It was a night to remember for the wrestling fans in Portage la Prairie. Canadian Wrestling's Elite invaded our city yesterday with a loaded card that saw everything from a former WWE superstar suiting up to hometown glory.

The card opened with a bang as the CWE Heavyweight Championship was up for grabs. Mentallo put his gold on the line against Shaun Martens, who the Portage crowd was definitely not a fan of. 

Martens was the opposite of a crowd-pleaser, talking smack to a few fans. By the second half of the match, the jeers rattled through the Portage Collegiate gymnasium whenever Martens did anything of significance. However, Portage got some redemption as Mentallo was able to get him down for the one, two, three, resulting in quite a few cheers from the crowd.

The next match on the docket saw Plumas native Bobby Collins up against Kevin O'Doyle. Collins put on a show for the audience, taking to the skies a few times and hitting O'Doyle with some big moves off the top rope.

Unfortunately for Collins, he did one too many risky moves, and O'Doyle caught him mid-air and turned it into a power-bomb, which was the beginning of the end. O'Doyle came out victorious.

An impromptu tag-team match came next as Danny Duggan and his new partner Kevin Cannon made an open challenge to the back. The pair were confronted quickly by Chad Daniels and Travis Cole.

Cole got the crowd on their side very early as he gifted a Portage fan his headband and kept his energy high throughout the contest. Unfortunately for him, Duggan was able to get him down for the pin after hitting Cole in the only place you're not supposed to, while the referee was distracted.

Next up is what everyone was waiting for. Portage's own Sammy Peppers took to the ring and was cheered by all. The current CWE Tag Team Champion put on a show against a former WWE Tag Team Champion, Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Peppers and Smith Jr. went back and forth in a semi-respectful match that the Portage fans were undoubtedly invested in. The finish was a call back to a ginormous match, back in 1992, that involved Smith Jr's father, the British Bulldogs beating Bret Hart.

Smith Jr. defeated Peppers the exact same way, however, he showed his admiration for the fan favourite after the battle.

Peppers was hoping to get the big win in front of his home crowd.

"It's obviously pretty disappointing," Peppers explains. "Any loss is a bit of a disappointment but when you're going up against someone who's travelled the world, one of the greats in Canadian profession wrestling like Davey Boy Smith Jr., taking that loss hurts but you're losing to someone who's working hard every day to perfect their craft. So, it's a bit of a test."

While he wasn't able to pin Smith Jr., Peppers still stood tall at the end of the night.

The main event of the evening was a 10-man battle royal where the wrestlers had to throw one another over the top rope to try to become the last man standing. All ten athletes who competed already were entered into the contest, and it came down to Smith Jr. and Peppers once again.

The two main attractions battle hard once again but this time, it was Peppers to get the victory as he gave Smith Jr. a boot to the chest while he was on the ropes, which pushed him to the floor. This sent the Portage fans home extremely happy but not before they gave Peppers a big ovation.

"To come back in that rumble and be the last two in there after having a battle like we did, being able to get that win and throw him over the top rope to claim a victory in Portage la Prairie, it doesn't get any sweeter than that," says Peppers.

While that was the end of the night, Peppers won't get too much of a rest. He is set to put his CWE Tag Team Championships on the line with his partner Bryce Bentley this Sunday in Winnipeg.

"To be honest, if it was 2019, I'd be a little more worried. Sweet & Tasty (their opponents) were the team to beat then," Peppers continues. "It's 2022 now, and Red Hot Summer (Peppers and Bentley's team name), no pun intended, is red hot and ready to go throughout this entire year. We're going to keep that momentum into 2023, and to keep that momentum, we have to keep those CWE Tag Team Championships around these beautiful, swivelly, waists."

Peppers adds he will also be involved in a 50-man battle royal tomorrow in Winnipeg after defending his championships. He says it will be a huge test but the Portager notes he will do whatever it takes to win, even if that means throwing his partner over the top rope.

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