Get ready for a Hart Attack: Joe Byrne to host wrestling show

Get ready for a Hart Attack: Joe Byrne to host wrestling show

By RYAN COOKE

Professional wrestling is set to make its return to Grand Falls-Windsor this summer, with the coming of Legend City Wrestling’s “Hart Attack Tour”.

The Newfoundland-based wrestling promotion, formed in 2009 by Dan Bjorkdahl, will be stopping in to the Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium on June 3.

While the Grand Falls-Windsor tour date will not feature WWE legend Bret “Hitman” Hart, it will feature many of the LCW regulars, including Mr. Fantastic and Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, “Kowboy” Mike Hughes.

Bjorkdahl, a British Columbia native and professional wrestler himself, said he hopes the tour will help promote the LCW as well as professional wrestling in Newfoundland as a family event.

 “We’re not promoting excessive violence or brutality,” he said. “It’s more of a classic good guy versus bad guy thing, where hopefully the good guy rallies to victory.”

The promotion works with the Church Lad’s Brigade, frequently putting on shows at the CLB Armoury in St. John’s. Bjorkdahl was approached by Bernard Davis, executive director of the CLB in the province, about the possibility of a tour to promote both of their organizations.

After one thing led to another, former five-time WWF Champion Bret Hart was on board.

Bjorkdahl says having a legend such as Hart on the bill is a huge help to promoting the LCW.

“It’s every wrestler and wrestling fan’s dream. He’s a huge name, known all around the world. We all grew up cheering for him, or booing him.”

He said it would also be a huge benefit to the younger wrestlers, to be able to learn from someone with as much experience as the “Hitman”.

“He has so much knowledge, it would be amazing to sit down and pick his brain.”

He said it is also a help to the future of professional wrestling in Newfoundland, which faces many obstacles. The largest of which is small local groups who label themselves as professionals, but give the sport a bad name, according to Bjorkdahl.

He said small-time promotions such as his have grown in popularity in the last 10 years, due in part to World Wrestling Entertainment moving towards a show based in theatrics aimed at a younger audience, rather than wrestling.

“You have so much more great potential out there than you would see on television, with WWE or TNA (Total Non-stop Action).”

With the addition of Bret Hart to the June 7 show in Torbay, 30 per cent of the V.I.P. tickets for the event have been sold in the last three days.

Bjorkdahl expects audiences upwards of a thousand for the tour, and says they are only just getting started.

“The sky is the limit. The only thing that can hold us back is ourselves. All you have to do is come check it out once, and you’ll be hooked.”