/Radio which is what made me start doing podcasts myself.
Stay safe, sane & healthy,
Brendone Caulfield/Holden Albright
The #IndieHolidaySpecial streams at 7 pm Eastern on Christmas Eve on the Crossbody Pro Wrestling Academy YouTube channel.
For more on Brendone Caulfield, you can listen to the “This is Brendone” podcast available on Anchor, Spotify, and Apple.